As it was such a beautiful morning, and because I was up early enough, Nethy and I decided to get our gear on and drive to Vogrie Country Park for the beginners Canicross Scotland session.
I run with Nethy all the time and so although I was interested in CaniX I figured I was already doing it, so why bother going along to join a club? But I'm really glad we did! Quite a large group had turned up, some regulars and some new. We were given a form (disclaimer) to say we were responsible for our own safety and that the group leaders are not PTs or dog trainers. I paid £1 and was given a dog harness, bungee line and waist harness to try out. I usually run with a regular dog lead and whenever possible Nethy gets off her lead. The point about CaniX is that you're running with your dog leading you, so it's always on a long line (part of which is like a bungee cord so you don't get yanked about as the dog increases it's pace). The line is attached at one end to your dog's harness and the other end is attached to you via a waist harness. This effectively means you are running hands free while still being attached to your dog.
The beginners went into a field next to the car park and had a practise run. It was rather amusing to begin with as Nethy was very excited and just wanted to jump up and try to bite the line! She is not great around other dogs and I was worried she'd be stressed out by the whole experience, but I could tell straight away that she was having fun. After a few lengths of the field we set off on a 2km loop around the park on some very nice trails. Apart from a poo stop and a scary moment when I thought she might pull me into the stream she did brilliantly! She ran the full length of the line and listened to my commands.
CaniX has a set of commands that originate from the ones used by mushers leading sled dogs. Some examples are 'hike on' which means 'go' - this one was good for me cause when Nethy hears me shouting 'Go' she always has a mad turn, so not ideal for running in a pack! Others are 'hike hike' which is 'go faster', 'on by' - go past an interesting dog/person/object, 'gee' - turn right and 'haw' - turn left. Of course you can use any commands you want, but I like the idea of Nethy running to the same commands as sled dogs.
We were all grinning like Cheshire cats when we got back to the car park. It was quite a thrill running with a pack of humans and their dogs! Some people went home at this point, but I decided to go round a longer (5k) loop with some of the others. This included a woman called Viv and her husband Ali, who are also from Haddington. They have 5 dogs...2 Malamutes and 3 Huskies! Of course I was in love with every one of them, and it has made me want a Malamute even more than before. There were 4 of us, and Viv and I were quite well matched fitness wise, so we ran together with Husky 'Storm' running out front with Nethy. I have never seen Nethy look so happy. She was shoulder to shoulder with the other dog and didn't bat an eyelid!
I've never run in a group. I'm a solitary runner so this was well outside my comfort zone too. I thought that because the dogs were with us it would be less intimidating, and I was right. I did run faster than I normally would on the first lap, but that's not a bad thing. I have to say I really enjoyed it, and the people were very friendly. Viv's husband is planning a few ultra runs this year, so that should help inspire me too.
On Monday night we'll go and meet the group in Dalkeith Country Park for a headtorch run, which should be great fun! As expected I've been online looking at harnesses and lines as I loved running hands free. It would be ideal when we're in the hills and there are sheep around. I also had a quick look at Malamute puppies for sale! Nethy needs a little pack of her own!
All round a very good experience, and something quite different for me and the dog :)
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