Who Can Run Your Dog?

While we were in class the other night, a classmate of ours asked me to run her dog for her, just to see if he would run for me. I was more than happy to oblige, as I like seeing how different it can be to run a dog not your own. Her dog ran for me just fine, despite not having a full grasp on his commands.

Kristen and I were talking about it later, and it raises a good question: If someone else had to run your dog, would your dog run for them? There's several reasons why you might want to try it, and when to try it.

First off, for dogs that are beginners or are still training for their first competition, it may not be the best idea. Consistency is key when you're training, and you might confuse the dog by running with someone unfamiliar with their idiosyncrasies. In addition, your verbal/non-verbal commands are very important when starting out. Every command should be consistent from run to run in order to build up. Once your dog has a firm grasp of what they are supposed to do, then you might want to see if someone else will run them.

You might be surprised by your dogs reactions to a new handler. One dog I ran a while back stopped halfway through the course, looked at me with a very confused look, then raced back to his owner as if he just realized his owner wasn't running with him. I've seen other dogs that just outright refuse to run for another handler. I am not saying a dog that won't run with someone else is badly trained; I just think it's to your advantage that they could.

You never know when your dog's ability to run with anyone can come in handy. For example, say you sprain your ankle on the first run of a 3 day trial. Would be sad to just not run them the rest of the weekend, losing both your entrance fees and your dog's enjoyment of the sport. Having a friend that can step in is invaluable. However, if someone is to run your dog on at least a semi-regular basis, it would be best for them to train with your dog.

Watching your dog run with a different handler is very surreal, and valuable for your own knowledge. It gives you a different perspective on how your dog moves which may lead to trying something differently. My wife and I run both of our dogs equally. But even when we see someone other than ourselves run them, it really is informative (and entertaining!).

Lastly - it's so much fun running someone else's dog! If you have a big dog, try running a small dog, or vice versa. You'll learn very quickly that for an experienced dog, it is mostly about body language, and that you'll only need the most basic of verbal commands (i.e. contact bottoms, release commands, etc) for a decent run. You'll find yourself paying more attention to your run than you might with your own dog since you don't know all the little body language intricacies that comes with a team that has worked together a long time.

The most important part is make sure you, your dog, and whoever else's dog has fun! That's what it's all about in the end anyway!