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Kyler Laird November 15th 06 09:58 PM

running a puppy
 
It's been a long time (~13 years) since I've had a puppy. I can deal
with the chewing (Just need to replace the carpet again...) but I'm
getting increasingly frustrated at not being able to exercise the pup
like my other dogs.

Jarreau is a Standard Poodle/Giant Schnauzer ("Poozer") mix and he's
now about seven months old and almost 60 pounds.
http://lairds.org/Kyler/family/Jarreau/
He plays a lot with Morgan, our young dog, and he does well at the dog
park but he *loves* to run. I try not to let him run too much or too
fast but it's never been easy.
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0...g/image_viewer
A good run does wonders for him - and it lets me sleep through more of
the night!

I've read suggestions on waiting until dogs are one year old to run
significantly but for giant breeds I've seen six months added.
Recently I read a skijoring book that mentioned running dogs in races
after six months.

So...what's the scoop? First, is a Giant Schnauzer mix really a "giant
breed"? I usually think of much larger dogs (Great Danes, Mastiffs,
....) in that category. More importantly, what can I safely do with this
guy now? I sometimes take him on bike rides. He rides when we're on
the streets and then runs with our oldest dog on the grass when we're on
trails.
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0...g/image_viewer
He also runs in the ditch and in the fields at the farm.
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0...g/image_viewer
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0...g/image_viewer
I've been successful at keeping him from running on pavement. Is that
enough?

I've been thinking about winter activities lately. I was planning to
foster an adult Husky or Mal to complement Morgan in front of a sled but
I'd love to include Jarreau in our activities. I don't want to damage
him, of course, so I'm looking for information about what he could
safely do.

Would it be o.k. for him to run alongside the sled in the snow? I
expect that snow will absorb a lot of the shock. What about pulling?
I've been coupling his collar to the harness on our oldest dog, Grazie
(using a shock cord). At first I used his collar because I didn't want
to encourage him to pull. Now that he's bigger than Grazie I just want
to give her a fighting chance to control him. I wonder if he'd be
better off if I just allowed him to pull with an X-back harness on his
own line (so he could easily lag a bit and I'd see that he's tired).

Suggestions? I plan to have this guy for a long time so I'm willing to
invest some frustration to prevent injury but I don't want to avoid
exercise needlessly. What can we do safely in the months ahead?

Thanks!

--kyler

Melinda Shore November 16th 06 05:22 AM

running a puppy
 
In article ,
Kyler Laird wrote:
I've read suggestions on waiting until dogs are one year old to run
significantly but for giant breeds I've seen six months added.
Recently I read a skijoring book that mentioned running dogs in races
after six months.


You'll hear different stories from different people. It
used to be common to hook up dogs less than a year old but
it really isn't done anymore. You may want to check out the
"What's the youngest you've ever raced a dog?" thread at
sleddog central.

I'm not keen on making medium-sized dogs less than six
months do any real running. Free running and play are fine,
but I don't think you gain that much and you can potentially
do some damage to young skeletons.

He's old enough that he can get started in harness, though,
pulling something light like a small log or whatever, and
then work his way up to tires. It's a good age to get him
used to the harness and to start teaching him commands and
to line out.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community


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