From: terry@eece.ksu.edu (Terry Hull)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Subject: Re: Dogs and Jogging
Date: 1 Sep 1992 18:38:25 GMT
Organization: Kansas State University
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: ralph.eece.ksu.edu

dencisco@eos.arc.nasa.gov (David Paul Encisco) writes:

>Should one wait until their dog is a certain age
>before one takes them jogging? 

Basically till they are almost fully grown.  18 months would be a minimum age
for a big dog like a Rottweiler.  A 1 year old Border Collie should be ready
to start conditioning. 

>Maybe I should be
>more specific since different breeds develop at
>different rates. But it would seem to me that not
>all breeds are suited for jogging (actually I run,
>not jog). Which brings me to my second question. 
>What breeds like to run with their owners?

Lots of dogs love to run with their owners.  To find a particular
breed you will have to determine what else you want to do with the dog.
Some dogs that would possibly be suited include:

Belgian Sheepdog  (Both Belgian breeds are beautiful (IMHO), very athletic, 
                   and versatile)
Belgian Tervuren 
Lab
Australian Shepherd
Golden Retriever
Doberman (These guys love to run IF kept in shape.)  
German Shepherd (May be hard headed and want to go their way. Also watch for
                 hip problems.)   
Border Collie (Too smart for their own good.  They need a mental as well as a
               physical challenge.  How about a 10 mile run in the morning, an
               hour of frisbee at lunch, and the evening spent doing agility, 
               obedience and herding.  A little tracking on the weekend will 
               add some variety.)  
Giant Schnauzer (Most people aren't ready to handle a Giant.)  
Husky (If you like to run REALLY fast!)
Malamute (If you would like the dog to pull you) 
Rottweiler (Once again, may be tough to train.  If allowed to get
            overweight and out of shape they will not be happy running.
            They also need some other activity like tracking or obedience
            to keep them happy.  Stay away from the very large bloodlines.
            90 - 110 lbs would be a good target weight for a male.)

None of these breeds really thrive in the heat.  A Rottweiler, for
example, can get heat stroke when it is 80 degrees if he is working in
the sun.  On the other hand, he will be very happy running when it is
10 degrees.

I would highly recommend finding someone who has experience in the
breed you are interested in and sitting down with them for a few hours
and just ask some questions. Please remember, there is a lot more to
dog ownership than taking them for a run every day.  If that is really
all you want a dog for, come to Manhattan and I will loan you a dog
every morning.  She would be happy to run with you any where you would
like to go and as far and as fast as you would like. BTW: If you would
like to run with a dog but really are not interested in all the other
responsibilities of dog ownership, borrowing one from a neighbor
might be a good thing for you.

Pardon me, but I have to tell you my favorite
exercise-the-Border-Collie story.  When I went to Diane Bauman's camp
the first day the instructors told us point blank, "Don't play with
your dogs."  They explained that the dogs would need all the energy
and stamina they had for the training and they would not have a lot
left over for play.  One of the women at camp had her 18 month old
Border Collie bitch named Sky with her.  She had come down from Canada
in her van and had brought her bicycle with her to exercise the dog.
Even after this warning, she took the little BC out for a 5 mile run
in the hills of Connecticut every morning before the first class.
When I asked her about it, she explained that if Sky didn't get a
little exercise in the morning, it was nearly impossible to get her to
settle down and work.  I saw this dog playing flyball at 4:00 in the
afternoon and believe me, this dog was not tired.  She had been doing
obedience for 6 hours in addition to her 5 mile run, and she was ready
to do it all over again.
--
Terry Hull  -  terry@eece.ksu.edu
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Kansas State University