I have been searching and can't quite find an answer. My dog is almost 17 months. We jog 2-3 miles per day, 2-3 times per week. When we leave the house, she is perky and eagerily always walking a few steps ahead of me (on my left side). When we are done (we walk the last 4 blocks), I am litterally 3-4 steps ahead of her and constantly encouraging her & pulling her leash to keep up. She is in great shape, nice and thin, eats well and I wait until the weather cools down. We take a 10 min break during the jog and when we get home, she lays on her side and is panting heavily. We don't consistently run the whole way, we will walk when I get tired, but I should be the one trying to keep up with her right? What's going on?

Just for clarification, did you condition your dog to this 2-3 miles or just start with doing that? IMO, it's important to build up...

To me, if you have conditioned her, it could be a health issue...has she had a recent physical? How long before/after she eats are you running her?

We started running a few mos ago. 1/4 mile, then 1/2 and so forth. Now "I" am at 2-3 miles, but I just can't understand why she seems so tired on the walk home. I am about 4 steps ahead of her and slightly pulling her leash, telling her to hurry up. She seems very healthy and is in good shape. I don't understand what it is, other than her being young, but she's old enough to run 3 times a week. I'm thinking of having an echo on her heart. That is the only thing I can think of. Boxer's are very prone to that & she came from a BYB so who knows about the parents....

I figured you would have worked her up to that, but just thought I'd ask for clarification...

Heart condition is what initially crossed my mind too...MoJo, my last dog had a sinus arythemia, so I learned a little about canine cardiovascular at that time...he did pant heavy when running, and after, I do recall him breathing deep while laying on his side, but the vet said it was nothing to be concerned about, that in fact a lot of athletes have the sinus arythemia thing too...

Update when you find out.

Thanks for the info Michele. I'll ask if someone from the Boxer club knows where I can use an echo. So do you think we can keep running the same distance? Or should I only take her when I run a shorter distance? She DOES pant heavily and lays on her side when we get home, but after 5-10 mins, she is up and causing havoc again. We take breaks during our run also. I've noticed the days we only go for a walk, she is 2 steps ahead of me walking back home, like when we leave the house...

Forgot to mention, she eats around 8 am, and we go for our run, around 6 pm. Then she eats around 9 pm.

Edited by Alex Corral (07/02/2007 10:39 AM)
Edit reason: Spelling

It is a long shot, but is there anyway she gets bored on runs and therefore lags behind? Like on a walk the dog can sniff and look around, but running the dog must keep a very consistant trot? How long does the run take total?

I hesitate to say this in case there is a health problem, but can the dog be put into "drive" at the end of a run, or when lagging behind? For example would she be interested in chasing one of her toys if it was thrown out in front of you, or would she seem too tired for that and ignore it or go for it halfheartedly?

I know my dog can lag behind (a few meters) at times when I bike ride with him (off leash). He is the type to get easily bored. At anytime in an hr long bike ride he can bolt up ahead if he catches an intersting scent on the wind, or play fetch if we stop at a creek so I know he has plenty in "reserve".

Use your own discresion if you want to try something like this.

Keep us posted on the health checks.

I don't think it is a health issue. I had a boxer who would go all day back when I was a kid and could do so.My freinds Boxer could not evan after years of being together and trying. Also my last put hundreds of miles along side me on the bike but he would lag especialy when starting to lose interest. I would take it easy to get him in condition and then just except what you get. One more thing be easy as we pushed to hard at a younger age and his knees were shot at 7 years old. We started way to young I learned from that mistake!

Jennifer, you know I had thought the same. Before we started running as much, we'd jog a bit, then walk, then jog, then walk. When we'd get to the nearby park, we'd play tug or fetch, etc. She had a lot of energy left. Then, I'd put her in a free and let her sniff near the creek. She'd be fresh all the way home.

Now, when we run (total time 60-75 mins), we run more than we walk, at a pace of about 6 mph. When I get tired we walk, then run. We usually run to that same creek and I let her jump in for a few mins , water just under her belly. We will prob go for a jog today, I will run a little less and if she's lagging, I'll pull out her orbee or tug and see her reaction. She could just be bored, but when we get home she acts exhausted.

Mitch, so you're saying your Boxer could go all day, but your friend's couldn't? Even after years of trying? as in running? Was that dog overweight? or what was the reason it couldn't? Just a different temperament? I agree with you, I've heard/read a dog gets better excercise with short burst of speed, then breaks here and there. I don't want my dog to pay for this later on, but I don't think 9-10 miles per week is too much for a young, healthy dog. If she just doesn't have the drive for it, that's ok too.

Hi Alex,

I'm inclined to think it's not a health issue either - she's not even a year and a half yet - could be she's just not mature enough for regular exercise of this sort. Even though you've been working on physically conditioning her up to what she's doing now, she's still a young girl... I started trail running with my boy at this age (working up to a few miles at a time) and he definitely slowed toward the end of the runs. He still had drive, as he'd chase a squirrel at a moments notice, but he tired out, lost interest in just following me, and slowed himself down if there was nothing stimulating to react to. As was mentioned, young dogs (and some older ones) just lack a calm focus and can get bored easily.

If you think genetic history may be contributing to a possible health problem, by all means see a vet, but I think she may grow out of this if it's just in relation to running by your side. Are there other occassions when she exhibits this type of tiring - does she ever play for long periods with other dogs and have the same issue?

~Natalya

I run about 9-12 miles per week with my dog at about an 8 minute mile pace. She frequently will lag behind once we settle into the run.

I think the lagging is more due to boredom -- at least in my case. I have been bringing a tug now on our runs and breaking up the running with short sessions of tug and carry. She certainly doesn't appear to be running out of energy when I pull out the tug or if I let her off leash to run into a stream.

This discussion just made me think of something else Alex. I set the pace of the run at what is comfortable for me -- I wonder if my pace is just not matching a comfortable pace for her to maintain on a steady basis? I may try to experiment with trying to let her set a pace and see what happens.

I also want to add -- make sure you cool down after the run --meaning transition from a run to a fast walk to a more moderate walk to a slow walk over 10-15 minutes or so.

I want to say though that I would get her evaluated by a vet to eliminate any health concerns. The part you mention about her laying on her side and panting heavily does not sound right to me.

Keep us posted.