We have a 16 month old Siberian Husky, who gets regular exercise of over 1 hour a day. For the last 6 months we have been regularly biking with her at the weekends, normally routes of 10-20km, this normally takes about 2 hours. She will pull like mad for the first 5 minutes, then goes into a gentle jog, but after about 20-25 minutes I am almost pulling her along, even if I am going at quite a slow rate.

We live in New Zealand and it is currently summer, temperatures between 22-28 Celsius. We stop for regular drink stops and she will often wear doggy boots if we are running on concrete/stones. We also cool her down with a dip in the sea/lake during or after the run. I am presuming that it is the high temperatures that are making her slower?!

Does this seem normal, or does she have low endurance? How can I increase her endurance over time?

Also, can anyone advise us on the timing of growth spurts in Siberian Huskies and how much we should be feeding her during this time, especially with regular long run/walks. (She is on a raw diet)

Thanks

That is way to hot for a husky to be running! I cant remember the exact temperature for a husky to be running but I think its like below 40 degrees for any length of time at that speed. There isnt anything you can do as far as endurance wise, its.just simply to.hot for them. Either wake up.really early.in the morning when its cool.or.dont do.it at all.

Thanks,

We are going back to the U.K with Laika in a few months and so the temperatures are better suited and we look forward to some winter runs!

Yeah, its just such a high risk for heat stroke and they just cant handle it. In the summer my.dogs really dont get exercise other than games.inside or sometimes we fill up a kiddy pool. You could always try that. For the most part they are happy I'm the site conditioner inside or small walks in the morning or evening.

I don't run my dogs if the temperature is over 15 degrees celsius (60 degrees fahrenheit) with humidity included. It's way too hot for them to be out in that weather, so I doubt she doesn't have endurance, shes probably just too hot. Plus at 10-16 months.. well IMO I wouldnt be biking 6-12 miles regularly before 18 months, especially in that heat. My female started light pulling at 16 months 1-2 miles at a time (1.6-3.2km), and is now 18 months and actually pulling with us for about 4-6 miles (6.4 to 9.6 km). Just for future reference if you happen to get another pup as too much exercise too early can lead to arthritis and joint damage later in life. I would take Erica's suggestion of playing more games inside and doing mental stimulation until the weather goes back under 15 degrees celsius.