Lately, Jake is so excited and hard to get along with that I decided to make him exercise. Since walking seem to do like… sweet nothing, I decide to go hard on him… and went biking with my Beast.
Well, he loved it ! Of course, it took us a few rides to find a way to get along well together – not roll him over, not being pulled by him, him staying to ONE side.
But I can tell you right now that it makes our relationship so much better. Jake is now so tired at night that he BEHAVE ! Yes, I know, it’s hard to believe !
And, I also have to say, Cesar (the Dog Whisperer) IS right. When you have a high energy dog, the solution to have a great relationship with it is to EXERCISE.
I think I have a great time with Jake because I used to run with him. He is used to me and we have our habits. When we ran (before my joints became so sensitive), he always did it, to my left, and never ahead of me. I also got him use to some command words, like RELAX, which means go slower and TURN, which meant to turn on the next sidewalk. And I am convinced that our running together is why biking together works so good.
Of course, the first time, Jake was so used to walk/run on the sidewalk, that he was scared to stay in the street (I know, I have a well behaved dog 
). But I first waited until the traffic time had passed on before going biking and it helps. Now, we can bike in any traffic conditions.
I also noted that when Jake gets into real biking, dogs can bark at him and people can walk/run by him, he doesn’t care. He is so busy running that he doesn’t pay them any attention.
Jake is funny when he is running though. I can see when the switch in his brain goes to GO. Let me explain. He walks fast and suddenly, he wants to run. And I mean RUN. And so he runs, until I get scared and tell him RELAX JAKE, RELAX ! Only at that moment, he goes back to walking fast, looking at me as if I was a weak character, as if I was a pansy (which I am, really. Sorry Buddy, I will not break my arm/leg so you can have a taste of freedom).
But this is what I learned from biking with Jake :
- Walk/Run with your dog first, so you can both develop habits. I believe that falling while walking is way different from falling from a bike ride.
- Bring a POOP BAG. I think that all that exercise gets their system working. Jake stopped running in front of one of our neighbor and left a “surprise”.
- Don’t let your dog decide what you do or where you should go. You are in charge and, believe me, your furry friend WILL follow everywhere if you are a good pack leader.
- Encourage your furry friend and tell him what to do. I always tell Jake what to do and what is expected from him. It’s the best way to have him obey me. Otherwise, he does what he wants and goes in front of me.
- Have fun.
My dog is a different dog when I exercise him. Try it and enjoy the difference !
