PUBLISHED 01/09/2008
What's it like to run with 50 dogs?
It's an incredible feeling. I'm in a very high level of calm leading my pack. They're happy to follow me. When I'm running with 50 dogs, it intensifies everything I feel. That's what dogs do for pack leaders.
What reactions do you get when people see you running with 50 dogs?
People are pretty much speechless. My pack is extremely quiet. You can't hear us when we're coming, so by the time we reach people, they are there doing their own thing, and we just go by. It's like a shark when we pass by: Whoosh. People have respect for a shark coming next to them, and people respect 50 dogs. They're not my clients and they're not expecting us, so most are speechless, and they smile. We keep moving forward, thank you very much. My pack is so connected; it doesn't even look at their dogs. That is a beautiful thing.
What's the best advice you ever got about running?
The dogs teach me how to run. Running is a basic, animal thing. The human is different in the way he sees running, but dogs are always running. In their natural state, that's what dogs do. Running is innate to them. There are a lot of things you can learn from animals, and one of them is running.
Do you have one last piece of advice for readers?
I hope for them to one day experience running with their dogs. It's a wonderful thing, especially when you're the leader, and you're coming from a calm assertive place. Then dogs don't get nervous or afraid or tense. Instead, they get calm. Everybody should have a chance to enjoy running with their dogs: it's healthy, it's spiritual, it's emotional and it's instinctual. It covers everything. It's just like riding a wave. I love it. I don't understand how people don't walk or run a dog every day. It's great therapy for free. If we all walked and ran with our dogs, it would be a different world.
