@elbrant
On the flip side of this conversation can the breeders or owners recommend or suggest what they think Is a reasonable distance in walking an older basenji. My B turned 14 this past January. She always loved her walks - in her prime we’d do 4-5 miles a day. This past summer I noticed I had to walk her early in the morning or early evening due to the heat.This past fall we were doing about 2-3 miles per day and she was always eager to walk. Once winter hit, it was very sporadic and limited - depended on the weather. It was the first winter that she would refuse to go for a walk if there was snow out it was too cold. Once weather got better, we started walking again but have only been doing about 1 mile per day. There are many days she stops dead outside the door wanting to go back in if it’s too cold (I always dress her w/ a sweater or jacket if it’s cool). She enjoys her walks and doesn’t have any physical restrictions except for her age. Otherwise, I feel she is still spry, active, alert, and maintains a reasonable weight. I forget that she’s old except for the fact that she has a white face.
Running with pup?
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I walked Paco even when he was just a few months old because he was so full of energy…I tried jogging short bursts, but he was so prone to random stops to sniff and cutting across my path that I stopped for fear of falling over on him.
He seemed to love the walks, as long as they weren't too long. Once I took him on a long walk and carried him around my shoulders back home after he laid down and refused to go on.
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I would definitely wait a year before the running. You want to let your puppies bone plates solidify before you have him/her start pounding the pavement.
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In sweden they say at puppyobedience class that 5 minutes walkning / month of age.
So if the puppy is 5 months you can walk about 25 minutes just walking in leash/day (It doesn't count the playing and other thing you do with the puppy.)
Thats not printed in stone but maybe a guidance of who to exercise a puppy
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Thanks all, Olive just arrived. She's a bundle of awesome
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Aaahw.. she's very pretty! Congratulations!
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a pretty girl!
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I agree with a lot of people in regards to this thread- a year seems right to me, I run in the morning nowadays but when the puppy comes a walk will do..
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Gorgeous! I have a soft spot for brindle Basenji's.
Congrats on the new addition! -
Oh my god. Shes adorable!
I Love that dark brindle
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Congratulations…she sure is pretty...I too have a soft spot for brindles...
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I just started running with my pup Malu. He's about 5.5 months. I'm really out of shape so we are out for about 20-25 mins that includes occasional breaks to walk. I really would have to push myself to have him anywhere near a full run, as mentioned above, its more of a trot for him if I am jogging at a moderate pace.
As long as you are paying attention to the pup, you should be fine. If he decides he doesn't want to run anymore, stop and walk (that's what we do). When he has play dates with some of his friends he is moving much faster than our dogjog pace for longer periods of time. I can't see jogging with a pup that harmful as long as you aren't forcing the issue.
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In sweden they say at puppyobedience class that 5 minutes walkning / month of age.
So if the puppy is 5 months you can walk about 25 minutes just walking in leash/day (It doesn't count the playing and other thing you do with the puppy.)
They say that over here also, but I don't like that rule. I left home this afternoon at 14 hour, and came back at 18 hour. So that was a 4 hour walk with a 5 month old pup. He has run off leash most of the time. We sat down from time to time so I could smoke a cigarette, stopped a few times to let him swim (yes, he does like swimming), let him play with some other dogs who where also walking around there… So he's been active for 4 hours. Not walking next to me, but running around, swimming playing with other dogs. Still he didn't lay down when I sat down. Now he's sleeping next to me, but not as deep asleep as an exhausted dog can do.
A dog, like most other animals, is build to be able to move longer distances at a young age. Look at deer, they run with the group after just a few days. Wolf pups run miles and miles with the pack at a young age. Some birds, wild horses.. run for hundreds or even thousand of miles before they are a year old.
So why wouldn't a dog be able to walk for an hour at 3 months old or so?I have been looking to find out where that 5-minute rule came from. But can't find anything about it.
But always watch and read your dog so he can tell you when he had enough, and give him enough opportunities to rest if he wants to. Don't force him to do more then he can handle, and try to let him run off-leash, or take on a speed when walking that suits your dog.
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They say that over here also, but I don't like that rule. I left home this afternoon at 14 hour, and came back at 18 hour. So that was a 4 hour walk with a 5 month old pup. He has run off leash most of the time. We sat down from time to time so I could smoke a cigarette, stopped a few times to let him swim (yes, he does like swimming), let him play with some other dogs who where also walking around there… So he's been active for 4 hours. Not walking next to me, but running around, swimming playing with other dogs. Still he didn't lay down when I sat down. Now he's sleeping next to me, but not as deep asleep as an exhausted dog can do.
A dog, like most other animals, is build to be able to move longer distances at a young age. Look at deer, they run with the group after just a few days. Wolf pups run miles and miles with the pack at a young age. Some birds, wild horses.. run for hundreds or even thousand of miles before they are a year old.
So why wouldn't a dog be able to walk for an hour at 3 months old or so?I have been looking to find out where that 5-minute rule came from. But can't find anything about it.
But always watch and read your dog so he can tell you when he had enough, and give him enough opportunities to rest if he wants to. Don't force him to do more then he can handle, and try to let him run off-leash, or take on a speed when walking that suits your dog.
I walk Basil now for about 40-75 minutes in the evening and sometimes for about 10-15 mins in the morning. Although this hasn't helped his biting… he is more content and loves going on walks. He's a star in my neighborhood... everyone stops to meet him and he loves meeting new dogs. I'm glad I started walking him for this length of time and he's only 10 weeks (I think) now. He's used to his harness and leash and will run with me for short sprints during our walk and I give him lots of time to sniff and go slowly in grassy areas and especially in the park near my house which we start off in and end off in. This is usually where he sniffs around, lays down and finds sticks to carry around. Then when we're walking down the sidewalks or streets we do a light jog or run and then walk a little slower. He really loves it and I think it has helped him sleep better at night. He now only wakes up at about 3am after his last outside time at about 11 or 11:30pm and then not again until 5:00am... when he refuses to sleep again... I'm hoping his alarm clock will go off around 6:30am in a few weeks... crossing fingers! I think you can walk them as much as you want... the more the better!
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Olive is gorgeous! As to the walking/running - watching my little one run in the dog parks we took her to once she'd had her shots - I do not personally believe you can make a B run "flat out" while she/he is running next to you while you're jogging. They can outdistance us without breaking a sweat (pant?)! Now that my girl is all grown, we run her next to our golf cart once a day when she isn't going to the dog park, and the cart cannot keep up with her, it slows her down. So long as the jogging isn't on cement and the dog can run on softer ground - no problem.
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Hi there. I was about to post this question and did a search for this topic. It's been a while now! I am curious how running with a Basenji turned out? We are considering a Basenji and my husband wants it to be a running partner.
