Trail running with my Cairn

[Lan013]

Hello all,

 

New to the site and new to cairn terriers. my boyfriend and have a 17 week old carin. His name is Charlie. We got him at 10 weeks and he has all his shots now and is safe to roam areas where other dogs have been. He is the absolute best dog ever! Such a character.

 

Anyway, I am a trail runner and would love to take him out and introduce him to trail running, he loves to be outside in the cool air and play fetch, walks well on leash and off leash, but am curious to know if there is harm running your cairn on trail for 3 to 5 miles.. Of course i wouldn't run him that entire distance the first time, I would gradually intro his running and limit to 1 mile, then 2 etc..

Any thoughts, advice, suggestions are appreciated.

 

Attached a funny clip of him sliding down his ramp to his enclosed patio area he was about 12 weeks.

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Sam I Am]

OMG how sweet is that little boy. Welcome to the site! I love the slide.

I think you probably need to ask your vet about running any kind of distance with a dog that young. Not sure but I have read articles about letting their bone structure mature before going out on jogging trips with.

[Idaho Cairns]

I liked that video so much I had to watch it four times!  What a handsome little boy your Charlie is--great coat.  I wouldn't think a mile would be out of the question at seventeen weeks but agree that longer distances at a young age might not be a good idea.  Later, when Charlie is fully developed three to five miles would be fine--Cairns are certainly capable of hard exercise as adults and make great hiking companions.  As you will find out, the Cairn Terrier is no "floo-floo" dog, they are tough, rugged little characters, able to keep up with most human activity.

[kieiras mom]

Charlie is beautiful! Welcome to the forum. You will find much good info  here

[bradl]

Agree with all the above, including cuteness assessments 

 

Personally, I wouldn't do more than walk him a couple of miles until his growth plates close and he's more or less physically matured. I would not take him running *myself* until he was 12-18 months or so.

 

He'd probably be happy to DO it at any age, given the opportunity.  I might look to some agility folks for perspective, as they tend to be very keen on the physical aspects of dog training, and especially injury prevention.

 

Regardless, you have a lifetime of adventure ahead with Charlie.

[Lan013]

Thanks everyone for the great tips/suggestions! We just went for our little neighborhood 2 block walk and he definitely likes the quick pace walk, sprinkled with a few sprints.  

[Hillscreek]

It's been my experience that walking exercise is the best till over 12 months age. Bones muscles ligatures etc need to develop and strengthen. Also good not to allow jumping till then.

 

Adorable Charlie will no doubt want to do more but overdoing it when immature could lead to injury and movement problems later.

I have usually taken short walks and gradually increased their length till by the time the dogs are a year they are ready for a short run and then gradually increase distance.

 

You will have lots of fun with Charlie that's for sure.

 

Welcome to this friendly and knowlegeable forum.

[hheldorfer]

Nothing to add except that Charlie is precious!  

 

(And Buffy agrees.  She gives him 4 paws up for *handsome*.

[josie&holly]

I know that the advice here is that a pup should only be walked for five minutes for every month of his age until he is about twelve months old to ensure the bone growth is enabled and to prevent problems in later life. I would imagine that running would be a no no until he is older too.

Cute pup!

[pkcrossley]

extremely handsome boy, and funny. since you mention that you're new to cairns i hope you'll also review the threads here on off-leash experiences. there are some special problems with cairns off leash, cairns of all ages but particularly young ones. enjoy your fabulous friend!

[_whits_]

I have no knowledge of running with dogs, but I will say your Charlie is ADORABLE. Welcome to the forum!

[cairnfan]

Charlie is adorable! Bear loves to go for a run but he does his best when given some time to sniff and explore first. We waited until Bear was older than 12 months. 

[Lynn in TN]

I don't know how I missed this post, but I am glad I found it. Only problem is I want another puppy now!

The only thing cuter than a Cairn puppy face is a Cairn puppy butt and you showed both in your video! Charlie is a real cutie. This video has made my day.

 

I agree with above 17 weeks is a little young to run with a pup, but after maturity and slowly breaking him in to running long distances no problem so long as he wants to. I have found that both my Cairns love to do almost anything I am doing, except when they don't want to and that does happen, from time to time, and is funny because nothing I do, can get them to do something they don't want to do.

 

My girls are pretty reliable on recall, but on occasion have failed. I wouldn't recommend off leash running with a Cairn because their prey drive is so strong even their favorite treat won't bring them back to you if they consider the prey more valuable. Many Cairns go missing because of this very thing.

 

Watch that pup like a hawk, he's really cutie, and have fun.

[dodgestail]

I love that video, he's surely one sweet and fun to be with! Our Dodge is an outgoer too and at age of 1.8 years old, he can do long walks. We sometimes do hiking but would wait till next year to ensure his prepared and fully developed before doing some long adventure.

[BetsyNoodle]

We have watched this video six times!!  Charlie is a little doll!! 

[catiboo]

I know nothing about running but I must say, I am in LOVE with Charlie. That video was adorable! 

[sanford]

Just want to add to all the good advice for limiting the length or duration of little Charlie's walks... If he's like many cairns, he won't know his limits and will continue to keep on going without showing any signs of fatigue, so you must be strict in establishing limits to keep him from overdoing it.

 

P.S. Like others here, I've watched Charlie's video numerous times, smiling all the while!

[pkcrossley]

great point. cairns have no judgment, they are all enthusiasm and determination. you decide when it is best for charlie to do big man stuff --not him.

[LindaMC]

Charlie is adorable, I watched the video numerous times also!   Love that little face...

 

I'm glad that somebody brought up the fact that Cairns can be unreliable at times on recall.  I have tried to call my Cairn to come in from out in the yard when she's standing at the bottom of a tree looking up at a squirel siting on a branch and no way was she moving away from that tree, even with me holding her favorite treats! 

[nclar0523]

That video was so funny! I loved how he kept looking back for reassurance as he was sliding down!

Not and expert but Rory would sprint with me off and on since he was 8 weeks and now he will jog for about 10 minutes and we alternate with walking for now. I found the biggest issue was his paws, after moving back to the Chicago winter from Tennessee, his paws were not hardened and he got two abrasions in his foot pads which healed and now his paws are hard and shiny so it's not a problem. Have fun Cairns are awesome outdoors!