[Runt]

I'm about to get back in to running. I may eventually do 5-10k runs but i will be doing mostly for fun/health. I want to take my girl with me. Looking for pointers on distances to start with. I'm going to be starting slow myself with probably more walking than running to begin. My girl is 9 months old so i'm not going to be training hard, maybe be up to jogging a few miles by summer. I will mostly be doing cross-country type terrain, not paved roads. Thanks in advance! :thanx:

 

[MeadowCat]

She shouldn't be jogging with you until her growth plates are closed, typically around the age of 18 months. Otherwise you can damage her joints.

 

[Whiskey]

I'll go ahead and second what MeadowCat said there. It's important not to do any forced exercise whatsoever (bike riding, jogging, agility, etc) with a dog until they are fully mature and their growth plates are closed. Even 1/4 of a mile can be damaging to joints that are not mature.

 

[Adara]

I'll third that advice. I do let my dogs free run as much as they want from puppyhood on. I do not ever do forced exercise (that means me holding leash while they run even IF they are having fun, but ME controlling how hard/fast they go) until growth plates are closed.

 

[Minichunks]

I am happy I found this post. Though I am not getting a pup until next spring, I do plan on excercising with him. Obviously I will now wait until he is mature enough to handle it, but my question now is can you do any damage by rigorous outdoor playing or going on unleashed hikes in the woods?

 

[Adara]

I am happy I found this post. Though I am not getting a pup until next spring, I do plan on excercising with him. Obviously I will now wait until he is mature enough to handle it, but my question now is can you do any damage by rigorous outdoor playing or going on unleashed hikes in the woods?

That should be fine. I take my puppies otu with adults about 12-14 weeks on our off leash rmops at the rivers, etc. I do shorten the time and then go back out with adults. But they build up stamina pretty fast and they go at their own pace.

 

[Cairo's Mom]

That should be fine. I take my puppies otu with adults about 12-14 weeks on our off leash rmops at the rivers, etc. I do shorten the time and then go back out with adults. But they build up stamina pretty fast and they go at their own pace.

Hey, where do you take them to for off leash romps? I am in Sacramento also and have no where, besides dog parks, to do that.

 

[cuddlbug00]

I used to jog with my dobie and it went great, she absolutely loved it. Just make sure the dog is good and leash trained to not get in front of you because a friend of mine who runs with her dog gets tripped up all the time when the dog criss crosses in front of her.

 

[Herb2relax]

You could use the time now before she is 18months for training. Walk her and teach her the things you want her to know. Get her used to being on both sides, rear crosses, over(for me to get her to scoot over/out), easy(slow down), left and right. I also used it to teach no chasing anything while we are out meaning no lunging to the end of the leash at squirrels, cats or anything. That included motorcycles which are her favorite! I know when I hear one she really wants to watch it. When we are riding the bike or jogging (yes, I just recently took up jogging not long but we are working on it) I do slow to let her observe the motorcycles.