Hi all,

I was wondering if any of you run with your Chis and if so for how long/ far and at what age did you start?

Currently I walk Axle who is 5 months and Chloe who is 14 weeks for approx 20 mins in the morning and 30 mins in the evening. Without these 2 walks a day I ether come home to a disaster area of shredded toys all over the house or they are patrolling the house and barking at every noise at 11 pm when we're trying to get to sleep. With the 2 walks a day they pretty much sleep most of the day with a few rounds of play fighting in between but no destructive behaviour.

I'm thinking of gradually working up to a run for the morning session to get more bang for our exercise buck since I only have 20 mins available before I have to get ready for work but I don't want to exhaust them or hurt their little joints.

Any thoughts on this or experiences would be appreciated

Mine doesn't even like to walk.LOL He is almost 5 months old. Yours sounds more high energy than mine, so a little run would probably be good exercise, but I know nothing about the joint issues, so someone else probably needs to weigh in here.

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Mine were both timid at the start and I just dragged them up and down the driveway a couple of times twice a day until they got used to it, now they absolutely love it. Chachi will get used to it soon and then you will be able to enjoy lots of walkies together.

Ax my 5 month old is extremely hyper, which is why we added the little girl after only having him for 2 months. Now with her to play with and 2x walks daily he is a very well behaved little boy

I know with big dogs you are not supposed to run them until their bones are done developing, usually a year to a year and a half. While I am not 100% sure about the impact on little dogs I am holding off running my chi puppy until she is a year, just to be sure. The high impact on growing joints can sometimes cause joint issues later in life.

We do walk twice a day and hike a lot though. If I see she gets tired I pick her up but at 6 months she is getting so she can hold her own on a long hike day.

Running around the house/yard is different because they can stop it whenever they want, and the constant turns and stopping to pick up toys makes it so that kind of running is safe for a healthy puppy. It is the repetitiveness of running on a road or sidewalk at a constant pace is what can hurt puppies. I know this is 100% true with bigger dogs, so I am just not taking any chances with my chi. After all they are also prone to joint issues (patellas for instance). Other people might chime in about how this all applies to a smaller dog.

My little one year old Blossom takes two walks a day and zooms round in circles when I let her off the lead in the fields by my house or in the back garden. That way she can assess her own energy levels and stop when she tires out.

I think if they are high energy a small run letting them take the lead can't be any harm

With my high energy girl I walk her for 5 and then we run wide open for about 5-10min and then walk the rest of the way back home. This is plenty for her. Mind you she is 3 yrs and loves to run. The pups are 17weeks and they spend in hour of oudoor free play time 2x a day and that seems to do them good.

Puppies should not be run or jogging regardless of the breed. You would do better to play ball a few minutes and let them run at their own pace.

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Michelle and..
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