I'm a lot better at sensing when my dog is getting tired. I'm pushing her a lot, lot less than I did the first couple of days. Here's what I'm seeing though. She's sleeping less and at night (like before and after dinner) she's really restless in her kennel and very active when we have her out in the living room or something.

This morning I took her out for a walk for our first sunshine day in several days. She was feeling pretty lazy and apt to just lay down in the grass. After a frustratingly slow walk I only had about 10 minutes to get back to my office for a phone meeting. I decided to "try something new" and jog back home.

Let me be clear, I am not in any way "in shape". Two summers ago I was running enough to do two or three 10 minute miles. That's my personal best for that last 20 years or so. Last summer I'm not sure I ran at all. One of the things I'm looking forward to is getting back in shape and running with Suzzie.

Our run home was very successful. She kept perfect pace with me and only occasionally nipped at my pants. It's hard to estimate how far we ran... 1/4 mile maybe? At the end of the run (at our backyard fence gate) I was quite winded and she was ready for more.

Here's what I'm thinking. That little stretch of road is fairly distraction free. I'm thinking I could do several (I don't know how many) "wind sprints" of jogging back and forth. Or maybe jogging back and walking forth. The point is that we wouldn't be very far from home and we'd have definite stopping points to rest. I'm sure she'd outlast me.

However, I'm worried about what it's going to do to her developing joints and bones. Of course, I'm also concerned about what it's going to do to my aging joints and bones

What do you guys think? Too much? A good outlet of energy?

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Here's what I'm seeing though. She's sleeping less and at night (like before and after dinner) she's really restless in her kennel and very active when we have her out in the living room or something.

Some of this may just be that she's getting older.
Have you tried any puppy toys to engage her while outside? A ball on a long string is a good one to get the pup moving fast and get her tired, or roll a tennis ball for her to chase and retrieve. This will tire her without you having to cover too much ground. if you don't already have one, buy a lightweight long line for her. This enables you to let her run and play, but still gives you a way to catch her if necessary.

I think most here will tell you that she's too young for much in the way of 'jogging', even if it's just for 1/4 mile or so.

Also, one thing that I remember from mine as a pup; keep any running/intense playing limited to oustide. Getting her worked up in the house, where she can't release that energy will result in her being more hyper...

Also, work that little brain of hers with marker training; this goes a surprisingly long way in tiring a pup out...

yea, I'm sure her increased energy levels are because she's getting older. i have the "official leerburg 20' cotton lead line" and love it! she doesn't have a natural retrieve instinct. so when I throw the ball, she's not apt to bring it back. also, it doesn't seem like her prey drive is really that high. she's only about 50% likely to chase after a thrown ball.

While i'm on the subject of weird puppy behavior. she's also not that interested in treats. when i'm trying to market train she gobbles them up fast enough, but out on walks and stuff she's pretty ambivalent. when she's at the end of her lead and I'm trying to get her to recall I'll squat down with a treat in my hand and she'll just lay down. If I act all excited calling her name and such, she'll eventually come but still not interested in the treat in my hand. maybe i just don't have the right treats.

is it pretty solid recommendation from this group to simply wait until she's a year old before trying to jog with her any distance? she really seemed to enjoy running with me this morning the short distance we went. seems like for short distances, running with me isn't much different than chasing a ball.

 Quote: doug alcorn

yea, I'm sure her increased energy levels are because she's getting older. i have the "official leerburg 20' cotton lead line" and love it! she doesn't have a natural retrieve instinct. so when I throw the ball, she's not apt to bring it back. also, it doesn't seem like her prey drive is really that high. she's only about 50% likely to chase after a thrown ball.

If you can improvise a toy on the end of a string or thin rope and play with her like you might tease a cat, she may show more interest. It's the rapid, jerky movements that will encourage her prey drive to kick in. When mine was a pup she didn't chase after balls much either, but she loved to go after anything on a string, or even a knotted up hand towel that I put a lot of movement into.

As far as the treats, you could try bits of cooked chicken or cheese, and try to time her exercise before you feed her, so that she's hungry. You are battling the distraction of the oustide world, so that treat has to be really enticing.

As far as the running, I will leave it to someone else to comment; with a smaller dog I'm not so sure how much of a concern it is...

If you are going to jog with her I would keep her on soft surfaces like the grass or dirt and maybe have her at a fast trot for a block, then walk for a block etc. You don't want to overdo it at this age.

P.S. "Fetch" is easily taught with chaining (back-chaining, in fact). This is a kind of training and has nothing to do with a real chain.

It means separating an action into its components and teaching each one separately before chaining them together.

So "fetch" could begin inside the house, by teaching the dog to put the toy/ball into your hand. And the tossing of the item can also begin inside the house, tossing it only a few feet away.

I'm going to quote Old Earth Dog Bob Scott again: "The retrieve is not taught by throwing the ball and hoping for the best." LOL

 Quote: connie sutherland

I'm going to quote Old Earth Dog Bob Scott again: "The retrieve is not taught by throwing the ball and hoping for the best." LOL

That is a great quote, and one I need to take to heart, I would love it if yote would actually play fetch instead of just chasing the ball!!

 Quote: jennifer lee

 Quote: connie sutherland

I'm going to quote Old Earth Dog Bob Scott again: "The retrieve is not taught by throwing the ball and hoping for the best." LOL

That is a great quote, and one I need to take to heart, I would love it if yote would actually play fetch instead of just chasing the ball!!

It's pretty easy to teach if you chain it and if you start with handing you the ball. Well, even handing over the ball has components: touch the ball; pick up the ball; give me the ball.

I know that two-ball is a good way too, but chaining is so much fun and the dog gets to have all that marker work (confidence-building marker work!) .....

I firmly believe that jogging/running at too young of an age can lead to bone problems. Teaching the dog to fetch is exactly what I did with my puppy. Her running speed is entirely up to her instead of me pushing her to go this fast or that fast, etc. When I see her slow down a little or signs of fatigue, the ball gets picked up. Having said that, if it's 1/4 of a mile once every few days, I wouldn't think that would be harmful to the dog. I think the things people say here, refer to people jogging with puppies at human intervals (in miles, etc), forcing the animal to keep up. A good example of this is below.

I train at the park in my neighborhood and just last week I watched a man on rollerblades go by, complete with a dog on a leash trying everything it could just to keep up. It was a small dog breed, and probably no more than 6 months old. Short little legs, etc, and this guy is rollerblading at a decent clip and the dog was struggling to stay 6 feet behind him. I mean if you know anything about dogs or have researched, or just read posts on here, you know this is bad for the animal. I felt sorry for the little guy.

So here's my take away. Fetching a ball is better than some definitions of jogging because:

• Jogging usually means a human is trying to run at a constant speed for a fairly long distance. Puppies need to set the pace and duration.
  
• Jogging is usually done on concrete. This hard surface is rough on puppies pads and their developing joints/bones.
  
• The jogger is typically paying attention to their own running. This means it's hard for a jogger to both run safely and watch how the puppy is doing.
  

Playing fetch in the backyard means the pup is: running on a soft lawn, sets their own running pace, doesn't run far, and can easily stop when needed.