Think I'm with patrick philippeaux on this, I don't have trouble with the biking and the distance. I may have more issues with the surface you are running on. Is it pavement the entire time? Or a trail ride? Think the unforgiving hardness of pavement would NOT be too good for the dogs over time. Not like they have little Nike air soles to absorb some of the impact.

I'd prefer the trails for my dog, and to have them trained (and in an area where it was ok) to run near me off leash. I like the fact they can pace themselves a bit that way, rather than the potential 'forced' exercise if I have them on leash.

If your dog is driving you crazy with his energy, he's showing you he can take more. YOU need to be the brains behind the regime you come up with, but by 16 months my dogs could go quite a long distance, and definitely more than just 1 1/2 miles.

I think dogs have to be worked into shape a lil bit at a time. I walk my GSD 5k at least 2-3 times a week and after that we chill and play. (Quality Time ) I'm pretty new to this and the exp i've gotten has been from books and buddy K-9 officers in Miami dade county. Personally I like to play it by ear and just pay attention to my dog and the weather and hid hydration thoughout the day. Just my .02 cents.

In 2001 I was training for a 5 day 500km non-stop adventure race. Disciplines included mountain bike, trekking/running as well as sea kayaking. I live in a cool location.

Winter training included snow shoeing and cross-country skiing.

My dogs (in 2001 a 4yr old 85 lb. GSD and a 2.5 yr. old 40 lb. cattle dog) participated in much of the training.

The cattle dog ran up to 40 km mountain bike and on one occasion walked with me 85 km of very tough seacoast hiking trail in a 20 hour period. The 40kph bike was a tougher test for him.

My mountain biking buddies rated him as a "pro-class" equivalency, except for sections of open road. At 2 he would have killed (possibly literally) himself to stay with the group on "link" sections of road between single tracks. On technical sections he is far, far superior to mountain bikers. The few group rides of this nature my solution was to let him run his guts out, and then force a stop and cradle him until recovered. We both caught up on the single track sections. I also would step right into a brook with him and cradle him while sitting in the water...At 2 his recovery was very quick: massive tongue in such a small dog.

At 7 he is far more conservative.

In 2001 the GSD and cattle dog both covered 50 km backcountry skiing including maybe 2000 vertical metres with me in 12 hours all untracked and were no worse than I was at the end.

I could run for 2 hours on trails with both dogs and they did fine.

I don't run on asphalt, and neither do my dogs.

I did cut my own mountain bike trail designed especially for my GSD, who missed many rides that had faster sections or sections without water. It was a ride with a very difficult ascent (read, very slow biking: advantage : dog) and a highly technical descent (read, very slow, twisty) and two water stops on a 2.5 km loop. Even the big black GSD was faster than all bikers on this loop.

The dogs were in darn good shape. I recall one 8 hour snow shoe walk in which half way through I had two siberian huskies asleep on my snow shoes before an early end to their day, and my cattle dog destroying a stick.

Also, I followed adventure racing protocols for human feeding with my dogs: ie watch set on count down repeat for 30 minutes and snacking whether hungry or not. of course the dogs are always hungry...

I'd point out that I don't get injured from overuse injuries myself, largely because I think pounding miles on asphalt is not sensible...

My cattle dog is now 7 and completely sound. The GSD is now deceased but remained structurally sound to end of his life.

I was careful with both my dogs in puppy stages up to 18 months but in adulthood I exercised them hard but carefully, and they do fine. I think that dogs are capable of really long exercise, in particular the herding breeds. They can also go hard and generate heat, so long as given a chance of full recovery and cooling.

I am dead certain that many with structurally sound dogs underestimate the capacity of their dogs when properly conditioned and measures taken to avoid: 1) heat stress; 2) joint pounding on hard surfaces; 3) fat dogs.

Also, one great exercise I did with the GSD was to kayak with him running on an uninhabited section of river shore. He went in and out of the water, had a blast and was always cool.

rgds andrew may

Hi,

My pup is 7 months and lately he walks witout panting about a mile. Sometimes he runs .5 miles and walks the last .5 miles.

