Jogging/Running with a puppy off lead?

[Mcpie]

Hi everyone, just had a quick question. I am aware that jogging with a puppy, at least on lead, can lead to harm that I, or any sane individual would want to avoid. However is it ok if the puppy is off lead? I.E, do they know better than to push themselves too far?

My pup is a German Sheppherd/Collie/Who the Heck knows or cares cross and is about 3 and a half months. I would love to jog a bit with him in the park, or do intervals etc, but I do not want to push him and was wondering if, off leash, it is ok to do so.

Anyone have some thoughts?

[Charliesmommy]

I absolutely would not jog with a pup that age, especially a GSD mix, as they are very prone to joint disorders. The first year is the most crucial time for their bones and joints and jogging could do some real damage. Even off-leash, the pup will not know its limits. Sure, he will quit when he gets tired, but who knows what effect it will be having on his joints for the future. I would advise to wait until he is one year and has completed most of his growing.

[Mcpie]

Thank you for the quick response-- I had come to the same conclusion but was hoping someone could sway me otherwise/provide some argument for how puppies will stop themselves before doing something stupid.

Oh, and his name is Charlie too :)

[Charliesmommy]

Awwwww......I know just what you mean. I was dying to teach my Charlie to play frisbee, but jumping is very bad for them in the first year too so we just worked on fetching the frisbee off the ground for several months. Now that he is older he is getting pretty good at catching it in the air.

I'd love to see some pics of your Charlie!

[Mcpie]

Yeah, I've had to resist the jumping too. As for the pics, let me know if these are too big and I can get smaller ones (am at work so just did a rush upload). As I said, his mother was apparently a collie/possible collie mix, and his father was a GSD.

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/8136/sspx0027ns6.th.jpg (http://img403.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sspx0027ns6.jpg)

Real young/around 7-8 weeks (not time stamped so I don't know any of these time frames except chronological)

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/9126/sspx0013ae9.th.jpg (http://img512.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sspx0013ae9.jpg)

Not as young.


http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/2193/sspx0054ot5.th.jpg (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sspx0054ot5.jpg)

Fairly recent..

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/1373/sspx0038by9.th.jpg (http://img513.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sspx0038by9.jpg)

A few days ago, trying to get his ball back from his buddy (a rather big black lab)

I would use more emoticons except it appears I have hit the image maximum, but your GSD looks fantastic if, as I assume, your avatar is him.

[sisco16]

thanks for the pics he is really cute I love his fluffy coat
you could take him swimming that was always a fun thing for koda
when she was a puppy.

[Charliesmommy]

but your GSD looks fantastic if, as I assume, your avatar is him.


Yes, that's my monster. Your Charlie is ADORABLE! I definitely see the collie in him.

[~Tucker&Me~]

Looks like he could possible be moslty Border, if not all.

Lots of people confuse tri colour BC's with mixed breeds or Bernese Mountain Dogs (OMG, I get this SOOO much :rolleyes:).

Cute whatever he is :).

~Tucker

[~Tucker&Me~]

Was he from the shelter or are you positive of his parents?

~Tucker

[Mcpie]

Was he from the shelter or are you positive of his parents?

Neither. It's funny, I was going to PM you asking what breed your dog is (I saw your banner in another thread), but I did a search and found out there is BC in yours. I hear from a lot of people that see BC in Charlie-- and while I see it, I'm not certain.

I got him from a farm, I guess you would call it a "oops" breeder. I saw neither of the parents however, so I am going purely on the word of the person who sold him to me, whom didn't appear overly knowledgeable about dogs/puppies and I think was a bit dishonest as to the age he sold him to me. However his health is currently great and he's doing well, so I'm not going to fret too much at this point since I'm certain it wasn't a BYB or puppy mill (since I bought him for so cheap, shot/checkup included). The man in question said GSD purebred father, and collie mother, though the mother may have been a mix herself (his words exactly). The one Charlie clearly does not have, is a BC's size-- he's going to be a fairly big boy.

