Can I Take My Puppy Running With Me?
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I have a 5month old puppy. he is 12 lbs and shouldn’t get much bigger than 15lbs (he is already bigger than both his parents which are a havanese and a maltese).
I am thinking on taking him on 2-3 3km (1.8mile) runs with me as i begin training for a 1/2 marathon. I am very slow, he doesn’t get to more than a “trot” pace himself (i run at a pace of 6min/km – these runs take me about 18-20min).
I’ve heard it’s not good to “run” with a puppy. but would this be considered “running”?? he gets much harder workouts playing fetch in the backyard, but at the same time i would feel horrible if it turned out i was hurting him!!
thanks for all advice!
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Hi! Knowing the breed of your puppy, or his general body shape, would help me answer this question better. For example, if he is a pug, I would not advise running with him as strenuously as if he were a sheltie. Some dogs are better equipped for it than others, which probably makes sense.
If your dog is an athletic type, then I can tell you what my vet told me (I plagued her to be specific on this question, as I wanted to run with my dog as soon as possible). She said no running at all during the growth-plate developmental stages, i.e., up to six months old. Sprints and play-running on grass was fine, but nothing more than a quarter mile, and nothing at all on pavement faster than a walk.
At six months old, she said I could increase distances to a mile, and by eight to ten months, I could increase past two. She advised using common sense and increasing the distance a little at a time, and also running only lightly or not at all on hot days. Be mindful that your dog can only sweat through his paws and his tongue, and that even a short fur coat is very hot when the body temperature rises.
Generally, the smaller the dog, the faster it should reach full growth and so the sooner you can run with it. My dogs are border collies; medium-sized dogs who are made for endurance. One is a year and a half; the other is nine months, and they both come with me on road runs up to five miles, and trail runs for as long as the three of us can go.
I wish you a lot of joy with your running buddy! Also, be sure to leash-train him well before you start running together; it will save your rhythm.