# Can i take my 5 month old on hikes?



## Dex (Mar 15, 2017)

Frosty, my english cream golden retriever is a little over 5 months and almost 50 lbs. Vet says he is normal build (neither skinny nor fat). 

3x a week - He is pretty active and walks almost a mile each in the morning and evening. Through the day he is at day care and playing with other dogs.
2x a week - about 2-2.5 mile casual stroll split into 2 chunks

Question - 
since he is already walking 2-3 miles comfortably, can i take him on slow paced / easy hikes upto 4 miles (with breaks)
Also when he is around 7 months, I plan to take him on easy backpacking trips once a month (2-3 days, with 4-5 miles total per day)

Thoughts?


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## G-bear (Oct 6, 2015)

I am not a vet and I would recommend talking with your vet regarding the 4 to 5 mile a day "hike" at 7 months. Because he his growth plates will not close until he is around 14 months of age I would be concerned that walking great distances on potential uneven ground could cause joint and muscle damage to your puppy. I would seek the advice of a vet to see if your puppy would be able to engage in this activity before 14 months of age without injury.


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## MaryKate (Mar 8, 2017)

Dex said:


> Frosty, my english cream golden retriever is a little over 5 months and almost 50 lbs. Vet says he is normal build (neither skinny nor fat).
> 
> 3x a week - He is pretty active and walks almost a mile each in the morning and evening. Through the day he is at day care and playing with other dogs.
> 2x a week - about 2-2.5 mile casual stroll split into 2 chunks
> ...


It's good to hear that your Golden Retriever is pretty active Rex. I think you should ask your vet about it. If you really want to take him, make sure he'll be able to get some rest once in a while. :smile2:


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Are you hiking with him on leash? Leash control is so important until you establish a reliable recall, unfortunately it does turn it into a march at your pace rather than his. 

When I take my girl hiking, if I walk a mile she probably runs double that. She races 20 yards ahead and then trots back to check in with me, over and over, up and back to me but it's always at her own pace. Sometimes I notice (and I've heard this from other people as well) that my girl (who has a beautiful gait) starts to pace rather than trot if I walk too slowly for her on leash. (If you know horses at all, pacing is a lateral 2 beat gait, the legs on one side move at the same time. The trot is the true working gait for a dog and it's a 2 beat gait but the dog or horse is suspended because the legs move in diagonal pairs.) The trot is springier and the animal is very balanced, not having to use the head and neck muscles as much for balance, as when pacing. The reason I'm explaining all this is that a dog needs to be able to travel at the pace that is most comfortable for it's particular frame and build. While a brisk walk is a fast pace for me, it's in a gray zone for my dog, too fast to walk and too slow for her most comfortable trot, so if she is on leash and forced to travel right with me, she paces sort of awkwardly sometimes. If you're going for miles at a time at a pace that forces your dog to match his speed to yours, chances are very good that it is not what is ideal for his body, especially over a long distance.

I agree with others that you should talk to your vet, but I would not be taking a young dog such long distances on leash before he has fully developed muscle strength. Off leash exercise somewhere safe is the best thing for him where he controls how fast or slow he travels and when he starts and stops. This is how dogs would move naturally without interference from a person.


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## Dex (Mar 15, 2017)

Thanks, I am meeting the vet on friday. He is good at recall, but i will have him on leash. even on walks around the neighborhood i let him choose his pace and I adjust to it.


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