Can a dog have too long a walk?

Question

My shihtsu is 16 yrs old, and she pants hard after her daily walks. a fellow dog owner advised me to take her for shorter walks. My usual walk is around 20 minutes. But my dog absolutely looks forward to her walk every night, and i can't bear to deprive her. Should i heed the advice to shorten the walk? Is it possible to overwalk a dog?

16 yrs old, meaning she;s 16 x 7 in human yrs... Ya she's an old girl now.

more details: my baby is not on leash. she runs around at her own time, own pace and own target. She'll run around eagerly, sniffing all the familiar corners of the garden. She plays with other dogs eagerly. She starts panting when i walk her home.
PS: wow! I didn't expect 150 answers! Is my question a featured question? Otherwise why is the response so good? Can someone tell me pls?

Answer 1

Hey,i have an old dog too,i suggest that about three times a day you take her on a 10 min walk to give her exercise,or 15 minutes two times a day,yes i know this means a 30 min walk all together but she must get enough exercise to stay healthy,since you've taken such good care of her,each year no-longer means 7 dog years,try going to http://www.dogage.com that will tell you how old your dog really is............good luck,and oh yeah,your getting so-many answers because you question was well written and caught a viewers eye by starting out with CAN A DOG HAVE TOO LONG OF A WALK?because that just seems really interesting and is an odd subject!please check out the web page,it will also give you tips how to make your dog younger and live a longer healthier life!Do i get ten points?

Answer 2

I do not think that 20 minutes is too long of a walk for your dog, even though the dog is old---as long as there isn't any kind of running in between. I used to go jogging with my dog when it was younger, but now that she is 11 it is walking. Dogs do know exactly how much they can walk.

If your dog pants a lot after the walk, then maybe you walked a little too fast and you need to take a walk that's slower.

Hot weather can also be a factor: the smaller a dog is, the faster they will need water, and in hot weather I take some water for the dog with me.
However, if the dog pants a lot, I would consult a veterinarian for that could be a sign that something else is going on. Dogs do get age-related illnesses as we do, they get sick from diabetes, athritis, etc.etc. So maybe something else is going on and therefore the walk is too much.

Answer 3

I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/chP70

She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.
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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.

Answer 4

Sorry, but, yes. If your Shih Tzu is panting, she 's telling you she is tired and hot. Off leash, she will run and play but remember, she can stop and rest any time then. Walking is a continuous action. Just cut back to 12-15 minutes. On really hot days you can always walk later in the evening. Those short little legs wear out quickly. My 9 year old ShihTzu tires sooner than he used to also. Sometimes we stop for a few moments under a shade tree. He appreciates it.
Also, you can take a soda bottle of water along with you and pour some into your hand if she seems to be getting hot.
I'm glad you are taking her out for walks though. It is probably the best way to keep her healthy as she ages. Enjoy the time with your beloved little friend...

Answer 5

You might consider taking her for two shorter walks, like 10-15 minutes at a time and take some water for her. Avoid walking at the hottest parts of the day, maybe earlier in the morning and later in the evening that way she doesn't get overheated, our dogs are big walkers and love to run around the back yard and play, maybe you could squeeze in a backyard play-date... or a nearby park if you don't have access to a yard (some apartments or other circumstances) by playing in the yard she controls the pace of the playing you might also consider letting her set the pace for the walks see how fast she goes, after all you know your dog best and what she can handle.

Answer 6

yes it can its 16 years old then maybe just walk around the block or up and down the street then it will not pants so hard r the dog might be out of shape too. you can over walk a a dog should walk Ur dog for mmm....lets say 4 or 5 min or if it wont's to walk some more than walk it 2 or 3 more min.

Answer 7

Sure. There is a limit for everything and every animal and every person. Age, health status and size is very important for this distance thing. The vet would advise you wisely. Howere, you already know that if the dog is old and especially if it is also small, her energy level will be shortlived. So if she is at risk, shorten the walk. Even younger dogs can be overwalked too but they may handle the fatigure better whereas an older dog can be killed by it if he is overwalked everyday!

Answer 8

Sixteen years old is pretty old for a dog. Yes, you are taking your dog for too long of a walk.Your dog in human years is 113 years and when you're that old I don't think you're going to want to take long walks. So I would advise you cut back some. Take shorter walks more often. You said that the dog is not on a leash and runs around . Is that when you take your dog on her walk? Maybe you can let her out in the back yard so she can do as she feels. Just take her for a short walk. It sounds like the long walk is more for you than the dog. So cut back for the dog. I'm sure she will appreciate that.

Answer 9

Of course. Any dog can have a too long walk. Since your walks are around 20 minutes, try walking her for 10-15 minutes instead. Every dog pants, it's just part of how they are, but you don't want to overwalk her. It's good that she looks forward to walking...but you definitely need to shorten the walks, and if it proceeds, maybe just play with her outside for a little while every day instead of going for a walk.

Answer 10

I would shorten your walks to 10 minutes, keep it at a slow pace, and build up time from there, never exceeding 20 minutes. It depends on the climate you are living in. If she is in a warm or hot climate, the panting could have nothing to do with the exercise. I have a 14 human yrs old dog with arthritis, and she can happily go on walks for hours. She is also not particularly fit, so i give her short breaks and always have water on hand, so she does fine. Good Luck.

Answer 11

It is possible to over walk a dog, but 20 mins is nothing. If she's panting it means she's getting too hot. If her hair is long, try getting her a puppy cut, it'll shorten her hair up making her less hot. If you've already done that, good. But try taking a bottle of water with you, and a small dish to put it in. When you notice her panting alot, stop and take a five minute break. Let her drink some water, and wet her fur down a little, it'll help keep her cool.