As friendly and good working dogs, it’s not surprising that Labradors are so popular companions. These active buddies were originally bred as fisherman’s assistants or for hunting purposes. They are hardworking, intelligent, and active dogs suitable for all types of families. Therefore, you might want to run long distances with your Lab to spend his energy!
As smart and energetic furballs, they need to be entertained physically and mentally. That’s where dog sports such as running become interesting for Labradors. Well known as good jogging partners, you might be wondering: Can Labrador Retrievers run long distances?
Labradors are extremely well suited to run long distances. These sporting dogs are even better distance runners than sprinters! Obedient, athletic, and full of energy, Labs will love to do endurance running with their owner. These companions are built to run long distances such as 10k races, cross country, or other intense activities!
Exercise Needs of Labrador Retrievers.
Labrador Retrievers are also high-energy working dogs that require good physical and mental activity. As hunter’s assistants, they had to hike, run, and swim all day long. This can explain why they are so active, adventurous, and have unlimited energy!
In general, Labradors will need around 1 to 2 hours of exercise a day. This should include at least 30 minutes of more intense and vigorous physical activity! Dog sports such as running, biking, or swimming are ideal to spend the excess energy of your buddy. The rest of the exercise time could be less intense with walking, free playtime, or fun interactive games. Besides physical effort, don’t forget to give enough mental stimulation to your Labrador to avoid boredom!
What If You Neglect Your Lab’s Physical Activity Requirements?
With a lack of exercise, your Lab could find a way to spend his energy himself. Especially with high-energy dogs like yours, it’s crucial to keep them active and entertained. The most frequent consequence of not enough exercise time is boredom and behavioral problems. A bored Labrador can become destructive, and that’s not cool at all. Your buddy could start digging, chewing, or barking for no reason!
Believe me, this breed love to eat and your buddy might start getting overweight quickly without proper exercise. Dogs with extra pounds (or kg) are more at risk to suffer from serious health problems such as joints damages, heart disease, etc. Make sure your Labrador Retriever has enough time to spend his energy to improve both your quality of life!
Is It OK To Run With Your Labrador?
Yes, running with your dog is awesome for both of your health and well-being. Intense dog sports are ideal to give them plenty of opportunities to exercise. However, jogging with your buddy is as good for humans as it is for dogs! There are many advantages to run with your Labrador Retriever. Whatever you enjoy short or long-distance jogs, your life could change drastically with this sport. Here are some benefits of running with your dog!
Benefits For The Runner (You):
- Stronger Heart and Lungs.
- Regulate your Weight.
- Your Dog is a Good Motivation to Run!
- Reduce Stress and Anxiety.
- Meet New Friends.
- Excellent Exercise Routine.
- General Health Improvement.
Advantages For Your Labrador:
- Keep a Healthy Weight.
- Great Source of Exercise.
- Avoid Behavioral Issues.
- Socialize Your Dog.
- Strengthen Your Bond.
- Stay Active and Healthy.
- A Tire Buddy Is a Happy Doggie!
Are Labradors Suitable To Run?
As you can notice, running with your dog is awesome for both the owner and the animal. Moreover, this activity isn’t only good for you; it can also be extremely fun. Unfortunately, not every furry companion is suitable to jog safely with his owner!
Even active and athletic buddies like Huskies, Vizslas, or Labradors could be not suitable to run. That’s very sad because every dog and runner should have the opportunity to enjoy such a beautiful sport!
Now, you probably want to know if your pooch is suitable to run. To make sure that he can start running safely, asking your vet would be the best option. However, here’s what makes a dog suitable or not for intense dog sports!
Breed.
As you probably understand quickly, the breed influences a lot of their running capacities. However, this isn’t the only element to analyze before starting a new dog sport. The breed is one of the main characteristics that determine how a good jogging partner your buddy is!
Happily, most Labrador Retrievers are awesome natural runners. You shouldn’t be worried about this element. Nonetheless, there are many other traits of your dog that can restrict him to run!
Health.
Humans are normally able to run even if they have health issues, but they shouldn’t. It’s the same thing with dogs, if they aren’t healthy, jogging could be dangerous for them!
Labradors are generally healthy but they can be prone to some structural problems. Like many active dogs, your buddy could suffer from a hip, elbow, or shoulder dysplasia and other joint issues. If he has any serious health condition, you should restrict your dog from running or visit your vet for professional advice!
Weight.
Jogging may seem like an excellent solution to help your dog losing extra pounds (or kg), but it’s not. Their extra weight will put too much pressure on their joints, and it could hurt or injure them!
Unfortunately, overweight buddies can’t run safely. Just to give you an idea, a healthy weight range for Labradors is between 60 lbs and 80 lbs (27 and 36 kg) for males or from 55 lbs to 75 lbs (25 to 34 kg) for females. If your dog is not considered obese, you shouldn’t have any problem taking him on trails with you!
