So I do a fundraiser 5K every summer. This year Vlad will be 6 months when this walk is. I want to take him. Last time my group of friends took a young puppy we did some carrying so that the pup did not do the whole walk. ( I do not think anyone will be carrying Vlad or his sister as they should be at least 40 lbs by then.) Normally I might wait to building up but he is a big boy already. Even if still a young pup. And I really want to take him so bad.


I will be building Vlad up to this 3.1 miles as some is one city street some sidewalk  or bikepath and I can get him on the grass for a lot of it.
Any advise on when I should have him built up to this? He does LOTS of exercise in the yard but not lots of walks. ( I can measure his activity by Bourbon's activity tracker.) I know I need to walk him more for the structure and the routine. We have two standard walks .75 mile loop or a 30 minute trek on sidewalks with some grass walking. Should I build him up to a standard walk of 3 miles or just an occasional walk that far.

Just curious of your opinions  as I know not all pups are the same and I will gauge Vlad's breaks so I can tell when we can add a bit more distance. Right now he gets distracted on leashed walks so we are not ready to add more distance just need more walks right know but I know I will add distance.

I personally would be building up to the occasional 3 miles at that point. He's still going to be young, a puppy, and by the time the run comes along it could be quite warm, so you will conditioning his growing little body for not only distance but heat also. You might try using the couch to 5k phone app to get him started (my husband did it and was very happy with it). It already has little breaks built into it for him and I think it progresses at a rate gradual enough you will really be able to see how he's doing. With the varying timing also it might help some with his distractions.

Thanks Jenn
As far as the heat yeah it will probably be warm by then even if it is an AM thing. (It is a nice big tree residential and park area so we should have the cool shade at least.)
I will check out the Couch to 5K app.

I second the C25K app. I used that in 2010 when I wanted to get back into running. I lost more than 60 pounds with it. It would be a great way to get dogs in shape for a 5K also. In fact, there is a vet that recommends that app to joggers who want to start running with their dogs. He stresses that a dog needs to build up to it just like we do and the C25K is great for that.