Hi. So, I goofed up today. I ordered a couple walky dog bike leashes so we could bike our dogs and they came in a few days ago. Today we got them out on them. They are pretty sweet and the dogs loved them!

This is where I may have messed up though. My lab is only 6 months old. We didn't have a plan but we were doing an out and back. We were resting at mile 3 when it dawned on me that when my vizsla was a puppy I read or heard somewhere that you should not run a dog before it's about a year old at least. It was sort of an oh crap moment but we were still 3 miles from the truck so we just took it easy on the way back. We took water breaks at 1.5, 3, and 4.5 miles. Did 6 miles total.

Obviously I won't go that far with her again for a while, but my question is can I road her on the bike for a mile or two every couple days? She likes it and I know it will keep her in shape/tired. Is this still too much pure running for a young dog? What are your opinions on hard exercise for pups?

Thanks

A few pics:

Here's a good article on it.
Taking the dog out and letting him run is one thing... but forced exercising of a pup before his growth plates close can cause problems "down the road" (pun intended)

http://www.petmd.com/blogs/purelypuppy/2011/june/how_much_exercise_is_too_much_for_my_puppy-11255

Yeah that's what I had heard and remembered once we were down the road three miles lol.

Thanks for the article btw. No running her for a while.

I didn't read the article, so apologies if its already been stated: but even when you run them when older, it is better to run them on soft ground like grass, etc.

Very good article. Thank you!

I disagree with the soft ground. Very common to condition dogs pads on gravel, rocks. Let alone hunt them there too

I was thinking the same. I like my dogs to exercise on a variety of grounds including pavement at times to keep their pads hard.

I used to keep my dogs on chat. Never slipped a pad. Concrete seemed to sand their pads and make them thin. I always ran them on pasture land. Just my opinion.