Behaviour is one of the main reasons I started to look into canicross with my dog (originally I only had one!) because she is a husky cross collie, rescued as a stray and she suffered with separation anxiety when I first had her. I had tried many other methods of training with some success but just wanted her to be calm and happy, which seemed nearly impossible to begin with. A friend had suggested I try canicross and it was something I had never thought of because I didn’t consider myself a runner and wasn’t aware you could buy the hands free kit. Once I got started with the canicross I found that she was much calmer after her runs and much more relaxed about being left after her routine morning run. The other benefit I noticed, once we started to meet up with others, was that when we were canicrossing she wasn’t being reactive with other dogs. Initially, she will still try to eyeball other dogs when we first meet them but when we are running, she will run shoulder to shoulder with other dogs quite happily because she is focused on her job. What canicross allowed me to do was socialise her in a safe and controlled environment and has meant that not only is she a calmer dog at home, but she is also a calmer dog out and about. Canicrossing isn’t yet widely recognised as a sport but many dog owners are beginning to discover it and along with it, the benefits that canicross can have for your dogs’ behaviour. I’m not a qualified behaviourist but I’ve seen the effect of canicross on many, many dogs now and when it comes to behaviour, it seems to provide a secure outlet for a dogs’ energy which you don’t find with many other ‘doggy’ activities. So that is why I have chosen ‘behaviour’ as my canicross word associated with ‘B’ 🙂