Edit-- I agree entirely on the Bernese confusion. Though to be fair that is one of the reasons we picked him out of a very diverse litter. We had looked at purchasing a purebred Bernese, but having owned a large breed before (Rottweiler), and going through the short lifespan thing once, I decided to try a breed/mix/size that will hopefully last longer.

Edit 2-- Here are a few more pics that show his snout, which looks pretty darn collie to me. Having said that, he is learning at a very fast rate, but that could also be because this is the first time I have clicker trained a puppy.

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/7272/sspx0058gz6.th.jpg (http://img403.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sspx0058gz6.jpg)

http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/8923/sspx0003fz1.th.jpg (http://img368.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sspx0003fz1.jpg)

http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/4907/charlie4ar3.th.jpg (http://img395.imageshack.us/my.php?image=charlie4ar3.jpg)

Ok Ok.. the third is just another of him as a pup :)

Finally do you have more shots of your pup? From what I can see they look fairly similar.

[~Tucker&Me~]

May I ask how big he is? BC's come in a lot of sizes. My boy will probably be between 45-55 pounds. They can really be anywhere between 20-60 pounds.

He is too cute!

I do have more pics. Have you looked at some of my previous picture threads? I'll find some for you.

~Tucker

[~Tucker&Me~]

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56331

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55147

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52638

:D

~Tucker

[Mcpie]

Oh dear, they look a lot more similar than I thought ;)

My boy will probably be between 45-55 pounds. They can really be anywhere between 20-60 pounds.

Hard to say, of course. He was weighed relatively recently, I think a week ago, and was 22 pounds (at just over 3 months). He has gone through some rather extreme leg growth spurts since then. If I had to say, I'd say around 70 pounds, but that is a complete estimate. Your dog is gorgeous, and I must admit my denial of Charlie being a BC continues to weaken daily ;)

[noludoru]

He definitely looks very BC. However, I agree.. possible Collie snout! :D

Any bigger pictures? Those are quite small... We love pictures here, believe me. :D

[Mcpie]

Does clicking the pictures not yield a bigger one? I tried to thumbnail them for the sake of those who might have been interested in the actual question rather than pictures of the pup(s) :)

One of his ears was standing up today-- perhaps permanent? Will grab a shot in the morning (all of these pics are with my phone)

[jess2416]

Does clicking the pictures not yield a bigger one? I tried to thumbnail them for the sake of those who might have been interested in the actual question rather than pictures of the pup(s) :)


Yep they are bigger when they are clicked on...:) We love pics by the way ;)

[squirtsmom]

What a cutie. Good post from Charlies mommy. Got to be careful of the joints as pups. we have a Great Pyrenees puppy, and she gets a certain amount of ex ercise outside, and no more.

[Mcpie]

and she gets a certain amount of ex ercise outside, and no more.

If I might ask, what would your criteria be when making that decision? My pup gets a fair bit of exercise, primarily with his friends/walks and I see no definable way to determine when he has had too much, short of him lying down/not wanting to walk. Mind you, I almost always have to coax him away from the park when we're done, and off he goes to his crate for a nice snooze.

I guess the question is, how do you define the exercise needs of your pup and what lead you to that definition/line of thought? I realize this is probably more of an art than a science.

We love pics by the way

Well good, I take a lot of them :) Here are some from this morning, which I feel bolster the case of collie and/or collie nose. Also note that both ears are now at a standing attention. 1 of them I think, has hit permanent raised status, but the other flops around depending on his mood.

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/2883/sspx0061ir7.th.jpg (http://img249.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sspx0061ir7.jpg)

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/2167/sspx0060mi6.th.jpg (http://img241.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sspx0060mi6.jpg)

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/1524/sspx0062sr8.th.jpg (http://img241.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sspx0062sr8.jpg)

[Charliesmommy]

McPie, I don't know much about Collies, but I do know about GSDs. Everything I have read says that you should only exercise a GSD puppy about 5 minutes at a time, and even that should be leisurely. (a slow paced walk around the block). Until they are one year and can have hips and elbows x-rayed.

