Jogging with a 9 1/2 old puppy questions

[bonitabaggett]

EDIT: 9 1/2 MONTH old, my bad

So I’d like to start jogging with my puppy (standard goldendoodle). Most of the stuff I’m reading online is to wait until maybe a year and a half though.

That’s fine, except for he’s already 55 lbs, so I’d rather start this process early before he completely yanks me around haha.

I guess I’m wondering how far can I go safely for some “training sessions”. I just did about 3/4 mile around the neighborhood at a 15 minute pace. Is doing that once a week or so going to harm my puppies growth plates?

 

[rjs330]

@bonitabaggett It's because of your puppies weight that you need to be careful.

i wouldn't start anything until at least one year old, ultimately if you rush to do it now, you'll end up with issues later down the line, is it worth the risk?

Speak to you vet for advice.

 

[hazelelponi]

@bonitabaggett Talk to your vet for specific advice, a lot of this depends on your puppy's specific body structure, muscle tone, and confirmation overall.

Anecdotally - my vet said any amount of light jogging is fine for puppies under 1 yr as long as you offer them breaks, watch them for excessive panting and slowing down (signs of fatigue) and don't force them to run with you. It takes a LOT of repetitive forced exercise to cause significant joint damage.

 

[bonitabaggett]

@hazelelponi Yeah that’s kinda what I’ve been thinking too, I think online articles about “jogging” are assuming you’re going for 10 mile runs. I’m just talking about maybe a mile here, haha.

 

[chinny702]

@bonitabaggett Any running with a dog at this age can be problematic. Even a mile of continuous running can cause issues later on. If the dog is tired and wants to either walk or stop and lay down let them, only the dog knows when it needs to slow down and forcing them to do anything else is detrimental.