When can my Aussie mix safely start running on hard surfaces?

The biggest concern we have with puppies is repetitive pounding on concrete, so I don't recommend any running on concrete until their growth plates are closed (around 12-18 monhts). Walks are fine on any surface, so you can walk Pharah for as long as she is able to walk as she is growing without any concerns. And running on soft grassy areas is fine. I have not seen any studies on stairs with growing puppies, but it certainly can't hurt to train her to go down the stairs slowly to minimize the repetitive pounding on her joints as she goes down the stairs. I wouldn't worry about going up the stairs, or jumping off the couch or out of the car. We don't know if any of these things affect hips, but we do know that keeping a dog lean is very protective of hip problems, so keep Pharah thin. Congrats on your new baby! I hope that helps! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Although there are no hard-and-fast rules, we suspect that allowing puppies to exercise at intense levels such as running 5/week may predispose them to joint issues. Because of this, most veterinarians recommend waiting until puppies are skeletally mature at 1 year of age before they start routinely exercise such as daily runs. Make sure your dog is fully vaccinated at that time as well.

At this age your puppy can walk a couple miles but not run, you will be able to introduce him to distance running at the age of 6 months, you should do it very gradually though (every week increase up to half a mile.

I normally recommend neutering medium to large breed dogs like Australian Shepherds at the age of 10-12 months. It's true that testosterone is important for proper development of the bones and joints, so neutering at an earlier age can sometimes increase the risk of orthopedic problems later in life.

Her bones will continue to grow until she is about a year old and so I always recommend some limits on them until that time such as no long distance running or mountain biking. For walks in the park however, I would say she is fine to go a couple of miles. I would base it more off of her behavior once she gets home. If she is exhausted then I would decrease the distance.

This is impossible to predict as the bones and cartilage are very soft at 11 weeks and repetitive impact could cause pressure and wear but a once off would be unlikely to have any on going effects if it did not create lameness within the first 3-5days. I would recommend he is fed a high quality puppy food up until at least 12-15months to optimise bone and joint development and promote healthy cartilage

At 10 months, Phoenix is old enough for this type of activity. I recommend no "forced" exercise, such as on-leash running until after a year of age, but he is definitely old enough to start some basic agility training. I recommend starting with short training periods, for a few minutes at a time. If he is doing well, you can increase the duration of training periods. If he loses interest, then keep the sessions short. Trying to force him to stay focused for longer will take the fun out of it for both of you. As far as leash walks go, start with a mile and if he still has lots of energy, you can increase to 2 miles. At this age I would have no issues with him walking a few miles, as long as you increase the distance slowly and give him chances to stop, sniff, and take breaks. Every dog is a little different, and the most important thing is to watch Phoenix and make sure he doesn't seem to be getting too tired.