Injuries.
Without any surprise, dogs in recovery shouldn’t do any intense physical activity. High-impact sports will only put them in danger, and increase the risk of re-injury! Thus, make sure that your injured buddy is fully recovered before starting gradually to exercise again. Furthermore, you don’t start directly with running, lower-intensity activities are better to give a chance to your Lab to get back in shape!
Athletic Qualities.
Normally, most people analyze their companion’s running abilities in the wrong way. Obviously, some dogs are faster, tougher, and better natural runners. However, this isn’t really important to be suitable to jog!
On the other hand, there’s probably a problem if your Labrador can’t run more than 30 seconds. Even so, running skills, strength, speed, and stamina are things that you both can improve with training and experience!
Observation.
The last thing you can do is to give it a try. Try to not overthink because the goal of this analysis is only to make sure your buddy can run safely. If your dog can jog about 0.5-1 mile (0.8-1.6 km) without any difficulty or problem, he’s probably suitable for this physical activity!
Now that you know if your dog is suitable to run or not, let’s get into the real question. If your buddy can’t enjoy serious running with you, there are many other fun canine activities!
Runners that are just waiting to go on trails, please continue your reading. Let me give you every information you need to know before running long distances with your Labrador!
Can Labrador Retrievers Run Long Distances?
As I already told you, Labs are built to be awesome endurance runners. The quick answer is yes, these tough and active dogs can run long distances rather easily!
Now, you might have other questions such as: Why can Labradors run long distances? What makes them good endurance runners? How fast can they run? …
Stay tuned because I have some interesting information and answers for you. Let’s start by figuring out why they can jog for longer than most dogs. Here are some reasons why Labradors can run long distances!
Their Origin.
Originally bred as hunting assistants, Retrievers had to be very active and athletic. In their typical day, they had to hike long distances in the mountains, swim very well to help fishermen, and run most of the time!
This can explain why these buddies have such a high-energy level. That’s also why they have such good abilities to run long distances!
Stamina.
Running endurance is the most important athletic quality to be suitable for long jogs. Labradors have enough stamina to be perfect endurance jogging partners!
Stamina is what makes the difference between your Lab and the Boxer’s breed. Both are good sprinters, but only Labradors will be able to run for 5, 10 miles or more because of their endurance. However, you can also build up stamina with physical conditioning and experience!
Speed.
Normally, dogs can run way faster than humans. In general, they can sprint up to 15 or 20 miles per hour (24-32 km/h). In theory, humans can sprint up to 40 mph (64 km/h), but Usain Bolt was clocked at around 28 mph (45 km/h)!
For Labradors, they can run up to 30 mph (48 km/h) over short distances. On average this breed can run around 16 mph (25 km/h) for longer distances. Therefore, the speed shouldn’t be a problem for you!
Balance.
Overall, endurance running companions need to be balanced. For example, Labradors are fast, tough, agile, smart, easy to train, and athletic. This makes them balanced dogs excellent to run any type of distance!
Therefore, Labs are awesome for most intense dog sports. They have enough energy, strength, stamina, and agility to perform at all canine activities!
Advanced runners will love to go on long-running trips with such an athletic buddy. Nonetheless, make sure to train your dog properly before you consider running more than 3-5 miles (5-8 km) with him!
Are Labradors Good Long-Distance Running Partners?
Even if this breed isn’t the best one for endurance running, they are impressively good. Labs are probably in the top 5 dog breeds to run long distances!
With good stamina, friendly personality and limitless energy, they are very good long-distance running partners. However, Labrador Retrievers are interesting to run any type of distance with their excellent balance!
Now, you don’t have any more excuses to not jog with your buddy. Active people should take advantage of the excellent running capacities that Labradors have to offer!
How Many Miles (or Km) Can Labrador Retrievers Run?
That’s an excellent question because a long distance is extremely vague. Some expert runners could say that more than a demi-marathon (13 miles or 21 km) is long. On the flipside, inexperienced runners will maybe think that more than 2 or 3 miles (3 or 5 kilometers) are considered as a long-distance running!
Wikipedia says that a distance over 1.8 miles (3 km) is considered endurance running. In general, jogging more than 3 to 5 miles (5 to 8 km) will be relatively long-distance for most runners!
In general, Labradors can run long distances (more than 5 miles or 8 km) quite easily. Very athletic, active, and healthy Labs will be suitable to jog more than 10 or even 15 miles (16 to 24 km)!
Learn more about how long can your dog run!
Labradors Need Preparation To Run Long Distances!
Obviously, you can’t expect to run 5 miles on day one and 15 miles on day two with your dog. Running takes serious training and gradual improvement. That’s why it’s important to start slowly even with natural runners. Moreover, preparation is the key to start a new physical activity safely. Here are some ways to prepare your buddy for long jogs!
