cfralic
Newbie
Fine Artist
Posts: 7
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Post by cfralic on Oct 29, 2012 16:00:47 GMT -5
We are adopting a greyhound in a couple months (hopefully). The one we have in mind is close to 3 years old, and has never raced.
I have heard that greyhounds are sprinters and have to learn to jog, and I would really like my dog to run with me at night. I jog for about 20 mins and run for about 10. I am wondering - is this doable for most greyhounds? Or how could I train my potential dog to jog beside me?
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ktel
Grey Puppy
Posts: 57
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Post by ktel on Oct 29, 2012 18:47:12 GMT -5
I tried to take Turbo jogging and he hated it. I tried to start with small distances and work up, but anything over 5 minutes of jogging and he will purposely walk at an incredibly slow pace. I just leave him at home now.
I'm sure you could train your dog to do it, especially for only 30 minutes.
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Post by campgreyhound on Oct 29, 2012 20:21:22 GMT -5
It can be done but you have to work up to it. Velvet's Mom got up to about 4 miles with Velvet, I believe, so hopefully she'll see this and share her method.
Remember also, it's not just the distance - they are all used to running and being turned out on sand, so the cement is a huge change for them, whether they are walking on it or running. You have to condition them to that first, then work on distance running.
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Redhead
Grey Lover
Teague (Natural Red Head)
Posts: 823
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Post by Redhead on Oct 29, 2012 21:23:27 GMT -5
Yep, I jog with Teague....he has gone up to about 10 km (6 miles) with small walking rests periodically, and actually does 6+ miles of jogging/walking every day. Typically we break it up into two times...2 miles in the morning, 4+ after work. This is not all running, but he could easily do a few miles without stopping. I think it depends on the grey, but also a huge factor is temperature (it HAS to be cool...Fall is great!) and working them up gradually. At first Teague would maybe go a minute or two and then try to stop, swerve, etc. before he got the hang of it. I think he is naturally more hyper/energetic than some as well. lol:
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OwnedBySummer
Hound Nut
"Summer" (aka Coach Standifer)
Posts: 1,392
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Post by OwnedBySummer on Oct 29, 2012 23:38:31 GMT -5
A lot does depend on both the dog and the temperature. Summer, for instance, would flat out refuse to do this activity. She will walk but no more than 1 or 1.5km. If there's other greys walking at the same time (say, in a parade), she will go further. But no matter what, she would NOT be a hiking or jogging companion.
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Post by rubylottie14 on Oct 30, 2012 9:21:19 GMT -5
Please do make sure your dog wants to do this. Greyhounds are sprinters not 'marothan' runners. Neither of my two would do this. They want to trot along at their own pace and stop many many times over to sniff and wee and generally mooch around.
Ruby and Lottie will on occasion do a sudden short sprint and then spend the rest of the walk going slow by choice.
I think the dog should set the pace not the owner.
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renrus
Hound Nut
crunch...crunch...good...
Posts: 1,089
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Post by renrus on Nov 12, 2012 16:35:37 GMT -5
Sorry I took so long to reply, somehow missed this thread.
I tried to get Velvet into jogging, but ultimately no luck, she just doesn't want to. I started her out doing 1&2's (one minute jogging, 2 minutes walking) for 5 intervals, graduating to 3&2's and then 5&1's over a month. Doing 5minutes running w/ 1 minute walking and sniffing breaks we got up to 3km but after that she would just trot slower and slower no matter the encouragement. Just to add, during this time I would watch her energy, tongue length and how she was holding her head to make sure to never over exert her. She wouldn't tire out (I could let her off leash in the field after a jog and she would sprint around!) she just had no interest. Now I have two hounds and I've discovered that Scarlette could do approx 5km of 5&1's w/ no preperation training (other than lots of walks prior to toughen up the pads). I think that she could go longer and w/ less walking intervals, but I injured my ankle in the fall and am just starting to get back into jogging now so I an back to short runs.
I think that most greyhounds would love to join you for your run, just let Bill know that you plan to run with him/her, and I he'll show you one the more energetic ones. I actually read about someone running a marathon with his greyhound, so with training just about anything is possible! Just be careful of the heat in the summer, they overheat very easily.
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