Dog Fitness/Endurance Question- running related

[Art Shirk]

You could also consider a catahoula. There are more to be found now that their usual home left many stranded down south. They are very protective and loyal to their masters as long as the hierarchy is laid down at an early age. This is not to say that they are distant or "non-cuddly." They generally have sleak bodies and barrel chests and love to run as they were originally bred for herding animals that had strayed long distances and needed to be herded back. They aren't too large, and aren't too small, and many like their colors.

We have come to conclude that our rescue is a catahoula and she is a delight. I have been unable to get her completely tired. She also jumps like a gazelle.

[MultiVerse]

^^^ Wow; that’s a handsome rescue dog with serious vertical. Catahoulas’ are supposed to be great swimmers too; does she have webbed feet?

[Art Shirk]

^^^ Wow; that’s a handsome rescue dog with serious vertical. Catahoulas’ are supposed to be great swimmers too; does she have webbed feet?

She does, yes. I take her swimming at least one a week and she loves it. I think most Catahoulas have webbed feet as they were also bred to be able to run across the marshes and swamps in Louisiana without sinking quickly.

[RootSkier]

Definitely a good looking dog you got there, commonlaw.

[lemon boy]

To be somewhat contrarian, or more specifically to boil down the dog suggestions into practical considerations-

you want a dog that:
Is of medium build 40-70#s
Is of medium to light coat
Has longish legs
Probably a hunting or herding dog
Get a dog (or breed) who’s waist is noticeably thinner than its chest
Smart, not high strung

One dog that has yet to be mentioned that I think would be really great for your bill is a Chessie (just get one from a breeder that is into ones on the small end of the breed). Loyal, protective, smart, super athletic and obedient if you’re consistent. Generally a lot less high strung than many other field breeds.

[Elkhound Odin]

ODIN:


Is of medium build 40-70#s check
Is of medium to light coat nope
Has longish legs nope
Probably a hunting or herding dog check
Get a dog (or breed) who’s waist is noticeably thinner than its chest not really
Smart, not high strung check



3 out of 6, guess that's why he is such a poor running partner. But, damn, he sure luvs the snow. Especially the steep & deep

[Viva]

Is of medium build

Has longish legs

waist is noticeably thinner than its chest
Smart, not high strung

Dude, you describing the perfect woman or the perfect running dog?

[Grange]

To be somewhat contrarian, or more specifically to boil down the dog suggestions into practical considerations-

you want a dog that:
Is of medium build 40-70#s
Is of medium to light coat
Has longish legs
Probably a hunting or herding dog
Get a dog (or breed) who’s waist is noticeably thinner than its chest
Smart, not high strung

One dog that has yet to be mentioned that I think would be really great for your bill is a Chessie (just get one from a breeder that is into ones on the small end of the breed). Loyal, protective, smart, super athletic and obedient if you’re consistent. Generally a lot less high strung than many other field breeds.

I grew up with chessies and thought about mentioning them because BeanDip4all mentioned wanting a protective dog. Chessies most certainly can be protective, extremely loyal and very athletic. The two reasons I didn't was because they are not the best dogs in hot weather. Running a chessie in hot weather could become a problem when compared to other breeds due to their dense coat. The second reason is their oily fur. It's not like oil is dripping off the fur, but their coat does have more oil than other breeds.

Our chessies were all from field trial lines so they were not layed back until they got older, though one became almost too layed back after she was spayed at two years old.

If where BeanDip4all runs doesn't get too hot or there is water around a smaller chessie could be a decent match.

Oh and the chessie lover in me can't say this enough: If you want a chessie you need to have a waterbody for the dog to swim nearby. I hear people say their breed of choice loves water, but none I have seen have compared to the love of water by a chessie. There is a term given to mainly chessies called "water freaking" and until you see a dog that does this you haven't seen a water loving dog. It is often considered a fault by breeders, but the chessie I had that would "water freak" was the most fun to bring to the lake. She would gather an audience for some of her antics. God I miss her.

[BeanDip4All]

^^^ interesting, thanks Grange.

Well for now, the takeaway from this is that Linus the Toothless Wonderdog will continue to be my trail running buddy, and I'm also carrying pepper spray on the runs for protection.

