Free running - time or distance more important?

[Secret Someone]

Hey,

so, I was wondering... if a dog is off lead having a good walk or run, which of these two is more important? My powerchair goes really fast, so we can take 20 minutes to go somewhere that it might take someone else an hour to walk. So far I've been timing his walks roughly to make sure he get 2 hours per day, but in those two hours he does A LOT of running. We can go across quite a few miles in that time. We also stop to play ball and hide and seek and stuff. I'm wondering though... If I'm poorly would it be okay to measure on distance sometimes? How would I know if he's been an okay distance? It might mean the walk was half the amount of time, but he might still go a fairly decent distance? I'm just looking for more manageable ways if I'm more poorly than usual.

In case anyone hasn't heard me babble about him before... Pan's a border collie, between 3 and 4 years old.

Thanks

[JudyN]

Good to see you again, SS

I don't think there's any hard & fast rules, and it will vary from dog to dog, even within a breed. Some dogs will refuse to go out in the rain and will happily stay indoors all day. Mental stimulation is possibly more important than physical, so a quick run but with some form of interaction at home should be fine. Though do let his muscles warm up first.

You know Pan best - his behaviour will let you know if he's not getting enough physical or mental stimulation.

[Swanny1790]

Neither time nor distance is a particularly useful indicator. The most important indicator is your dog's behavior. For example, your dog will likely slow from a lope to a trot at some point in the run. If your goal is to provide adequate exercise to promote good health, the point in the session at which the gait changes is a pretty fair "stopping point." If your dog prefers to trot along, watch closely and at some point s/he will likely switch from a trot to a pace - again a sign the dog is tiring and a good stopping point. If Pan is one of those dogs that dashes from one exciting stimuli to another (sniff then run to the next thing to sniff as an example), the point at which he either trots from stimuli to stimuli or ignores those distractions to focus on running or trotting is a good indicator.

If that doesn't make sense let me know and I'll try to explain it better.

[bendog]

I often wonder the same thing!

In two hours we can cover 6 miles off lead, or maybe 3 miles on the beach. And I've no idea which the dogs prefer.

They change pace many many times, bursts of running around and sections of walking etc so it isn't that much of an indicator

[Swanny1790]

Truly the important thing is to know what is "normal" for your dog, and when the behavior changes to something that isn't normal (different gait, tail-set, ear set, head position, &c) you can observe the change and evaluate the cause of it.

Bendog's terriers may find 6 miles in two hours to be a good workout, but my Alaskan huskies would cover that 6 miles pulling 300 lb. of combined cargo and musher on a sled in about 45 minutes and be literally pounding their harnesses and screaming for more. A two hour free run for those over 8 or 9 months of age will cover somewhere in the nieghborhood of 12 to 20 miles, including lots of time for exploring interesting scents, splashing around in puddles, quick dips in ponds or sloughs and generally playing around with their buddies.

Last summer my friends Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore had dogs involved in a research project on the usefulness of electrolyte supplementation in working doge, in which the study dogs were walked off lead from 6 hours per day at the start of the project to 9 hours per day toward the end of it. That's each and every day, without fail and regadless of weather. It's not unusual for sporting dogs to be hunting all day long without showing signs of undue fatigue just as stock dogs may be working literally from sunrise to sunset.

So, there really isn't a hard and fast answer to the question. How much is enough really depends upon the individual dog, his or her breed, the health of the dog, his or her conformation, size, drive, level of hydration, quality of feed, weather conditions, surface (trail) conditions, and huge array of other variables.

[bendog]

Don't get me wrong - mine will gladly do 12 miles or more. I've walked 7 hours with them before with very few breaks. I just don't have the time (or energy!) to do that with them everyday (I would love to but it's not going to happen!)
So I guess the question isn't how much exercise is "ideal" because the answer is probably there's no such thing.
It's more what's the MINIMUM you can get away with.

I was just curious as they seem equally tired from 6 miles walking as from the same length of time blasting about off lead playing fetch or chasing each other although covering less distance.

[gwd]

I've walked 7 hours with them before with very few breaks. I just don't have the time (or energy!) to do that with them everyday (I would love to but it's not going to happen!)

not to mention that it's kinda hard to support yourself by walking your own dogs as a full time job!

[minkee]

I'm on a tablet rather than my laptop so excuse me a if I'm brief.

I'd say with your examples there bendog, it's the variety that's tiring. The mental stimulation of being somewhere different than usual gives the nose and brain a bigger workout - and results in a far more tired dog than running for twice as long or far in a regular place that they go to every day.

[Swanny1790]

So, a good suggestion for the original poster might be to find unique and highly stimulating places to run Pan on those days when she's feeling poorly. That would seem a logical idea if it's practical to do so.