Walkies!...how far?

[bchow]

Throughout the lifetime of a Chow, what would you say was the required walkies for the breed?

Ours is around 6 Months old, so how far/how much exercise should they have?

I suppose we have to bear in the mind the weather...its gonna start warming up a little now.

How do others here cope with the hot weather?

Walkies!

C&J

[vicster605]

Start off short and work your way to as long a walk as you want to go on...................It seems from what everyone says around here and from my own experience with my 9mo Chow girl............THEY LOVE TO WALK and they are ready anytime you are, and as many times as you are
I live in the deep south, very very hot and humid, we walk early morning, late evening and at night sometimes. Lots of water, before and after if we don't go far, or bring a bowl and water with you, and walk as far as you want to go They let you know when they have had enough, may even lay down in the grass if they are tired, they have a will of their own, and let you know when they need a break, Just watch out for over heating, use good common sense I'm no expert, just my short experience talkin'.......my first Chow, just enjoy your walks cuz they sure do
They really don't require alot of exercise, but do love their walks.
I'm sure the others will give you some better advice, this is a great place for advice.

[sit_by_the_beach]

Just like people, start with a slow walk to warm up the muscles, then gradually increase the speed and distance.

On warm days, I walk my chow early mornings and late afternoon or early evenings.

I don't know how much exercise a young chow requires or what their limit is.

My first chow would sit in the middle of the sidewalk when she's had enough. I didn't know then, later I found out she had a disc problem. Our walks were cut short to 30 minutes rather than one hour.

karin

[Victory]

A six month old puppy should be able to walk a mile or mile and a half with no problems, unless they have joint issues. But if he/she isn't used to it, build it up. a quarter mile, half a mile, 1 mile then more. This will allow you to see how well he/she tolerates it. let them walk a head of you now and then and check their gait. A chow with a proper gait is beautiful to watch, it should look powerful, quick and they should be up on their toes, a very cat like gait.

In hot weather, (and for chows with full coats this is 70 degrees plus) it's the humidity you have to watch, 70 degrees with 40% or lower humididty won't be too bad, just make sure they have water and don't pick that day, (if it's the first) to start training for a marathon. But 70 degrees with 70%+ humidity should be a day you restrict walks to the early morning and evening when it's cooler. If your chow is moving a little slower, cut the walk short and don't rush them. A lowered head, hard and excessive panting and a slow lumbering gait are all signs of a chow, (or any dog) that is over heated. If you live in a climate that is hot and humid or even very hot and dry, (the southwestern US for instance) then you need to furnish your chow with a means to cool off inside, a tile floor with fan, AC 24/7 or a very shady place in the yard where he/she can dig down to bare earth and lay in a hollow of it. (bare earth dug down a bit is cool)

All my chows have been able to walk 3 miles with no problems and would have gone farther if I'd asked them to.

[Sharons Chows]

My two just love their nightly walk...we usually do about a mile or slighly less in the winter. On the weekends they usually have a decent haul in the parks.
Since I work all day...nights seemd to work out best and it always cooler. I have always joked that all of my chows including my late MoMo were my "Batdogs!"
I also have a fenced in yard and Alan has his own in and out business so they get lots of time outside in the yard.

When Cheyenne moved in she could not walk ...seems that she was caged up for almost 4 years...however, we started her slow and built up her muscles and spirit. Now about 845pm each nigt we hear this wolf like howl and short little high pitched barks....HER HIGHNESS is summoning us to get her leash and go for her walkies...so cute!
And JR...he could walk forever if we let him!

Sharon

[Layla]

Hi, Millie is almost 6months now and seems to do well with a short (20mins) walk first thing in the morning before breakfast and a longer 2-3 mile walk in the late afternoon / eve. We did build up to this slowly and it seems to suit her. I take water & one of those travel bowls & we have little breaks for her to drink. Less walking time and she has huge amounts of energy left over. It also seems to help with getting her to understand that she is not the boss in the household If we go to the off leash park we still walk her for at lest 45mins as well. The mental exercise of walking correctly on her leash with us is a good challenge for my headstrong little girl

[Dogdad]

We do about a mile walk. I go early morning and in the evening. Maxwell loves to go for a walk. I have yet to take Yoshi because he has been sick and it has been raining the past 2 days. We also have a fenced in yard so they get lots of exercise and fresh air. What color is your chow? Mine are red and cream. I would really be concerned about taking a black chow out in the sun. I would be afraid they would get overheated quickly. I also have a back pack for drinkies along the way.

David

[Victory]

I would really be concerned about taking a black chow out in the sun. I would be afraid they would get overheated quickly. I also have a back pack for drinkies along the way.

David

You take a black chow out in the sun and you soon have a red chow with a deep black under coat. They bleach out really fast in the sun, like their bodies know black isn't a good color for sunshine so they turn red. Look at the pictures Jeff just posted of Pekoe, you can tell she likes to lay out in the sun, cause her back is very red.

[kingalls]

Mr. N and Shiloh seldom "walk" - Mr. N loves to run and Shiloh does what she can to stay within a half a block of him...We don't have the humidity issue but we still keep 70 degrees as our benchmark on whether or not we take them out.

[jerseyp]

Your pup should let you know when he's tired - he'll slow down, stop, not be as active etc. In time he will easily out-walk you. I do at least 4-5 miles every day (2 hrs. minimum) and being that he's off-leash and often leaves on adventures and then returns he probably doubles my distance. Like people said, the most important thing is keeping him from overheating. In hot (or even mild to warm) weather I ALWAYS make sure I walk near a water supply (river, creek, lake etc). About 15 years ago I was hiking the delaware water gap on a really hot day with my husky/shepard mix and a young guy had taken his mother's big overweight house dog hiking. Near the bottom of the mountain the dog collapsed. By the time I got the ranger there (five minutes) the dog had died. The kid was crying and it was a horrible scene. Ever since I make sure that every dog I've owned became a swimmer (I throw them in the water as pups - they naturally swim though some better than others - even chows). Like everyone said, also carry water.

[jojochiquis]

Does anyone else's chow stop randomly and sit during a walk and look at you like "nope, not going any further, take me home NOW". Pumpkin used to do that and would ONLY move in the direction of home (and she knew the shortest route from every park we went to). Not sure in miles, but she loved 30-60 minute walks, longer in the winter as she loved snow, and shorter in the humid Toronto summers.

And of course, walks had to be followed by treats, otherwise we were treated to her chow snorts of disgust

[sit_by_the_beach]

Joanna,

My previous chow Luna would sit in the middle of the road. Trying to get her to get up before the light changes to red wasn't easy, how do you explain to a chow about traffic lights. Mikki has been with me since Oct. We'll see in a couple of months......

Those Toronto humid summers. Very humid. Very smoggy starting in June. I am planning to move. Very likely to Peterborough. It's also polluted but not nearly as smoggy as Toronto.
Question: How humid is GB in comparison? I am planning to fly to London, Paris and Frankfurt next year. I have respiratory problems, I was wondering how humid and polluted these places are in comparison to TO.

karin

[chowdad]

George has been sick and not walking much lately, but he loved to walk for miles and miles before. For the last year or two we worked up to 8 miles three times a week (2 to 3 hours). The other days we would go 4 miles. He insisted on going every day first thing. He would stop and sit in the road or pull whenever I try to take him home, especially in the winter. Now he enjoys riding in the car along the same path, sniffing and smiling and sometimes barking.

[sit_by_the_beach]

My first chow was a reddish blonde. When it was sunny out we'd keep the walks very brief, she had a very thick coat. I don't think I will be taking Mikki for walks during summer. Maybe for brief walks in the evening.

Karin