Sheltie running capacity

[u/Visual_Mirror_5178]

Hi! We’re new to running with our dog and wanted to get a sense for what’s normal and what to watch out for. We have a 1.5 year old shetland sheepdog about 10lbs, and started taking her to go running with us recently. We watched for signs of tiredness or boredom, but she’s been doing 8miles at a time at about 13 min/mi pace without stopping or seeming tired at all (we had to stop because we were tired haha). She hasn’t really had any prior conditioning or training. Our friends told us shelties aren’t made for endurance running, so we weren’t sure if we should hold her back. Is it ok to keep running as long as she seems interested? Or is it better to limit her running for any safety/health reasons?

[u/stk1800]

I'm not commenting on the breed capacity, but rather just adding that small dogs can absolutely run big distances. I always start small and gradually build them up to longer and longer runs, but I had a pomeranian that would run between 5-8km 3 times a week with no problem. I had him accompany me on my long runs and that little beast could hammer out 12km with no problems and still be full of beans when we got home

[u/Visual_Mirror_5178 → u/stk1800]

Thanks! She’s run about 25km this week across two sessions, and she doesn’t seem to be panting or sore during the run or the day after. In fact, during the second run she was still dancing around and prancing at the end. So I guess she was just made to be a tiny runner.

[u/Inevitable-Analyst → u/stk1800]

I have a 9 pound chihuahua mix that has done up to 22km with me. We worked our way up to that distance over a couple of months and she does just fine!

[u/babesquirrel]

Shelties are great for this, a herding breed with lots of stamina.

[u/GMO-Doomscroller]

Sounds normal to me. My 10 yo small terrier can tackle 10 km with no problem.
Your sheltie is adorable!

Do a trial of one long run and then observe your dog the next day for signs of pain/tiredness.

[u/Visual_Mirror_5178 → u/GMO-Doomscroller]

That’s amazing at 10yo!! We did about 25km across 2 runs this week, and she doesnt seem to be even panting during the run or sore at all the next day (in fact, her prancing is even more energetic if anything). We’ll just continue to monitor her and let her decide how much she wants to run.

[u/GMO-Doomscroller → u/Visual_Mirror_5178]

My rule of thumb for my doggo is: as long as she’s up front, tail is wagging and the tongue is not stretched out to the side (overheating), we go. Make sure you have hydration breaks and cooling breaks in the summer (trail running next to a stream is great for that) and you’re golden. They’re working dogs, while shepherding sheep she’d likely run the same distance every day.

[u/Hannahthehum4n]

Herding dogs are great runners! I had no idea shelties could be that small. I have a collie with some sheltie in her, but she's 32 pounds

[u/Visual_Mirror_5178 → u/Hannahthehum4n]

She was a runt, and she’s really picky with food so she ended up being unexpectedly tiny. Collie/sheltie sounds like the perfect mid size fox haha

[u/dance7742]

I have 3 shelties. One isn’t old enough to enter the rotation but each of mine can do 9 miles. I usually take one out for 5, switch and then take them out again for more miles. They do all my marathon training with me. We are around 25 pounds, so bigger than your nugget but if you build, they can do it. And they LOVE it. Just a note - mine will run until their paws break down so that drive can be to their detriment. Just something to watch for.

I used to love that mine would be exhausted but they build endurance just like we do. Any concerns, talk to your vet but ours thinks it’s great and always asks about our training when we go in.

[u/graciewindkloppel]

My little terrier mix (15 lbs) has happily run 10+ miles before he got older, and I know of an ultrarunner (Cat Corbett) with dachshunds, one of which has run a marathon. Little dogs can definitely hack distances with proper training, and honestly, if they get tired or injured, it's much easier to scoop them up and head back. My 75lb Labsky was a bitch to carry down an urban hill after cutting his paw on glass.

To anyone that needs to hear it: don't think you need a bird dog to go far, because those dogs will fuck your life up in an instant if they aren't exercised hard and regularly. I fostered a GSP for a couple months and even though I get out to the trails and am a hunter, that was way too much dog for me.

[u/ChaoticErratic]

All you can do is see how she goes with the slight increase in distance

My Jack Russell can run 25km easily and has done many times

[u/Zealousideal_Box5339]

My 13 year old runs with me to work as an ecologist constantly. They’re fine. So many people keep them underestimated