# When Is He Old Enough to Start Running?



## hoplite6 (Jun 18, 2012)

So....Baron is five months now and still growing like a weed. He seems to change a bit every day. Most of his adult teeth are in except for those canines. He loves to fetch and run with his older brother Riley every day and I try to exercise him multiple times a day, work schedule and weather permitting. That being said...when do you think it's ok to begin taking him for runs? I am an avid runner and I am really hoping Baron will take to it and I am anxious to start with him. I know that I will need to start slow and add in short periods of jogging into his walks and build him up, I'm just worried about when is the right time to start this kind of activity? Is now ok, or do I need to wait a while longer. Does anyone have any experience, knowledge, or advice on this? Thanks.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

You can start jogging him if he's willing and able and you are willing to pace him. Start slow and see how he does. Some dogs are much more coordinated at this age than others and that will be a big factor in how fast and far he will be able to go. Be sure not to push him and give him breaks as he needs them.


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

Elaine ... can you elaborate a bit more? I've read and been told that you should wait until the dog is at least a year. 

I've wondered about this myself as Kyleigh could certainly run like the wind for hours at the off leash park ... but when I wanted to get her into pulling a sled, I was told to wait until she was at least a year. 

Thanks in advance!


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

I wouldn't have a pup pull a sled as these dogs aren't built to do that and it will cause an unnatural force on the body and my belief is it would be hard on a pup.

I've been running puppies and dogs since time began and have no issue with running a puppy so long as you let the pup determine how ready they are for speed and distance. The younger the pup, the slower and shorter the distance. The more coordinated and structurally sound a pup is will also determine the speed and distance.

There are a lot of people that have zero experience with running dogs or puppies that are totally freaked out by running a pup before the age of two years old. People with over angulated pups or people that aren't willing to see how their pup is doing and letting the pup determine how well he's able to run, could have an issue with soft tissue injuries and lameness. Hopefully, these people would figure it out and back off the exercise on their pups. 

These dogs were designed to be very active and run all day and I'm not going to stand in the way of that. That said, I'm not a fan of adding weight by backback or pulling sleds as it's not what the dog was designed to do.

Also some pups just don't have the energy for much exercise and are happy with just a walk around the block. My own pups couldn't get enough exercise and I was running them a slow jog of 3 miles by the time they were 6 months old.

The vast majority of owners don't exercise their pups anywhere near enough to begin with.


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