We are waiting to hear from some school/job prospects for me which would begin next fall before thinking about adding another woofer to our family, however if it all falls into place, we'll look at:
- Rhodesian ridgeback
- Karelian Bear Dog
- Chesapeake bay retriever

Thank you again, for all of your thoughts! Awesome and informative thread.
Here is Linus after a run and a swim at Rodeo Beach:

[Rossta]

Just thought i'd take this opportunity to talk about my best friend. snoop dog. 2 yr old doberman. in the summer, he goes on 10 mile bike rides with me. this winter, i've been running him behind my truck. started with 1/2 mile, and progressed to 5 or 6. at full sprint, he can run about 25 mph, but the usual pace is about 20.

dobermans are wonderful dogs. anyone who thinks otherwise is inexperienced.

[Blatant]

Just thought i'd take this opportunity to talk about my best friend. snoop dog. 2 yr old doberman. in the summer, he goes on 10 mile bike rides with me. this winter, i've been running him behind my truck. started with 1/2 mile, and progressed to 5 or 6. at full sprint, he can run about 25 mph, but the usual pace is about 20.

dobermans are wonderful dogs. anyone who thinks otherwise is inexperienced.

I have one thing to say to this.

[Bart T]

was going to post my advice that you run with your corgi and carry pepper spray, but you obviously figured this out on your own.

nice blog, too. here is a snap of my trail running buddy. he'll often go on two runs a day, and still have energy. (mrs t got him to chase away cougars on her runs.)

edit: damn flickr.

[hutash]

I finally got a chance to read through this thread, and am pleasantly surprised at the generally good information. There are a few minor errors, nothing worth mentioning. Good job maggots.

C. a couple of points. I am not a big fan of protection breeds, since many of them are too aggressive. Almost any good sized dog will afford the protection you are looking for. Even toothless Linus will be surprisingly protective when the situation arises. Some of the most friendly fun loving dogs turn into maniacal beast when there owners are threatened. Even labs the happiest dogs in the world are very protective. That being said, a Rhodesian would be a good option. Chessies are good here, but I don't really think of them as a running dog, but they certainly can run (not sure I would want to run one for 30 miles, but then I wouldn't want to run it either.) Same with labs.

My biggest concern for what you are doing is over heating. It is very easy to do, and as has been said, watch your dog carefully. I have treated plenty of heat stroke dogs who have been on the same run/ride many times without problems. Every day is different, so pay attention. Training and conditioning are of paramount importance. If you or your dog are not used to the heat or distance, work up to it. Most dogs can handle long trotting runs for many miles, but can only handle burst activity for very short periods. Wolves have been known to cover 120 miles in a day, but the do it at an easy lope.

Coat is important especially in California. Long coats like collies and shelties can be a nightmare here due to foxtails and burrs (clover and castor are the two biggies). Short or wire haired breeds are much easier to maintain. Some of the medium to short hair herding breeds would be a good fit. Boarder collie, Queensland, Catahoula etc.

As for your vet in Manhattan, he was 100% correct. You and Linus couldn't run more then a half mile in Manhattan with out getting mugged or hit by a car

[Viva]

Beware of ticks and fleas, ceej. The Sierra Foothills are full of them and the season is soon upon us. The coastal hills, too.

This wasn't a problem in Oregon because it was too cold, but in California fleas and ticks can be really bad.

[BeanDip4All]

Beware of ticks and fleas, ceej. The Sierra Foothills are full of them and the season is soon upon us. The coastal hills, too.

This wasn't a problem in Oregon because it was too cold, but in California fleas and ticks can be really bad.

Yeah!! We are finding this out the hard way. Took FIVE freaking ticks off him this week. Yiegh. Been checking him every single day, but they're hard to find in his thick fur, so we don't really see them until they get engorged.

I just ordered this, mainly because it doesn't have diatomaceous :
http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction...on_id=14346537

and also emailed our dog guru (the corgi rescue vet where we got Linus from), who told us the following regarding ticks:

Frontline Plus should repel ticks and fleas, but ticks are a real problem in some places and people have reported that it wasn't 100% effective. I have used diatomaceous (sp?) earth (chalk dust, basically) that has some essential oils added, but it is very drying to the dog's skin and shouldn't be inhaled. I'd say that a good once-over with a comb and pulling the little buggers out is going to be your best bet. If he develops any symptoms such as a fever or such, (google Lymes and Erlichia) then I'd head for the vet. Antibiotics are given in the case of both, I think. There is a Lyme vaccine available, too.

Short - keep an eye on him, don't need a vet visit unless he has any symptoms. You should be okay.