Of course, a general romp around the yard is always in order, just to get out some of that crazy puppy energy and that is OK. When romping around the yard, the pup will tire and quit of his own accord, as opposed to a walk or game of fetch, where he may not want to give in to his tiredness.

Also, be sure you are feeding a high quality food, preferably for large breed puppies. I actually just fed my Charlie 1/2 adult food and 1/2 puppy food, as regular puppy food will cause them to grow too fast, contributing to joint problems, but they do need those extra vitamins that are in puppy food.

Many people also recommend a supplement that contains Glucosamine and Chondroitin, although I never did that.

[Mcpie]

McPie, I don't know much about Collies, but I do know about GSDs. Everything I have read says that you should only exercise a GSD puppy about 5 minutes at a time, and even that should be leisurely. (a slow paced walk around the block). Until they are one year and can have hips and elbows x-rayed.

5 minutes?! My dog would go absolutely insane if I gave him such little exercise. He's already a ball of spazz with the amount he gets now, which is a lot. Keep in mind he is only on a leash walk for about 5-6 minutes and often relaxes in the park more than he runs/walks around, but 5 minutes sounds extremely, extremely short to me.

Edit -- Oh sorry, I read your post more thoroughly. In terms of forced exercise 5 minutes is a decent period, but beyond that, they are allowed to romp around? Phew.. scared me into overreacting.


Also, be sure you are feeding a high quality food, preferably for large breed puppies. I actually just fed my Charlie 1/2 adult food and 1/2 puppy food, as regular puppy food will cause them to grow too fast, contributing to joint problems, but they do need those extra vitamins that are in puppy food.

I'm feeding him Orijen Large puppy, which as I understand it is a pretty high quality food but I am no expert on the issue.

[Charliesmommy]

LOL! Yeah, when I first got Charlie and was reading up on GSDs, I was like 5 MINUTES?!?!?! Are you kidding me? Have you met this dog???? He was an absolute nightmare of energy from about 4-9 months (so prepare yourself). Thank god he has finally calmed down!

Orijen is a very good food.

[noludoru]

The problem with some puppy foods is that the foods make them grow WAY too fast for their little bones to keep up. If it's a large puppy food, as you specified, I don't think that'll be a problem.

After CLICKING (I didn't know I had to do that! :o) on your pictures.. I am thinking we were wrong.. maybe there's a LOT more Collie in there. I had a Tosca!Puppy moment for a second.

We'll be able to tell a LOT better in six-8 months, though.. I can't wait. :D:D

[ToscasMom]

Oops double post

[ToscasMom]

Hi McPie, I sent you a response to your PM. That's a really cute puppy. Looks more BC than Collie in that snout to me. Tosca is an anteater. hahaha. But hey you never know. He does have the sable gum drops over the eyes and the sable neck fur like a Tri Collie, but like Tucker said, there are Tri BCs too. But his size could be GSD influence. Charlies, do Shepherds in any colors have the gum drops? Very cute boy, for sure. In any event, Collie, BC or GSD, all those breeds need some REAL exercise to be happy. Collies need to run and jump and chase and herd. They need to MOVE and it's a beautiful site to behold. A tired Collie is a happy Collie. I know it is the same for BCs too

[Charliesmommy]

Charlies, do Shepherds in any colors have the gum drops?


It isn't standard in GSDs but I suppose it could happen by accident.

[Mcpie]

Yeah, thank you for your response. Agreed after looking at Tosca's pics that her nose is far longer/thinner than Charlie's was (though Charlie recently had a bit of a nose growth). The main difference is the thickness of the nose, but either way, you're right, he's going to need a lot of exercise. Luckily, or unluckily for him, I'm going to take up a heck of a lot of jogging.. once he's old enough that is :)

Tosca's coat also seems longer, even as a puppy, which means I don't think he'll get a very thick Rough Collie coat, if indeed his mother was rough collie to begin with.

[ToscasMom]

Either way he sure is cute!