Quote Originally Posted by crazybikinchic
I have been taking my dog with me while I am building up my running time. We go on a trail by our house. My question is what is the best way to train my dog to not be so distracted by other stuff. He wants to sniff everything possible and I end up pulling him to keep going, which slows me down. I love having a partner and he loves to go with me, but I don't want to feel that I did not get the workout I wanted because he keeps peeing all over the place, or trying to sniff the other dogs. I walk a good 30 minutes before I even start the run.

The good news is that this morning, I had my longest run to date. Yippee!
Wow, good question. I run with my dog sometimes (usually during the winter when she can't go to work with her choice person, who works outside) and she has the same problems. Being consistent helped a lot -- going the same route every day, or every other day, or whatever my pattern was, meant she did not have to stop and sniff everything, only the most recent "new additions" If we didn't run together for many days for some reason, or ran new routes, or different routes inbetween, it was like starting over. She has to sniff eeeeevery little thing.

Running at a "dog-friendly" pace seemed to help her, too. When we first started out going longer distances, I couldn't run at her comfortable pace, but as I got faster, she got happier and kept closer. The "walk" pace and the "trot" pace and the "all out run" paces are good to learn.

I totally agree about the verbal cues. When she stops to do her business, she's ready to take off afterward and I have to remind her to "stay close" while I pick up and then "let's go." If I am doing intervals, I tell her "let's run" or "slowing down" in different tones so she knows what's coming next. I also talk to her if I see animals coming, something like "keep going" or "don't stop" or "stay close" again.

I can tell when she has to stop and pee (or complete aforementioned business transaction, a deposit which I must immediately withdraw), especially if we run the same route at the same time every day and I know how long it takes her normally. After a while, it becomes habit for her to stop at nearly the same location every day (by a trash can, thankfully).

Running a sidewalk or trail that does not have houses near it really helps us, too. When we run a 5-mile loop, we actually run a good 1-2 miles of sidewalk area with businesses on one side, and she focuses a LOT better.

I do enjoy my "dog-free" runs when I can get them. The dog is not good at hill repeats and doesn't like really long distances (really, anything over about 5 miles is her limit).