I am concerned with the effects of running on a treadmill or hard pavement for long periods. This is a normal practice in the military with working dogs. Could this be detrimental to their health?

My working dog and I run between 4 and 8 miles a day when our workload permits. She is a 5 year old GSD, and has shown no ill effects of this what so ever. We work on a treadmill every morning, and run on hard packed stone and blacktop in the evenings.

Any information you could share on this will be greatly appreciated.

I try to run my dog 5-8 miles a day, using a combo of treadmill and biking. So you are not alone....

Assuming the dog is healthy (hips and elbows are good) and the miles are added up slowly I see no problem. I try and keep the dog on grass, dirt or as a last resort, asphalt. Cement is a bit hard on their joints, just like humans.

The concern is that the growth plates, which give the bones their length, close and harden at full physical maturity, but prior to this they are subject to injury. The repeated concussion of jogging can be hard on the growing bones and joints and cause damage of various types. Pups left to move at their own pace are able to stop and rest as their bodies tell them to. When we take a young dog and force them to run (by literally dragging them along or through their desire to stay with us) they are unable to rest as needed. We don't always know when they need a break...

Most large breed dogs are physically mature around 18-24 months, so it is advised to give them before you start using forced exercise (or forced jumping higher than the hocks as well) and if possible, get x-rays of the hips and elbows so that you know they are in good shape.

Sounds like your partner is getting a wonderful amount of exercise! Keep it up! At her age, she is in her prime and should be running.

I moved this here from the other thread.....

It's pretty much common knowledge with most working line GSD owners that running young dogs on hard surfaces or over exercising can cause hip problems & possibly elbow issues later on.

The concussion on the skelletal system from continued 'jaring' can take it's toll. You don't want to 'stress' joints, especially developing ones, at least until growth plates close.

I don't have any 'site' bookmarked. But I am sure that you can find the info somewhere on LB or just by googling.

Some treadmills have some level of padding, but it is still repeated jarring to the skelletal system. Far worse on pavement or hard ground.

Not saying that there aren't some dogs that showed no damage from doing this...but you can far more that have suffered bad results from it. Enough for me to take note & not take that risk with my dogs.

I will add that this would also most likely apply to many other larger breed dogs. But my experience & knowledge is primarely of the GSD breed.

I know it is not great for people to run on pavement so it has to be the same for dogs. For Gravel or grass that would be totally natural so I can't see where it is going to to do much damage.

Thanks for the replies. I don't want to seem lazy asking for advice instead of searching for it. I have very limited internet access for the time, and searching for anything takes a very long time. Thanks for the help, and I will continue my PT regimen with Fama.