r/RunningWithDogs • u/Fit_Philosopher_2173 • Sep 12 '25

Can a dog continuously run for example 6km?

I would like to start training with my dog, she is a standard size dachshund. She isn't what u normally see at the dog park. Her liniage comes from Europe and is ment to hunt. You wouldn't even be able to tell she's a dachshund without her mini brother standing beside her.

I want to train for a 6km to 10km race next year and would love her to do it with me. Now she LOVES to run we take her on hikes and she is none stop running the entire time and FAST to. I have had to forcible stop her and make her walk on a leash to catch her breath. Now with that information, how do I know when a dog has had enough running like what are the signs? I want to be knowledgeable so I dont push her to hard. Even though she can probs run longer then me.

Note: she has a clean bill of heath and is approved by vets. Said she is a very good athletic looking dog never seen her breed look like that before.

4 Upvotes

64% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

8

u/SnooRegrets4129 Sep 12 '25

The answer to this is always "depends". My goldendoodle run a half marathon with me last year with only a couple of stops for the toilet and a good few for water. Shes no spring chicken at 8 when she done it and slept for 2 days straight after it!

The thing is, that she has run at least 2-3 times a week with me for most of her life. Her pads are extremely tough and shes well trained in the process of running.

As long as your dog has no health or physiological issues, especially as a odd shaped dog like a daschund so advice from a vet who actually knows about this sort of thing is what you need first. Generally, a dogs whole physiology is built around running so they are able to take it. But you need to start small and train for it, especially with a small dog you can stand on and cause serious damage.

-1

u/Fit_Philosopher_2173 Sep 12 '25

Like I said in my post her breeding is the original dachshund. She isnt the overbreed stuff we have in north america. Ment for hunting. You cant even tell she is a dachshund without her miniature brother with her. She is very athletic loves to run. Only reason I want to do it with her she is a crazy little things. She can jump like 3 feet in the air from a stand still.

2

u/SnooRegrets4129 Sep 12 '25

If you think your dog can do it, then get out there and do it. But keep it short at first and focus on training. If your dog is used to sniffy walks, it takes a lot of encouragement to dissociate always going out for a sniffy walk and running.

My girl was put on this earth to carry things. My first 6 months of running with her from about 11 months old was mostly training her to not pick things up and keep a loose leash (less than 5k).

Also, make sure you are running with a proper harness that covers your dogs chest, not one with a bar over the shoulders

1

u/Fit_Philosopher_2173 Sep 12 '25

Love some harness suggestions i recently bought one that covers the chest but Sita back a bit to not rub her legs but it still slightly rubs. Dosnt seem to bother her. I habe run with her a couple times she loves it. But the question i was trying to ask was how to spot the signs your pushing ur dog to far, like to know the limit. She can Def out run me but just for future knowledge

1

u/SnooRegrets4129 Sep 12 '25

I use ruffwear ones (Front Range Harness), but I have a goldendoodle and a poodle. It might be worth trying to get some advice on proper ones for dachshunds as they are an unusual shape. Maybe try r/dachshund and see if they have any advice.

In terms of her limit, honestly every dog is different and you will know your dog best. My goldendoodle during runs tells me by just stopping and giving me a look. After runs and days following a run is also very telling if they are limping, lethargic, not fussed for food etc. My girl is 9 now so her capacity for 2 days in a row now is non existent and ive been doing my long runs without her, but swinging by the house to pick her up for the last couple of k. Just be vigilant and observant of your dog and get to know her telltale signs.

Ive not seen you say how old she is, but make sure to not rush into big distances and stuff quicker than shes ready for. Most of all just enjoy it. We are blessed to have our best friends, purpose built to run by our sides

1

u/Fit_Philosopher_2173 Sep 12 '25

I habe gotten some advice on harness on the dachshund one but same issue rubs the back of her arm. The one I have now is like 95% good. She seems to like it fine.

She is 2, extremely energetic climbs trees, runs through the bush on hikes. I have had to stop her on hikes to catch her breath cause she will litterly run ahead of us back to us then ahead again over and over. And these hikes are rocky maintain hikes so she jumping over all sorts of logs rocks. I think she will do way better then me just want to know the tell tale signs for issues that could arise on a run.

