A friend of mine that has a morkie made a comment about exercising small dogs. I can't remember who it was or where it was she got that info from but when I mentioned I get Magnus to run up/down the stairs for exercise in the morning, she said that wasn't good for him. (In case someone gets the wrong idea, I make it a game of something like fetch. I'm not whipping him to run up/down the stairs.. :D)

The reason it's not good for him is b/c the running would be hard on his organs... Generally, it's not good for small dogs to run. Has anyone heard of this?

Good question! I'm curious about this as well.

Lol, no, running is not hard on the organs of a small dog. If anything, often times small dogs have more stamina than bigger dogs.

If a dog has LP or something, consistent running up and down stairs may cause some issues, and I wouldn't over-do it. But I often use the stairs on a rainy day to tire him out quicker.

Honey is 3 pounds and we walk for 3 miles since I have started working out and she seems fine.

My dogs run. They walk. They hike. They swim. Nothing bad at all with exercise for animals, actually animals are going the way of humans and becoming overweight, so exercise is very good for them. :) My brother had a chocolate lab/pitbull mix and he's a triathlete. He took her for 20 mile runs, 2 mile swims (with a lifejacket) all her life. She's 13.5 years old now and in EXCELLENT health. She has arthritis in her legs now, but she's super old for her breed! The vets are always impressed when they see her and my brother has to tell them her age, they usually say they never would have guessed by looking at her. She still hikes and walks, even though her legs hurt. She won't be left behind!

This morning was cool but VERY humid. This humidity is stupid by the way and making it hard to live, breathe, anything, I hate it! :( Anyways..... we went out for a 2 mile walk with the boys. When we were close to getting home (the house next to our house) is when my boys were done. They were starting to stop a lot, trying to sit down in the road, walking through the puddles. All the signs of being done. Thankfully we were just about home at that point. They can usually go 4 miles w/o a problem, but the humidity was killing us all I think! Plus they spend the first 1.5 miles trying to run/walk on their leashes, pulling me so that tires them out faster I think. They are just soooo exuberant on their walks, they love them more than any dog I've ever seen. LOL

Ughhhh, I HATE the humidity. As active as Jackson is, he can't stand doing anything when it's humid (except for water-related activities, lol). So we don't really do any walks during the summer, which I do miss.

My two 7 pounders walk for 1 mile at 7 in the morning at a regular pace.If they miss their walk they go swimming for 20-30 minutes. In "winter" they go twice a day- morning and evening. It helps keep the weight down on Ziva (my little meatloaf;))

I take Piper for a 2 mile walk daily unless it is hot and humid. Piper (and me) can't tolerate heat and humidity.

Oh wow! If this is true, I'm in trouble. I'm only 5'2". I'm going to try to tell this to my husband this evening when he's ready to run.:)

Very bizarre thing to say....I've had dogs all my life and never had any health issues because of too much exercise :confused: The only thing I could possibly think of is if folk walk PUPPIES too much in their first year as that's not advisable whilst they are still growing :( I imagine that wouldn't be too good for growing bones and muscles etc :thumbdown


My yorkie Scamp AND our crossbreed Lady both lived to be 16 & 17 respectively and only saw the vet once a year (after their neutering ops at 18 months) for their booster vaccination. I put it down to them joining me ALL THE TIME on day-long hikes winter and summer (tho' not so much in hot weather) and their remaining fit and a healthy weight because of their daily exercise :) A fit dog is a healthy dog so gt those little sweethearts ON THE GROUND and walking!!!!! :cool: :D

I walk crystal about 70 minutes, it's flat and along the parade next to the beaches and sea. We always wait until the cool of the evening, especially as we have a heat wave at present in the Uk. She's six months and swings around on her flexi lead a lot, so I suppose after taking in 3 or 4 stops for Dad to rest etc, she covers about 2 miles and I carry a little flask of cold water for her. She is so full of energy I reckon she could do at least double that. The trips are getting longer as she has to meet her 'public' each night now and also has the odd autograph request these days!

If it's a normal walk it's about a mile but we mostly walk to the park which is about 2 miles there and 2 back. He could walk forever as long as he has water and it's not too hot.

Nothing stops him except for heat. And even that can be mitigated to some extent by throwing a cooling vest on him. Outside of hot days, he has never shown any signs of being remotely exhausted by a walk.

We usually walk for 1-2 miles everyday and do longer hikes on weekends. He has done seven miles with incline and come home ready to play.