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Jogging with husky pup


Matthew

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Hi, well navi is almost 6 months but Ive been taking her out an hour at night/dusk for a jog/walk. The problem I am having is getting Navi to run/jog as fast as me, I jog at a normal pace and I ways feel like I am dragging her. Is this normal for her age and she will pick up later or at this age did your puppy keep up with you?

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She's a bit too young to go jogging yet - her bones and joints are still pretty soft and unformed. It could actually cause damage to them if she runs too much, especially on a hard surface until she's at least a year old, better to wait until she's a year and a half to two, once she has her growth and her bones and joints have hardened.

Another factor might be heat - how warm is it, and how humid? Keep in mind this is a breed that 100 years ago, didn't exist out of the Arctic! You don't want to run them if it's over about 15C/60F - cooler if it's humid out. Here's an interesting article I found that can give you some info - it's specifically geared toward sled dog training (or scootering), but much of the info is applicable to running with a Siberian.

http://www.snowpawstore.com/Introduction-working-in-harness?

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Well it's not a whole hour of jogging, it's like 60 walking 40 jogging. It's just when I walked her the whole way she stilln had energy. When I take her it's about 75 degrees, it is summer and I can't take her to late because she doesn't do well at night. Guess I'll tone it done for her.

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So I was reading a lot about jogging with a husky and it seems like I wont be able to take it out much during the summer in california. I don't know how else to get it's energy out because only time it's cool enough to jog her is at 4-5 am and that's way to early. I need tips and ideas because I get my exercise by jogging around the block and I thought huskies can take it(at a later age). Also my vet told me huskies can do well in heat just as they do in cold because thier hair cam deflect. He said the government did a test awhile back to see what dog does best in the heat and huskies won over all.

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I'd stop the jogging pretty much all together specially as you're running on hard pavement...As can harm her as said above but it's up to you.

Yes huskys can handle heat but it still wears them out in winter Bella is non stop full of energy most of the day bouncing off the walls but in summer she sleeps most of the day and is a bit more active at night but still is a completly different dog in winter then she is in summer

Ensure you always have fresh water out for her also ice cubes in the water help

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as said above if you run her you will damage her.

5 minutes of walking per month of age is the rule of thumb.

I live in England and our summer heat is nothing compared to california, its like your winter i imagine. Rubbish, and the other day it was around 24'c and I thought oh they will be fine. They werent we had to come home early because they were too hot and they had to have ice packs to lie on to cool down. Mine are 1 and almost 2.

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its not so much the energy factor as the health factor - she might be fine and still full of energy after walking for an hour (which is still very long for a puppy) but in the long run she wont be fine jogging - even for 40 mins as like gigi said - it can damage her bones as shes still young n they are soft as they are still growing - wait till shes much older (a year +) before you start introducing jogging - ive also found that trick training / mental stimulation helps tire a dog out more then actual exercise

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way too young for jogging. its also prob way too hot and humid for any sled dog to be exercised to that degree no matter what age the dog is.

your pup is telling you she's too tired/hot. start learning to read pups body langugage or you could have a very ill or even dog on your hands. I bet you dont go jogging with 2 fleeces on as that is what you are expecting your pup to do

running with a sled dog should only be done in cool temps and never when humid. wait until pup is older and stick to walking. a long 50ft + lead is good for them to run around as and when they want. If you want to go jogging then you need to do that seperate to your dog.

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So I was reading a lot about jogging with a husky and it seems like I wont be able to take it out much during the summer in california. I don't know how else to get it's energy out because only time it's cool enough to jog her is at 4-5 am and that's way to early. I need tips and ideas because I get my exercise by jogging around the block and I thought huskies can take it(at a later age). Also my vet told me huskies can do well in heat just as they do in cold because thier hair cam deflect. He said the government did a test awhile back to see what dog does best in the heat and huskies won over all.

i'd change your vet, talking utter rubbish. their energy levels increase dramatically when its cooler. mine literally will do nothing for days on end when its hot and humid.

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i'd change your vet, talking utter rubbish. their energy levels increase dramatically when its cooler. mine literally will do nothing for days on end when its hot and humid.

I thought Huskies do ok in heat, as their coats insulate coolness aswell, While the best dog in heat thing in the world is just hearsay, there is a tiny wincy bit of truth the vet is saying... tiny.....wincy

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I thought Huskies do ok in heat, as their coats insulate coolness aswell, While the best dog in heat thing in the world is just hearsay, there is a tiny wincy bit of truth the vet is saying... tiny.....wincy

observe huskys in heat compared to cooler days (in particular winter) and that will inform any owner their behaviour is completly different.

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Oh yeah I know! but what im saying is was justm ore pointing out that their coats can insulate / regulate body tempreture.

anyway matthew, it'll have to be short jogs a great way ot knacker them out is a play date, at that age preferably with a dog similar to their size ^_^

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Omg running??? nooo not in the day! It was only like 23c here yesterday and I took Aya out but stuck to the shade and the water ways. I'd never take her out if it was that hot. She'd melt!

