• The past two mornings, Paco and I have walked about a mile together. He's going on 10 months and is a little on the small side, but he is full of energy and practically pulls me the whole way!

    Yesterday when we got to the car he hopped in, curled up on the floor, and chilled for the whole ride home. Today, he instead picked a shady spot before we even got to the car and just lay down right there in the middle of walking….like, ""nuh uh! I'm done!"

    I picked him up, draped him over my shoulders and carried him across the parking lot, then he curled up in the car again. Both yesterday and now today, he lies on the floor near the open door for the breeze and just zonks out.

    I hope I'm not overworking him. 🙂 How far have you guys walked your b's?


  • Malaika is nearly 9 months and walks several miles on some walks but not everyday. Sometimes we go on smaller walks. She never shows any tiredness whilst out walking but flops when we get home, usualy for the rest of the day.
    Sounds like Paco is a chap who knows his own mind 😉
    We don't often get to walk in the heat though, unfortunately so maybe this has some bearing on how far they will walk.
    Will be interested to se what everyone else says. I did read somewhere that a Pup should have 5 mins walk for every month of age but that would mean a 6 month old would only get 30 mins ?


  • Ozzy just turned 8 months old and I walk him 3 - 4 miles a day. He's never given the hint of being the least bit tired and usually there are many B500 laps (following our walks) with my nearly 2yo basenji, Aaliyah.

    I will say though that since you live in the USVI, perhaps it is because of the heat. I know that when it is hot, I don't walk any of my 4 basenjis except early morning or later evening (mainly because of the pavement temp, but also sun heat) - and I'm especially careful with Ozzy (b&w) or Liyah (brindle/w) because they absorb the heat more with their coat colours.


  • The only times I have ever seen Ella really tired is when it is very hot. On those occasions she is not shy about dropping down to the ground in the shade. That can happen after only a mile if the temperature is in the mid 80s or higher. On cooler days she can go for hours and not be tired at all…until we get home.


  • Not sure about distance, probably about 4-6 miles or so. I walk her to see my horses each night and its got to be at least 2 or 3 miles each way. I didnt overdo it when she was a pup though.


  • 50 feet :eek: - I take Cosmo to the park mid-day… It takes us 5 minutes to drive there and it takes her about 1 minute to do her business and sniff around... That's on a good day... If she hears or sees any dogs even if it's on the farthest end of the park, she makes a beeline for the car... I try to get her to hang out longer because I'm trying to desensitize her so she's not so skiddish but it's a long-term project...

    (Note: We do have another daily walk in the mornings and this is about 40 minutes or so... She's okay walking in our neighborhood when there are no dogs around... She likes the car ride so I also try to take her to different places where dogs are allowed so she can walk some more...) 🙂


  • And be careful about walking on hot pavement… burns their feet....


  • It depends on the temperature. Warm days not as far as a cool day. A mild day he can go 1-1/2 to 2 hours walking easily. As Tanza says, hot pavement and also hot dirt or sand is a no no.


  • When they were puppies, both Trog and Xander would lay down after about 10 - 15 minutes of walking in hot temps. As adults they can tolerate it longer, but I avoid exercising them in hot or humid weather. We were on one August walk in Kansas City and I noticed Xanders eyes were extreamly bloodshot around the edges, I picked him up and carried him the rest of the way back to our hotel. I spray them down frequently when we must be outside in the heat. Our indoor summer obedience class wiped us both out when the temps hit triple digits in the non air conditioned facility.


  • @tanza:

    And be careful about walking on hot pavement… burns their feet....

    Such a valuable comment - When we had our hot spell here in early August, I could not believe how many people were out dog walking during the hottest part of the day.

    Also, perhaps b's tend to like long walks because there just might be a bunny around the corner? 🙂 And we certainly wouldn't want to miss it!


  • @Kipawa:

    Also, perhaps b's tend to like long walks because there just might be a bunny around the corner? 🙂 And we certainly wouldn't want to miss it!

    I'd believe that in a heartbeat, lol.

    I walk him early in the morning - not before the sun's come out, but early enough that the sidewalk hasn't become too baked just yet. It is still definitely hot and humid here, though, so I don't blame him one bit for layin' in the shade when he finds it. He also hasn't been going on walks this long up until now, so some conditioning might be in order. 🙂


  • When it's hot and humid, mine give up out after a half mile, whereas they can easily go much further if the weather is cool and dry. My black dogs can't take the sun like my red ones could, even as a youngster Topper would stop and lay down in the shade after 1/4 mile!


  • When I first acquired Gossy, she would only go around the block (about 10 minutes max) but now we go as long as she wants, which can vary tremendously.

    Iit all depends on temperature and potential prey and other interesting/disturbing activities. Most mornings (sunrise) we'll go for 20 minutes (fast walk for me) and then in the afternoon when I come home from work we'll go fro 15-45 minutes (almost a run for me) depending on what's of interest or how hot or how much traffic noise or …


  • I dont know in terms of distance but mine usually go at least an hour and have gone 2 or more if its cool. I think they would walk all day if I had the time because they never want to go back home though once we get home they will plop down and go to sleep like they are exhausted. Gee mom is just so mean for dragging them all over the neighborhood and keeping them away from their sleep. As was mentioned chief being tri (9 months) feels the heat more than my r/w zoe but now that the days are cooler he keeps up with her fine.

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