Physical Preparation. With a good exercise routine and healthy habits, your buddy is more likely to enjoy running safely. Daily walks, proper exercise, and high-quality nutrition is great to prepare him physically for this intense activity!
Socialization. When your dog is young, it’s important for him to explore the world. Loud noises, other animals, and strangers could stress him when he gets older if he’s never get socialized. Bring your Labrador outside and expose him to everything you can to prevent any surprise on running trails!
Obedience Training. Teaching your companion the basic commands is essential. Runners can’t run safely without having some control over their jogging partner! Easy to train, Labradors shouldn’t have any behavioral issues. However, it’s always more simple and easy to improve your dog’s obedience at a young age!
5 Things to Know Before Running With Your Lab!
It’s almost time to go out and try running with your buddy. As you might know, there are many ways to teach him how to run properly. Nonetheless, the most important thing to keep in mind is to take your time to improve smoothly and gradually both of your athletic capacities. However, I still have some recommendations for you. Here are 5 tips to run safely with your companion!
Don’t Run With Too Young Dogs!
Puppies aren’t suitable for running seriously. They are still fragile and need lower intensity activities! In general, Labradors take around 8 to 12 months before they are fully grown. Therefore, it’s OK to run with your dog once he’s older than 1 year!
Be Careful With Old Buddies!
Senior dogs can also have problems with running safely. At an old age, any type of animal becomes less active and more fragile! The Labrador Retriever has a lifespan between 10 to 12 years. Most Labs can be considered elderly over 7 years of age. Around that time, you should adapt your runs or find less intense canine sports or activities!
Temperature Matters!
Running in too cold or hot temperatures isn’t safe for your dog. Normally, Labradors can tolerate the heat and the cold relatively well. They should withstand intense physical activity in hot weather up to 75-80°F (24-27°C) without too much humidity. For cold temperatures, these double-coated dogs should tolerate running when it’s over 10 to 20°F (-12 to -7°C)!
Running Equipment Needed!
This activity is probably one of the most accessible ways to exercise with your Lab. Jogging with dogs is simple and doesn’t require a lot of gear!
However, you should always bring water, snacks, good running shoes, a leash, and a collar on trails. For more advanced running types such as canicross or long distances, more equipment could be useful. Things like a travel bowl, a harness, a hand-free leash, a backpack, and many other running accessories could make this physical activity more fun and safe!
Respect Your Lab’s Limits!
My last piece of advice is simply to pay attention to your dog. If your buddy has any kind of condition, please don’t push his limits too hard!
Learning the language of your Labrador is also a way to enjoy running more safely. You should check your pooch at least every 1 or 2 minutes to make sure he’s able to keep up. To avoid problems or injuries, it’s crucial to make sure your companion is alright before, during, and after running!
Find more tips about running in one of my other articles –> 21 Dos & Dont’s To Run With Your Dog!
Here’s another blog post about running with your Lab on The Labrador Site! [Link Open In a New Tab]
Similar Breeds To Labradors That Can Run Long Distances!
You’re looking for the best dog breeds to run with? Labrador Retrievers are definitely among the top companions for long-distance jogs. Here are some other dogs that could be interesting to run long distances!
- Golden Retrievers.
- Border Collies.
- Australian Shepherds.
- German Shepherds.
- Huskies.
- Weimaraners.
- Vizslas.
- Mixed Breeds! (Of Athletic Dogs)
- Etc.
Some Fun Activities To Try With Labrador Retrievers!
I got a little something to thank you for your time. Active people will love to run with their dog, but there are other fun canine activities to enjoy! Moreover, running isn’t made for everybody and some dogs aren’t suitable for it. Here are some awesome things to try with your Labrador Retriever!
Like Running? Try these things:
- Canicross.
- Agility Course.
- Hiking/Backpacking.
- Tag.
- Biking.
- Dock Diving
- Fetch or Frisbee.
- Etc.
Other Lower Intensity Fun Activities:
- Tug of War.
- Sniffing Games.
- Teach Your Labrador New Tricks.
- Obedience Training.
- Hide and Seek.
- Swimming.
- Dog Toys.
- Puzzle Games.
- Play in Water (or a Sprinkler), Leaves, or Snow.
- Etc.
Last Thoughts About Running With Your Lab!
Finally, Labradors can absolutely run long distances. They are not just suitable for such an intense workout; they are good at it. I personally run with my Labrador Retriever and she can probably jog longer than me!
Moreover, these active buddies will love to go on running trails with you. This sport is one of our (My dog and me) favorite canine activities. I really hope I’ve helped you understand that Labradors are great partners to run long distances running partner! Now, you just need to teach him how to run. Maybe I will have the chance to meet you during my regular jogs!
