For those that run with dogs...

I'm sure you'll get lots of opinions on this.  My dog is a 2 year old lab/husky mix and she has WAY too much energy.  I asked her vet about running with her and she said to just treat her like a person and work up to longer distances.  I take Phoebe 2-3 times/week right now and usually 3-4 miles.  Since it is incredibly hot in Atlanta right now, I am not taking her much more than 3-4 miles, but as it gets cooler she may go for longer.  The vet told me that if Phoebe is tired she will stop, and one time she did and we just walked home.  So you could probably do every morning but you need to work up to that, so maybe start out 1-2 times/week at first for 1-2 miles.

 
Really I think it just depends on your dog.  I do have a friend with Goldens and she said her vet told her not to run too far with them because they are such people pleasers and will keep running even if they want to stop.  Not sure if that's true or not.  I know you also have to be careful with puppies because they are not fully developed yet. 

I've run with Jake the Wonder Dawg up to about 13 miles but it's been too hot for him the last few weeks so I'll wait till fall before I take him with me again.  He is a Golden Retriever and absolutely loves to run!  He goes beserk when he sees me in running shoes carrying a leash as he knows we're going out on the road.

~Mike

When you get your pup's next shots, talk to your vet about when his growth plates will likely close. You don't want to do much endurance work with a young dog until their growth plates have closed. You can damage their bones, joints and overall growth. It's sorta like you wouldn't expect a 3rd grader to be a gym gronk or be a marathoner. They're just too little and not developed enough for the stress on their bodies.

Walks are good, play is good, some running and chasing (you or a ball), but continued pace for the length of even a short training run can be damaging if you do it too much.

What you can do is get him used to where he should be on his leash so that later when you do run with him he isn't pulling you all over the sidewalk, running under your feet, and dislocating your shoulder when he sees the cat across the street.  4 months is a GREAT age to start working on that.

When you do start doing distance training with him, like everyone says, work him up to it. He won't be used to a sustained regular pace. His paw pads won't be used to sustained regular pace on pavement either. And like any new athlete, he'll need to recover in between workouts until he's built his endurance up. Work up to daily runs or whatever. You can play fetch or something to burn his energy as needed. (Some activity where he can stop for a breather then start again.)

Also ask your vet about what pain reliever is appropriate - our dogs get baby aspirin and some vitamin C if we go hiking too far or some other weekend warrior thing. Dogs get sore muscles too.

Oh, and pictures please!!!!    I LOF puppies.

I would think the dog need to be a little older and work up to it. You have to learn to take cues from Spot. Some days Sam wants to run other time she is happy to trot. Check pad every so often and watch the hot pavement. Carry water.

Sam love to swim too. She has begun to embarrass a few people OWS in the lake. I do have a life vest on her, we needed to train with it for the Doggy Du. It's a ways to shore. I t also helps her in the waves. She just swims with me. No lead. She is 9 years old. This is race report from the Doggy Dash and the underwear run .

Ha!  Well I do love me some bulldogs, but this is my girl: