Unfit for Duty

Preparing for a run at my house is an ordeal. From the dog getting all worked up and in the way at the first thought of running to my, as of late, wishy-washy son. Today he was a wash and did not want to go for a run because he wanted chocolate milk instead. However, the report I heard upon returning was that after approximately two minutes of my departure, once his chocolate milk was all gone, my son realized I had left and began screaming that he wanted his dad and his dog (cute, kind of… even cuter being told the story rather than witnessing it first hand – or ear).

So the dog and I set out on what I thought would be a fairly uneventful run. We even went further than we would have had my son been with us. The problem was, I don’t recall when the last time I ran with just the dog. In hindsight, I believe the stroller keeps the dog somewhat in line. Tonight, the dog started running in front of me, then to the left and to the right. That in itself is not too problematic. Although not conducive to good running form, I still have control of him when he runs out in front of me, for the most part – passersby beware. It’s when he begins to run behind me that I worry, and when he laps me – with only a six foot leash. I lost count of the number of times he clipped my feet from behind me. Once we got home I demoted him and declared him unfit for duty, which is a shame because I just praised his running prowess yesterday. After dinner, the dog and I had a long heart to heart talk and decided to take a step back and dedicate some time to remedial running obedience and etiquette (no tripping, no lapping). On second thought, I hope that before the next run we don’t have any chocolate milk and that my son will want to run with us.