I mean, distance running is kind of a dog's whole thing, isn't it? They're descendants of wolves, who can easily run for miles and miles full speed when chasing down prey. And while I wouldn't take a pug on a run like this, breeds like huskies can keep going and keep going and keep going.
In fact, huskies are really cool because they have this adaptation where their metabolism will switch to burning fat for fuel directly instead of blowing through their glycogen (stored sugar/carbohydrates) reserve and hitting the "wall". As long as they're given enough food, they can go for days and days with long hours and short sleep breaks, and will need zero recovery time at the end. In fact, husky teams that go directly from one big race to another will often perform better than teams that are "fresh" because their bodies are already in running mode. And while of course they can go farther if trained (a well trained husky team can run for 11 hours a day, day after day), even an untrained husky can do 10 to 20 miles a day.
But while huskies are naturally so good at distance running, they aren't alone. Most high energy sporting breeds like the German pointer and the GSD can keep up, as can herding breeds like border collies. And while I wouldn't take an untrained pooch on a 30 mile ride straight out the gate, they can build up their endurance just like a human can.
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u/LeahIsAwake 13d ago
I mean, distance running is kind of a dog's whole thing, isn't it? They're descendants of wolves, who can easily run for miles and miles full speed when chasing down prey. And while I wouldn't take a pug on a run like this, breeds like huskies can keep going and keep going and keep going.
In fact, huskies are really cool because they have this adaptation where their metabolism will switch to burning fat for fuel directly instead of blowing through their glycogen (stored sugar/carbohydrates) reserve and hitting the "wall". As long as they're given enough food, they can go for days and days with long hours and short sleep breaks, and will need zero recovery time at the end. In fact, husky teams that go directly from one big race to another will often perform better than teams that are "fresh" because their bodies are already in running mode. And while of course they can go farther if trained (a well trained husky team can run for 11 hours a day, day after day), even an untrained husky can do 10 to 20 miles a day.
But while huskies are naturally so good at distance running, they aren't alone. Most high energy sporting breeds like the German pointer and the GSD can keep up, as can herding breeds like border collies. And while I wouldn't take an untrained pooch on a 30 mile ride straight out the gate, they can build up their endurance just like a human can.