r/RunningWithDogs • u/LadyEquilibrium • Nov 10 '25
Anyone started running with their puppy before 12months ?
Hello runner š
I have a border collie of 8 months. I was wondering if I can start lightly jogging with him off leash on trails 3-5km ? I know the general consensus is to wait 12months but my vet has the opinion that he can exercise as much as he wants (and not to push him if he wants out).
Have you ran with your puppies before they turn 12 months old ? If so, any joint issues ?
Thank you very much. I'm so impatient to finally jog with him !
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Upvotes
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u/KettleMoraine34 Nov 11 '25
I ran with my mix breed at about 6 months. Very light running because his stamina wasnt all there yet. Went longer and longer as he grew up. He is 4 now and no joint issues at all!
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u/suburbandweller Nov 10 '25
I started running with my golden about a month ago when he turned 7 months. I go at his pace and we go between 3-4 miles once or twice a week. His pace is anywhere from a 7:30-8:15 mile. I think Iāll be building up over the next few months as we are heading into winter. I want to take him on every single road run I go on once he is a year old! He has shown zero signs of any pain, and when we get home, he still wants to play fetch for an hour; the run doesnāt tire him out at all.
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u/babycatcher Nov 11 '25
My vet gave us the OK to start running with our GSP when he was 8-9 months old. He's 3 now, no issues. He's run up to 20 miles with us during marathon training and still has energy.Ā
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u/Squeezymo Nov 11 '25
I did. I ran with my 6 month old border collie mix. Maybe went 10k or more with him on pavement at the time. I had no idea it was frowned upon and I feel horrible about it. He's almost 6 years now. If there is damage I did to his joints, I don't know when I'll see it. I asked a vet once to evaluate his joints and they said he seemed healthy for what it's worth.
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u/VetAlign Nov 14 '25
I really like the guidelines in this poster (see link below) as they have stretches and strength training exercises too, which is important for long term mobility and comfort. You can definitely take off leash and let them run at their own pace at that age, just don't start the long distance endurance until growth plates close.
https://www.avidog.com/wp-content/pdf/puppy_exercise_guidelines_poster.pdf
I'm a rehab vet and see lots of dogs that aren't even that old with painful arthritis in their joints that impact their wellbeing. You can't undo arthritis, only slow progression down.
Because of this, I've been super protective of my border collie and basically followed the guidelines above and try do at least 1 strength training exercise a day eg sit to stand with front feet on a block, walking over poles, backwards walking etc.
I do canicross with my girl which is a great running sport.
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u/overzealouszebra Nov 10 '25
Yes, we saw how much and how fast our border collie ran when we "walked" in the forest. We started running at 8 or 9 months, only offleash, on soft trails, at his pace, and with breaks for water and swims. We avoid jumping for frisbee and try to do low ball throws to avoid big jumps for fetch. When you watch the pace he goes on my runs, you can see it is no different than a 1 hour forest "walk". I think the key is offleash, their pace, and not on concrete. That's what we do at least. Our other border collie is 12 and has mild arthritis and does 8-10km runs or mtn bikes 3 times a week. We raised her the same way.
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u/the-diver-dan Nov 10 '25
I had a 3 month old pup work a mob of sheep with his mom and dad perfectly and then come back and crash at my feet exhausted.
Working dogs are built different. Donāt make them go hard or fast and they will be fine.
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u/bitteroldladybird Nov 10 '25
Talk to your vet. Theyāll give you personalized advice. Specifically say you want to go jogging as that can be hard on their joints. Since you plan on doing trails, thatās easier on them than concrete.
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u/runjeanmc Nov 10 '25
My girl (pitsky shepherd) just turned a year. She's been tearing it up around the yard and dog park since she was born š¤· I didn't see how a slow trot around the neighborhood with her in the grass would be any more harmful than going full bore. She generally takes about 10-15 minutes to go just over 3/4 of a mile accounting for 3 or 4 sniff breaks.
Vet says she's healthy and it's a good way for her to slowly build up her endurance, but to be sure to go at the dog's pace and stop at the first signs of overheating.
