If you arrived to this blog from the Runner’s World Forum or one of my social networking sites, you are probably wondering about the dog I use for my profile picture. This blog tells the story of The Running Corgi.
Jasper is the name of the dog in my picture. He is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and my marathon training partner. We first met at the local animal shelter. He was in one of the kennels waiting for somebody to adopt him. According to shelter officials, his owner grew tired of him and was dumped off at the facility a few days before Christmas. Like many shelter dogs, Jasper arrived at my house with some issues. He had been kept in a kennel most of his life, so his world was devoid of mental stimulation. He was kept indoors, not socialized as a puppy and was afraid of everything in the outdoor world. Like most of the herding breeds, he also had an immense amount of energy. The pent up energy combined with boredom manifested itself as a variety of behavior problems. Jasper would, for example, become violently aggressive whenever another dog entered his field of view. The sound of the wind whistling through the trees would frighten him so much that he would not leave the back porch. I took him to obedience training but his fears and aggression forced me to keep him separated from the class. It was not a promising situation.
If you have ever seen an episode of The Dog Whisperer, then you know that the show’s star, Cesar Millan, deals with dogs like Jasper on every episode. I thought he could provide me with more insight into Jasper’s problems so I read his book, Be the Pack Leader: Use Cesar’s Way to Transform Your Dog….and Your Life. In it, he explains the origins of dog psychological issues. He also spoke about the behavioral problems unique to certain breeds. When he got to the herding breeds (which include corgis), he noted that they must release their energy through a job that is mentally stimulating and physically demanding. If we don’t provide this breed with an appropriate job each morning, he noted that they will find one, such as digging holes or chewing furniture while we are away at work. He also noted the frustration of being “un- or underemployed” would result in the development of antisocial, aggressive or other unwanted behaviors. Jasper was having all those problems. Clearly he was ready for a job.
The instructor at my dog obedience class said I needed to drain Jasper’s energy if there would be any hope of training him. No problem, I thought. I was training for the Space Coast Marathon and taking him out on some runs would be a great opportunity for us to bond while draining his energy. I was using the Galloway’s Run-Walk Method at the time. To mark the walk-run transitions, I had this watch that would beep at regular intervals. It would beep five times for each of the last five seconds of the interval. After a few days of tagging along with me, I noticed that Jasper would hear the first beep and start walking and then start running at the end of the interval when he heard the beeping again. He did this without me giving him any clue. That’s how he became one of the first “Galloway Dogs”.
This story has a happy ending. Because Jasper is now my running partner, he goes all over. Sometimes he even trains with my running group. He makes sure I’m maintaining pace (by pulling the leash harder when I’m going too slow or slowing down when I go too fast). He keeps track of whether we are in a walk or run cycle. Best of all, he loves his new job as my running partner. His aggression is gone and all of the unwanted behaviors have disappeared. It has given him a purpose. That is how he became The Running Corgi.
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