Running with a great dane?

[<3penny<3]

So...do any of you take your baby running with you? What is a good age/distance to start them with and lastly... any tips? Thanks

[Purple Raine]

Being as Danes are giant breeds and most do not fully mature till somewhere between 2-3 years of age, you want to wait until at minimum 18 months of age before starting any kind of strenuous activities such as long distance running, especially on hard surfaces. This gives their bones and joints enough time to grow and strengthen appropriately. In the meantime, you can do short structured walks around your neighborhood or local park and lots and lots of free play where they are able to run/play/rest as they please.

[Lexismommy]

I would say at minimum 18 months but even age 2 would be better due to their fast growing bones and joints. My older Dane is almost 4 and she doesn't like to run anyways, she likes nice leisurely walks. (thank goodness, I am so out of shape!) lol

[<3penny<3]

I am glad we haven't started then! I hope by next year we can start easing into it then

[ChickyPop]

I'm a first time Dane owner, but our breeder strongly cautioned us not to run with Klaus until he's at least 2. Hubby and I aren't runners so it doesn't matter, but klaus is pretty energetic. We go to the dog park and play in the yard so he can run and romp around at his own pace.

[dcschell14]

Wow I am glad I read this post. I had every intention of rollerblading around town with Jackson this summer and she will be 14 months old. And I hate to admit it... but I did do some short distance rollerblading with her last summer when she was just a puppy Yikes! But I guess everyone learns as they go along. Thanks for the information! I will be rollerblading with the local SPCA dogs this summer I guess and going for nice walks with Jackson instead

To also answer your question.... you need to make sure that you have a good solid walk down pat before any running. I put Jackson in a dog obedience class and really learnt the basics of "loose leash walking". We went for a perfect jog yesterday And again... I guess any more jogging will have to wait until next summer unfortunately

[DebinSD]

Murphy does 3-4 miles with me twice a week. He could probably go further, but I feel like anything over 4 is hard on his joints considering he weighs 150 lbs.

We started running when he was 2...I wanted to make sure he was done growing. You always want to start out slow with them (any dog for that matter) and work up on the mileage. We run with a group and for quite a while we did intervals (run for a couple minutes, walk for a couple minutes) to get the dogs (and the people) in shape.

Even now that he's been running with me for a year, we almost never run the entire time without stopping. We stop for water breaks, we still do intervals, and we do speed work.

When we do stop for water, I never let him drink a ton. I don't want a lot of water sloshing around in his stomach...I just let him drink a little at a time.

We recently did 2 5K races that allowed dogs. It was a ton of fun!

[<3penny<3]

It would be great if there was a group like that around here! I really am very lucky and Penny is extremely well behaved, especially on walks and especially compared to her 8 lb. Yorkie x sister lol

Well, brisk walks in the p.m. and free play it is for the next year Penny!!

[Jewelz]

I ran Dubbs when he was 2 for a few months when the weather was nice. We did just short of a 5k about 3-4 times a week. I'd never seen him happier. HE LOVED IT!

[skylarinco]

What great advice! I never would have tried to run with my danes. Glad to hear some do.

[Steelrose]

I always wait until at least age 2 to start any kind of road work on a Dane. I recommend NEVER working them on hard surfaces. I bike with my girl every day on grass at a show gait speed for about a mile or two. I get a great workout since it is on grass and it is safer on my dog. If there is no grass, at least stick to dirt or sand. It is way to damaging to their Joints to work them on hard surfaces.

And, Please, Please, Please make sure their nails are nice and short before working them. I have seen so many poor dogs being drug around by their owners with their nails dragging the ground. This is so very painful for the dog.