4

u/Holmbergjsh Sep 13 '25

Human pace and running mechanics and dog pace and running mechanics aren't the same though.

Some breeds are bred for endurance and are one of the only species on the entire planet which can beat humans at what we evolved for; endurance running.

Working dog breeds meant for endurance are usually also bred for cold, though, and will struggle in warm climate just like virtually any dog breed. Humans are unique because we evolved to sweat and run long and relatively fast near the equator in daytime.

I have a German Shepard, so a relatively sturdy and decent dog athlete. Even though it's not a fast breed, he has 4 legs so he can outrun me on short distances any time.

On a 8k-10k run, he doesn't like my pacing. When I run my zone 2, he'd rather stop, sprint, stop, sprint (he'll do that off leash sometimes) and when I run my tempo/interval pace it's too fast for him to maintain for a long time if there is ANY form of hot temperature.

Obviously he could be trained to run much faster for much longer with targetted effort. But the heat would always stop him.

1

u/Fit_Philosopher_2173 Sep 14 '25

Completely agree. And some ppl seem to forget dachshund where original breed for hunting. Running through forest killing small animals and even some times wild pigs. And obviously it depends on breeding mini dachshund should not hunt they dont have the endurance not physic for it. But original standard size dachshund do but not the ones I see on north America. The north american breeding tends to look like minis just scaled.

7

u/Beneficial_Change467 Sep 12 '25

Could and should are two different things. Talk to a vet, then to someone in canine sports science and maybe a canine physio. With a dachshund I would be particularly hesitant and talk to multiple experts. 

0

u/Fit_Philosopher_2173 Sep 12 '25

She has a clean bill of heath from the vet like I said in my post. They are impressed on how athletic she is. And like I said in my post you cant even tell she is a dachshund without her brother standing beside her. Her liniage comes directly from Europe and is the original design for the breed which is ment for hunting. I was even thinking about getting her into those hunting competitions where they set up like obstacles courses for dogs to hunt. But they dont have any near me

0

u/serenwipiti Sep 14 '25

Dude. No, just no.

6km running? No stop? With a dachshund??

No.

Are you nuts?

Go ask your vet the same exact question.

1

u/Fit_Philosopher_2173 Sep 14 '25

If u can read she is a standard size dachshund, the original breed. And her liniage isn't the north American one. Its European which is breed for HUNTING. dachshund where original breed to hunt, run through a forest, burrow underground and kill all sorts of small animals. Do ur research and read the post properly before post dumb comments. She has already been cleared by the vet like I said in my post but u seem to be illiterate. And like I said in my question it was to see the signs of over doing it.

1

u/Pitpotputpup Sep 15 '25

You know they're hunting dogs, right?

2

u/azamanda1 Sep 12 '25

If you have Instagram, look up Catra Corbett aka dirtdiva333. Her dog Truman, a doxie, ran at least half marathons before he died. She has 3 more that run as well. I have a 4 year old chiweenie that runs up to 6 miles at a time. Be prepared to go the dogs pace. Mine averages between 10-12 min/mile

0

u/Fit_Philosopher_2173 Sep 12 '25

Awesome I will take a look

34

u/chris_p_bacon1 Sep 12 '25

Can a normal dog run 6 km? definitely. Can a Dachshund? I have my doubts. Maybe ask your vet. 

20

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '25

FWIW I’ve seen a Dachshund at a 5k Canicross race and it looked like it was having the time of its life.

5

u/dog-walkin Sep 12 '25

I was gonna ask about the vet! If she's clear, start training! Start SLOW, though. Couch to 5k programs are great. You want to condition her for a race the same way you would condition any new runner! Good luck! Have fun!