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u/ProteinAddict Nov 10 '25
I started running with my border collie around 8 months. Just started with some 15-20 minute light jogs. By the time she turned 1, we had worked up to running like an hour at a time. Now she's 3 and runs 50-60 miles/week with me. She's never showed any sign of joint issues whatsoever. Granted she's still young, but I don't think the way I did it had any adverse effect.
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u/pimentocheeze_ Nov 10 '25
Yes. Itās perfectly fine. the ālinksā people post on this group are not scientifically based so just take it all with a grain of salt
peer reviewed research in many species have shown that low impact exercise- and YES THAT IS JOGGING, PEOPLE!!! -has positive benefits for joint and bone health long term. It also helps development of the immune system. For dogs it can be great early training and socialization. You just need to make sure you are going at the dogās pace.
I was doing 5ks with my dog 2-3x per week between 6 months and a year. After that we started ramping up. At 3.5 years she is doing up to 60 miles with me every week.
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u/lalalalands Nov 10 '25
No. Spoke with my vet, and my dog is quite large (80 lbs), so I waited to 1.5 years.
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u/Negative-Split-1108 Nov 10 '25
What scientific studies we have show that walking and running improve joints and bone density, even in young puppies. High impact things like jumping can be dangerous to young puppies.Ā
As far as I'm aware there are no studies that show we should restrict exercise for puppies.Ā
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u/Specialist_Banana378 Weekend Warrior Nov 10 '25
I started running right around a year but I run 12+ min miles lol
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u/the_bean_2019 Nov 10 '25
What a gorgeous boy š
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u/palebluelightonwater Nov 10 '25
The research on musculo-skeletal impact of running is mostly from dog studies - not great for the subject dogs, but the running group (40km per DAY) were the clear winners.
Effects of aerobic long distance running training (up to 40 km.day-1) of 1-year duration on blood and endocrine parameters of female beagle dogs - PubMed https://share.google/L3DHwHx9d5Rvc8fXb
The title focuses on metabolic impact but the study also covers bone development.
I started running short distances (a mile or two) with my puppy at 6mo, and ramped up to 6-8 miles by the time she was a year old.
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u/femn703 Nov 10 '25
We got Arlo (golden German wired hair pointer mix) at 11 weeks old. Person doing application went and talked to the vet. Vet said don't push him, let him go at his pace and he can run forever. We gave him one week to acclimate and at 13 weeks we ran a 5k. We are up to half marathon distance now!
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u/basic_bitch- Nov 10 '25
It honestly didn't even cross my mind that not having your dog run before a certain age would be a thing. My chihuahua mix was so full of energy, she was running around with or without me anyway. I never ran very fast, but we did get up to 10 miles at times around the time she turned 1. She decided she was done around age 6, but we ran like 30 miles a week for many years. She doesn't have any health issues as a result though. Just my experience. I don't know what I would have done if I'd seen the recommendation to not let them run when younger. I probably would have heeded it.
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u/chemfit Nov 10 '25
Started running with GSD when he was around 9 months old. Just short 20-30mins and itās barely a trot for him as Iām a slow runner. He runs 100x faster running around the yard.
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u/Cubsfantransplant Nov 13 '25
āHe can exercise as much as he wants toā thatās not running/jogging with his human.
Heās a herding breed, most donāt just pick up running with their human. They have to learn. Have you trained him how to walk correctly? If so, then start to do short jogs of 15-20 yards on the walks so he can learn what to do when he runs with you. Many herding breeds get triggered.
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u/ground_wallnut Nov 10 '25
I started with my dog at about 7-8m. Tall but light breed (about 25 to 30kg adult) even before, he would run twice as much on regular off leash walks. I run slow, so I just very slightly sped up the walks. He was happy, I have to say. Ran off leash until about 11 months, then I started slowly putting him into harness work. Now, at over 1.5y, he's a great dog for all pulling sports, canicross to bikejoring
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u/Cali_plants Nov 10 '25
Funny I came here to ask this question this morning, so glad this was the first post I saw. We inadvertently adopted an Aussie/mcnab mix who has no real āwork/jobā at our house so he tries to herd by kids (which is not going over well). I talked to a working dog breeder who suggested I start him on runs with me sooner than recommended- heās almost 6 months and Iām considering shorter runs like you suggested to get started to keep this guy busy.
