Hiking with a dog

[katanddog]

Hey everyone, I wonder how many of you clocks your steps by walking your dogs? Our German Shepherd loves hiking and we love taking him on trips as well. But I often wonder how much walking is too much for them. What is your experience? Here is our complete fail on Seven Sisters: https://youtu.be/c6Gfn-yehFU . Is it just us? 

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the Community forums, @katanddog! 

I had this same question a while back and found that unfortunately there isn't a consensus or definitive answer. There are different opinions about this, but your veterinarian is always a great place to start your research. 

I think it can vary depending on the dog's age and breed, I know that German Shepherds are very active and full of energy. I had a Dachshund and she would only walk for 30 to 45 minutes, but they're very small and have tiny legs 😅 😀

[Heather-S]

I have a 13 year old Husky and a one year old Labrador.  Our husky, when we was younger, definitely loved to run and walk and explore.  He's old now and mostly sleeps, but he still gets excited for his daily 1 mile walks.

Our one year old lab could probably run 5 miles and not get tired.  We've only taken her on 1.5 mile runs since she just turned one, but I'm hoping to build her up to further distances.  I think she could do a 5K run easily and probably even a 10K.

[DavideFitbit]

Love Huskies! I always feel like they're talking to me in their own language 😀

[Hmkitten]

I have a boxer/german sheperd/who-knows-what 55lb mutt. He is a couch potato, so I had to start slow, but we are up to 4 mile hikes, which is about my max too. I can pretty much read him on the hikes to see how well he is doing. He has back leg problems (no cruciate ligaments, like ACLs) so I err on the shorter side of things if there is lots of up and down/uneven terrain. I did take him too far one time and he was obviously sore--I felt really bad about it too. Of course, I overdid myself at the same time!

[Baltoscott]

Hi @katanddog -- what a great video and a beautiful dog. Now I have to subscribe to your YouTube Channel!

I love hiking with my dog Jayhawk. Now that he's older (12 yrs this month) he seems to drag a bit when it's hot, but fall/winter/spring he's good as long as I am -- usually 2-4 hrs. 

[DavideFitbit]

I had that experience @Hmkitten, mine was a couch potato too and had to start really slow 😅, but she made it eventually. 

Jayhawk looks amazing @Baltoscott! 😎

[Vidd]

Nice question!  My step count rose by about 30% when we got a dog.  He's a border collie/Welsh sheepdog cross, and can keep going for hours.  He know how to rest up when he gets home and is always ready for the next outing.  He regularly walks 9 to 11 miles in an afternoon (plus shorter walks morning and evening) and has done a few excursions of over 20 miles.  For the long ones, I take food and drink for him, which I also have to do on hot days.

[katanddog]

Wow 9-11miles as regular walks is quite a lot. We are yet to try 20 miles
walk, so far we have been sticking to 10 miles mark for our weekend hikes.
But on regular days I struggle to keep my step count under 11K, just with 2
shorter walks in the day. I had an achilles injury recently. That was not
from dog walking of course, I thought I would go back to capoeira, which
apparently i cant do, out of the blue at my tender age of 42. 🙂 so
physio is recommending a bit of rest, and my step count just doesn't go
down... 🙂

[Vidd]

Ooh, hard luck about that Achilles.  I hope you recover properly from that.  Are you saying you are trying to walk less then you do, but you can't manage to?  I can understand that as I snapped a knee ligament just over a year ago - going upstairs too fast! - and was initially down to about 4,000 steps for a few days, but was torn between resting and wanting to get my walking back.  

[katanddog]

Aww, how long did it take to heal?

[DavideFitbit]

Wow he's a very experienced walker, @Vidd! Nine to eleven miles in an afternoon is very good. 😀

[Vidd]

It was walkable, @katanddog, but not without some pain, after about a week, and has got gradually stronger since then, thanks.

[Vidd]

Just keeping up with my dog, @DavideFitbit ! 😉