How many mile can a cavalier walk?

I am training to walk a half marathon. At the weekend I walked round the local country park which is 3.75 miles with Bailey and Dylan. They really enjoyed it and this weekend I am hoping to walk round it twice which will be 7.5 miles.

Do you think Bailey and Dylan will manage ok? I worry about Bailey especially as she has SM.

A friend of mine runs 6 miles everyday with their cavalier. But your dogs may not be in that sort of condition.

If you get a running stroller (either for dogs, or humans) you could have an "escape route" in case your dogs need a break, and it shouldn't slow you down too much. You can probably find a used one on eBay or craigslist for not too much.

I think that would be too much. I walk my two every day and after about 3 km they are tired. Mind you it is quite hot at the moment. I do walk them at 6am when it is a little cooler otherwise it would be too hot. I usually give them their walk then have mine, that works out best.

It really depends on how fit they are - don't think you'll have a problem with heat in Scotland in March! Oliver in his younger days could do 10-12 miles off lead without a problem - but with a good lunch stop in the middle. Now, at almost 10 and with mild SM, I limit him to 5-6 miles, but suspect that is me being over-cautious.

Unless your dogs are very fit, I would suggest that the first time you try two circuits with them, you stop after the first round, give them a rest and see how they are doing - and if they are looking tired, leave it at that for the day. I realise this will disrupt your training programme, but it will help you to decide whether to take the dogs with you for future long sessions.

Kate, Oliver and Aled

I would tend to agree with Kate here, but you really need to take in the abilities of your own dogs first and foremost.

Some dogs with SM would definitely be uncomfortable on a long walk, while others would be fine. If I had a severely affected dog, I would certainly not be taking it on extremely long walks, Especially not if the weather were really warm ( as noted surely not a problem at this time of year in Scotland!).

Also, some dogs may have more difficulty breathing, or just and may not be very fit and you would in the case of the former not want to do these kind of long walks ever, while in the case of the latter, you would need to work up in much smaller increments than just throwing a dog in to do three or 6 miles (just as you probably couldn't do long distances when you first started out).

But all that said, I think people seriously underestimate what dogs are capable of doing. As one well-known trainer said in a seminar I attended a few years ago, most dogs could travel five times the distance we do in the same amount of time because we have them shuffling along at a slow human speed–I am sure you have noticed that if you are walking dogs off lead they tend to go at a much faster trot and keep returning to where we slowpoke humans are making our own way.

I do a lot of very long walks with my dogs up in the mountains and when I go on holidays with them to cottages. I would typically have Leo and Jasper walking three, six, even 12 miles with no problems at all. Leo, of course, has SM, but he actually is at his happiest and in his best form when he is out on a walk and off lead.

This is why, on a separate issue, I think just taking a dog on a half-hour walk daily is really not enough activity or exercise. People need to do more–which can of course be focused play or mind challenging activities like obedience practice or dog puzzles which equally wear out a dog. A tired dog is a well behaved dog and I think if dogs were given far more exercise and far more activity, there would be far fewer behavior and training problems out there!

Even after a 12 mile walk in Wales which exhausted my partner and me, the dogs basically just needed an hour or two of sleep and they were ready for more activity.

I can't speak for the SM and how it would affect a dog. As for the walking, any dog should be able to walk for miles. BUT,,,,, it needs to go into training, like humans, and be gradually worked up to the distance. They can have leg injuries if taken for a walk of any distance, with no prior training.

In his prime, our Shih Tzu walked 4 miles a day with me unless the temperature was 80F/26.7C and his legs were much shorter than a Cavalier.:luv:

In my experience, 80°F/26.7C° is the cut-off point for heat tolerance in a dog, and humidity also factors in, down here in The South. My veterinarian had first suggested the 80°, so I paid attention, and noticed that is the point at which my dog was no longer comfortable. Poor dog, too, because they love their walks, and they are upset when I go walking and leave them behind. They don't understand the heat is too much for them.

Karlin said:

A tired dog is a well behaved dog and I think if dogs were given far more exercise in far more activity, there would be far fewer behavior and training problems out there!

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So wise and so true, Karlin!

My dog has SM and has trouble walking

Churchill and I have been walking together since day one, but some days he will not walk. He will pull on the leash and simply will not go. I didn't realize for a long time that maybe he was hurting. Some days we walk a mile or more, but I can only push him sooo far. I am a walker from hell but I am not sure how far to push him. dGood luck.. I think four miles is way to much as they have short legs.Anyway . . .