# German Shepherd Bike runs



## ShepherdHeaven (Feb 12, 2010)

Hey all,

Me and the Dog(Topanga) are starting to use a bike for runs in the mornings and afternoons on my lunch break from work. How long is a good run for her. I tend to go about 10min as a full Gallop with her than about 4-5 min of a cool down. That seems to do the trick but I am wondering if she needs to go a little longer or what. Thanks a ton


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Just like with people, jogging long distance is better. When I'm biking my dog, his primary gait is a trot. I vary the speed from a fast trot to a slow trot with an occasional full out run in order to build his heart and lung capacity and to use all of his muscles. I keep an eye on him and watch how hard he's breathing to determine his speed.

I regularly went 6 to 8 miles at a time and that only took the edge off him.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

I'm with Elaine, slow down and have her trot for longer period instead of running her full out for 10. A few years ago I trained my mixed breed for a 20 km (12.5 mile) endurance test (the AD) of trotting at speed with me on a bicycle. To build up her stamina and endurance, almost all our biking was done at an easy trot for her. To help condition her, we did short burst of running, only a few minutes at a time, never more than five minutes.


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## Melgrj7 (Jul 5, 2009)

My dogs will do 14 miles at a steady trot. They could probably do longer too. We normally do about 4-5 miles at a steady trot and will do a full out run for a minute or two if they want to. I don't let them do full out runs when we do longer distances.


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## mongol777 (Aug 10, 2009)

Do you guys avoid pavement? What is the running surface in general - earth, grass, etc?


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Most people can not avoid pavement and that's what my dog runs on.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Pavement is fine if the dog is at least 18 months old, and you take precautions such as don't run them on pavement that you wouldn't be willing to walk barefoot on. You can also use something like mushers secret to protect their paw pads when on pavement in hot weather, or pavement in winter when there could be salt present.


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## mongol777 (Aug 10, 2009)

Thank you! We just started with the bike - about 2 km every morning (to and from the park). She is 1 year old. I try to avoid pavement for now. Installed this device on the bike - WalkyDog Bike Leash | Walky Dog Bike Leash | Bicycle Dog Leash | Bike With Your Dog | Dog Bike Accessory - The Dog Outdoors and she mostly runs on the grass (we have pretty clean neighborhood and she runs mostly on front yards). I will try and find mushers secret - sounds pretty good.


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