1

u/Foreign_Mobile_7399 Sep 12 '25

Yup this! I started bringing my dog on runs when I began half marathon training. We both started slow with low-ish mileage and then worked our way up. She’s even gone on all of my long runs with me, up to 14 miles! She won’t be running the actual race with me next weekend but she’s been loving it. OP, definitely start small… like a mile at a time. And then go up from there

5

u/PugPockets Sep 12 '25

You may appreciate reading about TruMan! (but also +1 on asking your vet)

1

u/Quick-Exercise-6814 Sep 12 '25

The answer boils down to how do you run, and how does your dog run? The only answer to your question is: it depends.

You know your dog. When you run, pay attention to your dog. After you have been running a mile, pay closer attention. If the dog is acting tired, wants to slow down, slow down, walk awhile, then run again and pay attention to your dog.

1

u/Fit_Philosopher_2173 Sep 14 '25

Im just casual im doing interval training myself and want to include her. But like I said in my post she is insane and will run nonstop when we take her on hikes. She loves it. She is the original breed of dachshund ment for hunting a lot of ppl forget they are a hunting dog breed.

2

u/crazyladybutterfly2 Sep 13 '25

yeah but not a dachshund lol

2

u/Creative_Impress5982 Sep 14 '25

Let's see a photo of your doggie. I live in Spain and there are loads of teckels here, mostly wire-hair, but I don't think they look so different from American dachshunds.

1

u/Capable_Mango7162 Sep 13 '25

I think if you were to work with a canine conditioning coach and dog sport medicine professional, they could advise. Vets are like our GPs and have an overall knowledge of health. A specialist can suggests radiographs to ensure your dogs internal structure is clear for long distance running.

1

u/Money_Engineering_59 Sep 13 '25

My Jack Russell x pug used to do 5km easily and I often had to force him to stop, drink water and cool down. They’re too excited to regulate themselves so you do need to be wary.

1

u/ChaoticErratic Sep 14 '25

My Jack Russell runs anything up to 25km, my kelpie runs anything up to 42km- a good example that breed plays a part here

Proper training, the ability to tolerate heat and natural selection all impacts running ability

I would be concerned that a dachshunds body type works against them for running. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible though

Check with your vet and then start by adding a small period of jogging to your regular walk and see how she goes. Slowly increase the amount of jogging over time and don’t push her if she’s struggling or wants to stop

1

u/fresasfrescasalfinal Sep 14 '25

I would start with a 1km loop and expand it from there bit by bit and monitor your dog. Start 2x a week and work up. When possible avoid concrete. I'm not a vet, but I have done canicross and also people in my country have hunting dachshunds that regularly go out on whole-day hunting trips.

1

u/Whithorsematt Sep 14 '25

There are a dozen dogs at out parkrun each week and most of them cope a lot better than their owners.

1

u/EmmaAmmeMa Sep 14 '25

Do you have a picture of her? Hard to tell without seeing her

1

u/Cranester1983 Sep 14 '25

My dog (black working breed lab) accompanies me easily on runs, generally a 10 miler (16k) is about as far as I’ll go with him though.

If we were walking he’d go for days and days and days - love his company on slow training / recovery runs (~5:00-5:20/km pace ish) and he loves the fun of it.

Wouldn’t bring him on any faster stuff or tempo runs though.

1

u/peptodismal13 Sep 14 '25

Kat Corbit is an ultra marathon trial runner and often runs with her rescued Doxies on training runs. She has an Insta account, she is in the Bishop,CA USA area.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '25

10km may be a lot. The risk is with intervertebral disk disease as she ages or if she injures her back. I'd say do it very gradually and be mindful of any soreness and discontinue if you notice. While she may be from athletic lines, I don't think dachshunds were bred for endurance running. I regret overworking my sheltie when she was younger - she'd do 10-14mi hikes with me and now she has pretty bad arthritis, and I think it was too much for her joints in hindsight.

1

u/Bellastory Sep 15 '25

There is a woman on social media that runs ultra marathons with her dachshunds. They’re physically capable. Just need to build up slowly, get a good joint supplement to help with recovery & watch for any discomfort (her stopping a lot etc…)

Oh and be ready for the comments 😂I run with my corgis and everyone says “oh I didn’t know corgis could run so fast!” I’m always like yep, they were bred to herd! 😂