I usually play with him in the park where he gets his maj of excersise. In the play he runs like a sprinter- fast run for a short distance- few times after the ball. The moment he sits down, I try few more times and then the game ends.

But as stated earlier- should I make him brisk run for about a mile on the grass most of the time?

Rashmi

Andrew,

Your training regiment sounds very similar to mine. I live in the mountains and mountain bike, hike, trail-run, kayak, snow shoe and cross country ski regularly. My GSD's are always with me. The female is now 11 and, even though she is in great shape, has slowed down a bit, so she only goes on (relatively) short, slow trips with me.

My male just turned two and is 95 lbs. I routinely mountain bike 15-20 miles with him (with rest stops), snow shoe for hours, cross country ski for hours, hike for 20+ miles and kayak for hours with him swimming next to me (open water with the dog wearing a quality PFD.) I like the kayaking especially because it is non-weight bearing and keeps the dog cool. All of this is done between 6000 and 9000 feet elevation, with various elevation gains depending what we are doing.

I have never encountered any problems with the dogs wanting to stop. But I wasn't stupid either. As a former national-class collegiate athlete and current triathlete, I view it mostly as I would my own training program.

I didn't do too much until they were about 1 year old and even then, gradually built up their cardio base, just as I would for any human training program. I even go so far as to incorporate interval training into the running program for the dog. I increase food intake (caleries) as necessary and usually start out at a slower pace to allow the dogs muscles to warm up (kinda hard to make him stretch <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> ).

We do these things 5-6 days per week. Most people baby their dog. While that may be prudent when the dog is younger (under 12-18 months), it is doing the dog a HUGE disservice by not allowing him to reach his full potential. ANY adult dog that is structurally sound and in good shape should be able to run circles around anything you, as a human, do. If they can't, they are either a) out of shape, or b) physically unsound. And yes, that includes larger breeds too. (I do the same program for my 130 lb Great Swiss Mountain Dog that I do for my GSD's).

It just takes time and planning to develope a sound cardio foundation. It is no different than training a human athlete, both in terms of progress and results.

Scott, great to hear your story about you and your dogs.

It sounds like we are each the sort of active people willing to share our training with the dogs, and accept the consequences of canine care with respect to our own training agendas.

I have to say that since getting dogs I've left the road biking behind (including the time trials and the russian step drills), etc., and do a lot less groomed trail skiing.

I'm less fit, for darn sure, but who cares.

I've got mine well trained around ATVs and snowmobiles that I meet in the backcountry around here. I show dog control to everyone, whether necessary or not.

I recall taking some triathlete friends for a run once on a dog friendly route and the boys were upset that their fancy pants runners were going to get muddy...ha ha.

I've usually got a rotation going: two pairs drying out, one pair ready to go. The dogs dry out quicker.

rgds andrew may

In addition to keeping the dogs healthy and physically fit, putting the dogs through such a "training program" markedly improves their performance on the Schutzhund field, patrol work (older dog) and SAR work (younger dog). My female is now retired, but my young male can work MUCH longer, has more energy, has a higher tolerance for hotter weather and recovers MUCH faster than most dogs. Just like a highly conditioned human athlete, versus a regular person.

I view my dog(s) as athletes and condition them as such. While many people simply go out and do stuff with their dogs, when it comes to conditioning, I actually have a pre-determined "training schedule", incorporating speed work and endurance work, and a variety of intensities and distances, all with a very specific goal of having the dog in the absolute peak physical condition it can be.

I'm sure I take it a little more serious than most, but I view my own "training schedule" the same way. The only difference is that the dog just thinks it's a fun game, whereas I know it's a bit more than that.

When I go backcountry skiing, I know how much fun it is and how much the dog likes it. But I'm also keenly aware of how intense a work-out it is, especially for the dog when he is bounding endlessly through 2-4 feet of fresh powder!

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Best regards,