Hi Guys,

My Boxer is just over 13 months now and I wanted to get your views on taking him running. I know he is still growing so I don't want to cause him any damage but can I start running with him yet?

I run 6 or 7 miles every other day and it takes me about an hour, it's on a mix of gravel and grass so wouldn't be too hard on his joints or paws. At the moment he gets an hour long walk in the mornings and then another shorter walk in the evening. Being able to run with him would be a great pace maker for me and I know he'd love it but I don't want to put any unnecessary stress on his joints with him being so young still.

Your views please?

Rosie

Personally  6/7 miles every other day is far to much pounding exersice for a Boxer so young.

Boxers are a slow physically maturing breed (along with mentally)  and for me , I would worry ,  about the impact on their joints.

Boxers along with many other breeds  can suffer from hip problems, (although , and I know this will be  a bone of contention for some Boxer people)  they are one of the few large/medium breeds in the UK that are not routinely hips scored before breeding

I know to many Boxers with HD , my own included, so on that note I would advise curbing that amount of exercise.

A good run off lead in the park for his age should be suffice.

I would wait untill he is fully grown and physicall mature, so around 2 years old, before such long controlled exercise.

I would say you can do a little run with him but nothing like 6 or 7 miles.

I took my Leo running with me from age 14 months but I only run 5 km a day which is I think about 3 miles. We would also walk some of it when I first started taking her with me...
I also started doing short bike rides with her at the same time but these would be something like 1km as a distance which is less tha n a mile...

Even when you start doing such a distance you will need to slowly build it up or you will get a hurty dog and he could start using his muscles/joints incorrectly if you over do it.

Thanks for the responses.

I might look at taking him on short 2/3 mile runs when he is a bit older then.

Rosie

I run my year old Weim occassionally.... usually only about 6km though. She is fantastic for keeping my pace up and really keeps me on my toes! If I was you I would take your boy out when you want to do a faster and shorter run.... max 30mins really. I also wouldn't do this more than twice a week, but that's just my opinion. This is great training for when he is matured and you want to do long runs as bouncy boxers aren't always easy to keep running in a straight line! Enjoy! :-)