6 month old puppy wants to run

barbiegirl

Sindy, is now 6 months old and getting big. She's a retriever/spaniel and gets walked every day. However these days she really wants to run. I know all the talk about her joints etc., hence why I'm asking. I don't mind getting fitter with her and jogging (God knows I need it), but will it damage her. The distance is about 2km, which we walk in 20 minutes, then we go around the park for an extra 10 minutes, is it ok to build this up to a run yet?

Paul91

she's gorgeous

if she was my baby and she wanted to run i'd just take it easy, maybe walk - jog - walk - jog and see how she gets on, if she's in pain she'll stop

barbiegirl

Pretty much what I was thinking, I couldn't job that far myself either way ;-)

andreac

I personally wouldnt run her too much yet, bar the free running shes already doing when on a walk.

Shes far too young to be jogging/running any sort of distance yet as her bones/joints are not fully formed yet.

She wont be in pain now from running but could affect her later, so i would hold off from that type of running yet until shes at least a year old or more. This type of running could cause problems for her if you start now. She wont know when to stop herself so you need to restrict it now and wait til shes mature to bring her for long walks/running.

barbiegirl

Defo don't want to hurt her.

Cipher

Hi Barbiergirl, running should be a problem on soft ground.

There's a big difference between walking on concrete and soft grass, with low impact of your pups joints.