Is running with my dog going to do him any harm?

[CakeMeIAmYours]

I have recently taken up running again and have been doing somewhere between 3 and 5km every morning with DDog. I'm really enjoying it and would like to carry on long term.

I don't run very fast so he keeps up with me at a brisk trot. He's a 15 month old labradoodle, but fairly small (20kg and about knee height) and much more poodle than lab. I run along the promenade, so on tarmac; running on sand just doesn't work for me.

For the last 200m or so, I let him off the lead and he zooms around the beach, so I don't think he's completely exhausted by the running, I'm just a bit concerned about his joints etc.

Does anybody have any advice/opinions please?

People will tell you that tarmac isn't ideal but to be quite honest some of the forest trails we hold races on are as hard packed as tarmac and the dogs are going a lot faster and further on that with no harm done.

Running on sand would be more beneficial to both of you, destabilising surfaces and all that. :)

Hmmm, I guess the sand would be better, but its so much haaarrrder

Also, the dog friendly section of beach is really short, only about 200m or so, so would have to be a very short run for us both.

I'm pretty sure he will be ok on the tarmac, I just worry about the little chap

Our labradoodle's breeder recommended no running with an adult before her 1st birthday, but fine after that. Hope that helps.great dogs, aren't they?

Based on a Labrador, I wouldn't run them regularly on a hard surface until 18 months old when most growing and development is done. Not sure about the poodle bit though.

I don't know about doing him harm, but please make sure he gets a proper dog walk - you know, mooching around, sniffing, greeting/playing with other dogs etc. I think the run would be great as exercise, but dogs really need that social, meeting the world type of walk too.

Hello

Thanks so much for your input, all taken on board. Just thought I'd give a little update.

We went to the vet this morning for some immunisations and I had a chat with him about it.

According to the vet, all a lab's and Poodle's growth plates will have fused by 13 months (he had a little chart thingy), but he suggested adding another month on for good measure. He did also say however that running on tarmac on a regular basis isn't good for anyone, dog or human.

I realised today that the dog restrictions on the beach are lifted in a few weeks, so we are going to do running on the sand with him off lead. That way he can have a good sniff/mooch/play with other dogs, it will be kinder to both of our joints and it will be good for my core stability

Lara you make a really valid point - fortunately we also do an evening walk with DDog which is a lot more social; we take him to a local park which is crammed with his dog-friends, he gets a lot of interaction from that which I agree is very important.

So, thanks very much for the advice - much appreciated

I run with my one year old cocker. She loves it! Don't do it every day, she gets a 'sniffy' walk every day, then maybe a run or a cycle every other day. She tends to run on the grass verge next to me, so not too much Tarmac...