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Running with my dog???

542 views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  Novarobin 
#1 ·
I always planned on having Chatham as my running partner. I knew I had to wait at least a year until he was grown enough to run with. He's almost a year and a half now and I have been slacking on my running. I have taken him out recently on short runs to see how it goes. I realize that dogs are like people and have to build up their endurance, etc.,so we have been taking it slow. Tonight we went to a track. I don't think the distance was a problem for him b/c I was lazy and ended up taking walking breaks for a couple of laps. When I walked, I let him off leash (it is cold and snowing/raining, no one was around) and he ran ahead and back and played with Kaper, so I don't think he was too tired. By the way, I am slow runner, more of a jog. Anyway, my concern is his gait. Kaper, our GSD, is larger and has a very smooth gait with all four legs going. Chatham does more of a gallop, two paws together, bouncing. He does this when he runs free in a field too. At times, he did the smooth gait but mostly the gallop. Is this going to hurt him? Will he learn to run more smoothly or is he fine the way he is?
 
#3 ·
You should wait until they are done growing, which is not until two - so if you want to do SHORT runs with him now that's probably ok but nothing major until the summer (short is 1mile or less). it's not about their ability to run, generally they have more than enough stamina/energy even as a young pup - but about damaging growing joints. It's also not the same as running off leash, where they control the speed, duration, pace...(even if you try to see if your pace is ok on leash - they will do what they can to keep up, but it isn't natural).

Once you start, try to find softer surfaces (which by the way, I hear makes for a much better workout for you!). Grass, dirt, anything but pavement. At least minimize the pavement (I can't avoid it all together in the city but keep Rock on the grass as much as possible).

I run 5x a week with Rocky, we started just before he turned two.
 
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