Great way to get them going as James said is a play date. Although I just play fetch with Aya in the garden for 5 mins a couple of times a day then take her out for a walk when it's cooler or stick to the shade.

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Hi...here's some thoughts.

Husky's do very well in the heat because they regulate their activity. Their coats insulate them well against cold and heat. Yet if you build the core temperature up the heat will be kept in - if the outside temperature is too hot or humid they will not be able to cool and welcome to the nightmare of heat stroke.

If your dog's tongue starts to curl up at the end - STOP!!!! Also notice how your dog is after the run - the energy systems being used by the dog is changing and their core temperature could still be climbing. I would learn about the signals for heat stroke for sure.

I believe that you can and should exercise puppies - yet at the right levels in the right way with the right controls and checks in place. I posted my experience of working with developmental humans in this respect, and no-one came back with any studies that say it differs with dogs. (Would love to know the research with dogs!!) Though with all this, you need to listen to your dog, and know what you are doing.

I would strongly suggest that you are doing too much with your dog. Studying Harley's behaviour and body language on runs I now know when he is telling me to back off a bit. He'll start to want pee stops, he'll slow and run beside me rather than lined out, he'll start to sniff the ground though not following a scent trail, his head gets lower, his ears pin back more, his tongue gets longer...all of this on there own are indications he is going to fast. So now matter how far I want to go myself, I listen, and slow, and stop if necessary.

From monitoring his behaviour I know that I can run him for around 4.5miles in about 17 degrees with low humidity. I've also found that in high humidity I can't run him at all over 10 degrees.

I periodise his training and ensure he gets the rest recovery and nutrition he needs, and I allow for the adaptation process.

I also ensure he has cooling spots in the lakes on my routes and always carry water which I regularly let him drink from.

I believe that as with humans exercise at a young age will help prevent injuries and ill-health in the future - particularly in respect to proprioception and the joints. And this has to be done with care. I only very rarely run Harley on roads, and only for a short distance - the impact is going to be too much for him. Instead it is soft trails, sand and varied natural woodland surfaces. This reduces the impact and trains his neurology for proprioception.

My suggestion is at 6 months that you are doing far too much with him, and in perhaps the wrong way...what do you think?

Oh, and on the hot days, thanks to the same wonderful advice that Nixy has given you, as she gave me, I now know that NOTHING tires Harley out quite like mental work!!

Best regards,

Smiler

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Omg running??? nooo not in the day! It was only like 23c here yesterday and I took Aya out but stuck to the shade and the water ways. I'd never take her out if it was that hot. She'd melt!

Great way to get them going as James said is a play date. Although I just play fetch with Aya in the garden for 5 mins a couple of times a day then take her out for a walk when it's cooler or stick to the shade.

Yeah as soon as i get home, we have a session of fetch in the garden for about 10 mins, just to get abit of energy out and calm her down, so I can sit and chill before out walk :)

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I'm not running her..... It's a 3 mile walk where only about 5-8 mins is jogging because I know she can't do a lot. I can play fetch for about 5 mins then she doesn't want to do it anymore. All I know is every since I did this walk jog routine she is calmer at night, just before this I couldn't have her in side at night because she goes crazy with tearing up anything in sight. Also it's a neighborhood walk and I make her walk on grass 70 percent of the time, so I don't believe I'm doing any harm to her and feel like you guys are trying to make me out like a bad guy like I'm RUNNING the dog for a long time on hot hot asphalt.

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I'm not running her..... It's a 3 mile walk where only about 5-8 mins is jogging because I know she can't do a lot. I can play fetch for about 5 mins then she doesn't want to do it anymore. All I know is every since I did this walk jog routine she is calmer at night, just before this I couldn't have her in side at night because she goes crazy with tearing up anything in sight. Also it's a neighborhood walk and I make her walk on grass 70 percent of the time, so I don't believe I'm doing any harm to her and feel like you guys are trying to make me out like a bad guy like I'm RUNNING the dog for a long time on hot hot asphalt.

Nobody wants you to feel like your the bad guy, we're just concerned for your pup. Keep in mind that we only know the information that you tell us - we can't see what you're doing - so we can only give advice based on what we can guess. At her age, you could do her harm. The fur does help keep heat out, but if the dog gets too warm (at any age) from within due to exercise, it will keep that body heat in, as well, which is why they want to be less active when it's hot. Is there a place nearby where you can take her for a swim, using a longer (maybe 30' - if you need instructions on making one, let me know - they aren't easily available in stores in the US!) lead? That's an excellent way to tire her, not chance damage to her legs, and not overheat her. A training class would also be great for giving her a little bit of exercise, but a whole LOT of mental exercise.

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