We'll probably get frontline plus and put him on that sometime next week as well. I was going to pick some up today, but at the world'$ mo$t expen$ive pet $upply $tore in our SF hood, it was $65 for a 3-month supply. Just found some online that was $38 so just ordered that.

Viva- how long is this "tick season?" Will they always be this bad?

I feel so bad for the little dude picking up all these parasites, it's almost making me not want to bring him on runs anymore.

ps- doing a 14 miler trail tomorrow with 5000ft of elevation gain/loss to some waterfall out in the ohlone wilderness... psyched!

[happytimefunbox]

Got our chocolate lab Marley at the pound, probably 2-3 years old, he's about 70 lbs and big in size but slender build. He's the best dog ever; great with our kids, our old dog, the cat, other dogs, everything that has been said before about labs. You wouldn't think he has a viscious bone in his body but he is very protective of our kids, which is awesome! He sits at the top of our stairs and looks out the front window and growls a beastly growl whenever someone comes to the door. I get him out about 3-5x a week in the summer on the MTB, hiking or on the skateboard. We've worked our way up to about 10-12 miles on the bike. I tend to get a bit ahead of him on the downhills but he catches up on the flats, he only runs flat out at the beginning of a ride when he's really excited then tones it down to a lazy lope after the first mile and never goes much above that. We spend most of our bike time solo in big cat country so it's comforting to have him there even though we've never seen one, only cougar sign which seemed to put him on guard. He doesn't get out as much in the winter but he is always down for a tour or some snowshoeing. Like has been said before if we didn't keep an eye on his food intake and give him excersize he'd blow up like a stay puff marshmellow man. I think any lab has that tendency. I'd recommend labs to you but there are so many options.

Good luck with the little guy you have and any other dog you get...

[Grange]

As far as Frontline Plus goes I've had pretty good luck with the stuff in the past, but last year I noticed it wasn't working as well. I had to pull out a few tick stuck in my dog. I apply the stuff every month like clock work and get her lymes vaccine because for the past few years the ticks have been very bad. It was not unusual to pull 30 plus ticks off my dog after a run in the woods. I ended up switching to K9 Advantax last year and so far so good. I don't want to say Frontline Plus is bad, but I was not happy with number of tick attaching to my dog.

[lemon boy]

We used frontline one year and I was not impressed. I moved over to collars (we only need it in the spring/early summer here really) and that's been fine for us.

[hutash]

Here is my take on tick control.

Frontline is my favorite, since it is the least toxic. In fact it is pretty damn safe. The "Plus" version has no real advantage. They add an insect growth regulator, which really doesn't do much, since the fipronil should be killing the fleas in the first place, and it has no effect on ticks. It works well against ticks, but is not fool proof. It is also very water resistent.

Flea and tick collars are worthless, and the only one that does work is way too toxic. This is the Amatraz collar. It does work against fleas and ticks, but they contain really, really, nasty stuff. My choice of last resort, since they are better then having ticks around if all else fails.

Advantix is a good flea and tick product, but the tick control is permethrin, which is very toxic to cats. (It can kill cats if they rub up against dogs with a fresh dose of Advantix applied, though some people would not consider that a bad thing). It does seem to work better for tick control then Frontline.

I have not used Revolution and some of the newer one for tick control, so I have no direct experience, but from taking with others they are not great.

Tick season in southern California (where I practice) is highly variable. Some years we see the little bastards in spring, other times summer, some years we see a few, other years there a billions of them. After 25 years here I gave up trying to figure out when tick season is in my area.

I recommend buying any of these products through your vet. You will pay a little more, but it is guaranteed to work, and the manufacturers stand by their products. If you buy them from most on line sources, or at a pet shop it is gray market (and often black market), so is not guaranteed. There is some totally worthless counterfeit garbage on the market out there, thanks to our Chinese friends who can fake a product within ours of its launch.

[lemon boy]

Flea and tick collars are worthless, and the only one that does work is way too toxic. This is the Amatraz collar. It does work against fleas and ticks, but they contain really, really, nasty stuff. My choice of last resort, since they are better then having ticks around if all else fails.

With a nod to your expertise; While it isn't the amatraz collar (just get whatever's at the pet store), we seriously haven't had a tick since we started and the dogs both get plenty of tick country running. :shrug: Will keep in mind that the amatraz is errrrrrr of last resort.

The one summer we used frontline (from the vet) I pulled a bunch of ticks off the dog, damn are those things nasty.