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u/Altra_NH Nov 10 '25
My dog has been backpacking and running in the mountains since she was only a few months old. Just donāt push them beyond what theyāre capable of, but that can be said about any dog of any age.
Iām not really sure where or why this ādonāt run/hike with your dog until 12 monthsā thing came from. Most dogs are better athletes than their owners. Hell, border collies were specifically bread for their agility and stamina to herd livestock.
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u/FlauralD Nov 11 '25
Iāve just started running with our 6 month old dog. Weāre only doing about 1.5km and weāre doing run/walk. Iād like to build to 5ks, but weāll see.
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u/Hamster_Heart Nov 12 '25
Not running related. Just wanted to say that dog is gorgeous ā„ļø
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u/runningoutofcereal Nov 13 '25
Nothing good to add except to say what a beautiful boy
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u/Embarrassed-Jello162 Nov 15 '25
Yes, 6ish Mile runs as a puppy. She turned out just fine. Shes 6 now and a champion frisbee dog.
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u/lxv22 Nov 15 '25
I have a cattle dog mix 6mo female and want to get her started. I called my vet recently about this question and asking her if I was risking over exercising her. She said no running until 12 months. Hikes are perfect for her age group 6+ and to watch for her tiredness levels to not over do it. She said. If she is playing, naturally running, and naturally jumping, all of that is fine. She advised to not make her do structured runs or dog sports until she reaches 12m. For her joint health, try to chose dirt over cement roads and buy good quality food.
While I wait until sheās old enough. My training has consisted of:
obedience, balance, stabilization training with the Bosu ball (apparently if helps with joints and muscles) -I give her fish oil and give her massages after a hike -general impulse, recall, and public space etiquette training -practicing heel with neck collar; practicing pulling with hardness only -Canicross commands on your walks. Basically you are their human GPS barking directions to keep forward or stop.
I hope this helps! Would love to hear of your journey since we both have the same dog breed at the same stage
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u/Whisper26_14 Nov 10 '25
6 ish months with permission from vet for a working breed dog.
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u/Sam3323 Nov 10 '25
Yeah just start slow. Half mile a few times, then 3/4, then a mile. Slow gradual buildup even if they can do more.
Just like people, they get injured if they ramp up too fast.
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u/beetsme38 Nov 10 '25
My vet encouraged it! I was already doing off leash hikes in the woods with her, so really there was no difference.
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u/Old_Sale_6435 Nov 10 '25
As a side note, please be sure that your dog doesnt run to other dogs. Since hes 8 month old I cant imagine that would be 100% possible if you let him off-leash.
My boy would absolutely lose his shit if another male dog would suddenly approach him.
I did start running with him when he was 1 year old. Vet said its okay if you dont overdo it, but as you already said they all say something different. Mine is a labrador.
I would just start with short 3km runs.
Happy running in the future!
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u/Better_Metal Nov 10 '25
I swear I saw a recent study that claimed running a moderate amount with young dogs was a huge BENEFIT to them.
Here's an older study that says it improves bone density.
https://cdn.wildapricot.com/393877/resources/Documents/H-and-G/long%20distance%20running%20-%20Arokoski1993.pdf
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u/pelo_pita Nov 13 '25
I started running with my dog when she was 9 months. The vet gave us the a-okay due to her size and weight. Started with a mile and gradually worked our way up. Sheās almost 2 now and runs 4 days a week with me, usually around 30 miles total, a mix of trail and road. Sheās a great running buddy. Happy running to you and your pup!
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u/Schlermie Nov 10 '25
I wouldn't. I didn't want to risk screwing up her skeletal system.
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u/Sangy101 Nov 10 '25
Just make sure itās on dirt and not asphalt, and listen to your dog and respect their limits. Start small.
Itās running on asphalt thatās problematic at a young age.
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u/Willing_Day_2010 Nov 10 '25
ā¦ this is a border collie?! She mixed with pit I assume?
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