A vet told me that with GSD's they didn't recommend jogging... there were no limits associated with this though.

I've started trying to do a 1-1/4 mile slow jog with my to GSD's on weekday mornings. It's an out and back, and we stop in the middle for a short break and some sniffing time . I need to lose some weight and the dogs need some energy used up lol. Eventually we'll try and go further but this is good to start with.

Is this ok? we're on a sidewalk so it is a hard surface. The only alternative is the street which is 'blacktop'. They're both 3 so we're plenty past developmental stages I think.

Don't know about why a vet would think a GSD shouldn't run if the dog doesn't have any issues.
When you start jogging you're going to find that the GSD's natural gait everyone in the world admires covers alot of ground with seemingly no effort. I think you're going to be jogging faster than you want, that is if you want to keep up. lol

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

Not sure... It's not my vet so he doesn't know my dogs; they don't have hip problems that I know of.

The first couple of times I think we went faster only because they were pulling me along!! We're doing better now. Most of the time they're to one side of me, or if I let them just in front of me (which is not often because if they want to stop suddenly I end up on my derriere!

My shepherd isn't old enough to go with me but I plan to take him. I do not know who will be more disappointed, him or me.

My boxer goes three times a week 5-6 miles no problem.

The only caution I would throw in, and it's not so much a caution as a suggestion, is to vary the running surface as much as your circumstances allow.

Even if it's only once a month, try and jog with the dogs on a trail or grass. A nearby school, park, or the woods is a nice change of pace for all of you, and it's a good for everyone's (you too) bones/joints.

Its the hard surface thats the biggest concern, dogs don't have Nikes, and over time even people develop problems with hard surface running.
You could try taking one dog on alternate days, or better still get onto the dirt. Hills are superior, up and down for development of fitness and joint strength.
Try a local soccer/football pitch,jog slowly along the length then semi sprints (or best you can do) along the shorter width)
This is called interval training and develops serious levels of fitness. (start slowly though)
With any running don't worry about distance but run for time. Ideally Week 1 should be 3 X 20mins runs, Week 2 is 3x 30min and week 3 is 2x 40mins. The critical element is week 4 in that you start back at week 1 again. Its called peroidisation and increases performance whilst avoiding injury and over training.
There's not much written on this subject, and you are right to ask. I suggest researching a beginners guide to running for people as many principles will transfer to your dogs.
Personally my dogs accompany me on on every other run on dirt, and I run 3 times a week.

Good luck

Mark

My GSD is about 3 1/2 years old. We started jogging when she was about 2. We do 3 1/2 to 4 miles over 30 minutes a few times a week, walking another 10 minutes after the jog to cool down. She looks forward to the jog and always has more to go farther, even in the middle of a hot Florida summer at 2 in the afternoon. she is always right beside me with the leash loose. In fact, I have recently started doing the jog with her off leash.

FWIW, it is much easier on the joints jogging on the asphalt as oppossed to concrete. Believe it or not, the asphalt has a lot more give. My situation allows me to do almost 90% of my jog with me on the asphalt and the dog on adjacent grass. Anytime I cannot comfortably place and keep my hand the asphalt, the dog wears boots even though she does most of her jog on the grass.

I can't think of a more natural gate than the jog for a dog with maybe the exception of a bulldog. It's often difficult with vets to decipher what they really mean with blanket statements like this and even I have to take what alot of vets say with a grain of salt or at least a question of "why is that?". If someone can't back up statements with the reason why I usually find that information to be in the land of old wives tales and best left in a roadside ditch. Often times a vet's exposure to all the things that go wrong cloud judgement on the way people should have dogs. It's not a bad thing for them to connect dots but they do need to realize their sampling error as they only tend to see dogs with problems from running on hard surfaces or being run on concrete surfaces while too young rather than the dogs who have done so for years with zero issues.