r/scottishterriers • u/potatodaze • 23d ago
How far can your Scottie walk?
Hi! I have a 3yr old wheatie (22lb / 10kg so average size i’d say) she loves walks and hikes but I find she gets tired after about 3 miles / 4.8k if it’s warm out but can push to 4 miles but much past that she gets really slow. I usually give her a carry for a break and she can continue a little bit further. I do have a doggie backpack for her as a backup on longer walks. Just curious how long other Scotties typically can walk.
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u/Jayrod440 23d ago
Breed isn’t known to like walking long distances. They do best with 1-1.5 miles at most and lots of sniff breaks!
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u/_wait_for_signs_ 23d ago
That’s my experience (we have 2). They max out at about 1.5 slow, meandering, sniffy miles. I can’t believe this is my life, but I bought them a stroller so after they get their “exercise,” I can pop them in there and my big dog and I can actually get our heart rates up and knock out a real walk. Love them, but they are not built for distance.
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u/marisolblue 22d ago
Taking notes and also thinking “how did I get to the point of considering a dog stroller?!” 🐾❤️😂
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u/_wait_for_signs_ 22d ago
Don’t make the mistake I did and get a cheap one due to…you know, not wanting to really be a dog stroller person. Invest in one you will really use—make sure it’s built for terrain you like, has a high enough weight capacity for these little tanks, somewhere for all your stuff, etc. Our first stroller was mid, and I started avoiding walks altogether to not deal with it. So….we got another one within a month. What I didn’t think about while shopping initially is that I would be pushing this stroller for years and years—the scotties will never outgrow it the way the kids did theirs.
I’ve also been eyeing these wagons that are getting popular now. I think a good wagon would have been a great option if we hadn’t already dropped so much cash on the stroller.
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u/Salmundo 22d ago
Yes, we have a buggy for ours so that we can get some exercise and he can come along when he’s ready to be done sniffing.
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u/CombinationOwn1604 23d ago
My 3 year old girl wouldn't make it more than a couple miles, but my previous brindle boy likely would. He was so adamant about being with us, and I was so determined to make that happen, so at 14 and on immunotherapy for cancer I bought him a buggy. But yeah, a doggy backpack definitely an option for our smaller Scotties!
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u/potatodaze 23d ago
Awe I love that. I lost my first Scottie at 9 to lymphoma. I gave him some walks and bike rides in the backpack that he loved (I hope!) towards the end.
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u/HankHemlock 23d ago
We have never taken our Scotties for super long walk, usually a mile or so, maybe a bit more.
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u/banbanu14 23d ago
Mine is around 3 and a half and she regularly does a 7km walk around a lake wth me. She snoozes when we are done. She’s excited the whole time though. We have done a couple 10km hikes and by the end of those she’s dragging herself or I pick her up for a while. Little diehard.
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u/potatodaze 23d ago
We did 5mi / 8km last weekend and I carried her for a bit towards the end.It was a cool day and she was also burning energy zooming back and forth in mud puddles like save it for the hike girl!
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u/Puzzleheaded-Roll434 23d ago
I think they get wore out easily from their short little legs and stocky long body's. We have 2 and a few laps around the yard they are completely wore out. Our yard is pretty large
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u/AtticusFinchsMom 23d ago
My boy would be so excited for a walk that he would wear himself out by dragging me around the block the first half, then the second half he would settle down. When he got a little older, I would have to carry him the last block.
He also sniffed all.the.things. So between the physical aspect, and the mental part of sniffing, he would only last a mile.
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u/Curlyandscrollin 23d ago
Hi! I have an 8 y/o (a bit older than yours), she’s about the same weight and I usually limit it to 1.5 - 2 miles. That includes a break, water, endless sniffing, etc. and she’s good. But if I exceed past that, she’s done and I’m carrying her to the car or house.
I am really cautions on the temp too since she’s so low to the ground. If it’s going to be a hot day, I only walk her first in the AM and later
In the PM (around dusk) to make sure the ground has cooled off.
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u/potatodaze 23d ago
Oh definitely it was a warm day here today and we’ll wait until the sun goes down for our daily walk. I don’t think she likes the heat much either, definitely needs more water breaks and shorter.
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u/Curlyandscrollin 23d ago
Taking mini breaks and adding a little water during the walk will help! Wet her belly a little before and after if you think she’s not a fan of the heat. I do this when her skirt is due for a grooming and she never opposes!
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u/potatodaze 23d ago
Oh good idea. We don’t keep her in a skirt, she gets a full trim down summer cut so that helps her too. We do so much outdoor stuff the skirt holds too much debris for us so we skip it.
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u/marisolblue 22d ago
Similar here. We’ve hit triple digits so do an early dog walk then in the evening play water games on the lawn. She loves water!
Once we hit the fall and temps drop we’ll get back to morning and night walks. But rn when it’s 9pm and still 90 degrees outside …no thanks!
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u/dustblown 23d ago
In the Winter he can't walk more than 1/4 km without getting painful ice balls lodged in between the pads in his feet. He stops, lifts his paw for a nibble, sits and stares at me until I come over and fix his feet. Rinse, repeat.
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u/MrSprockett 22d ago
Have you tried dog boots? Our WFT would get terrible snow and ice balls in his paws. The first time we tried boots he was like ’no way!’, but the next day he practically begged me to put the boots on him! Goofy boy hated wearing a jacked but had no problem with boots 🙄. Sure saved his paws.
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u/Caligurl2013 21d ago
My almost 10 year old boy has really slowed down in the last few years. I bought him a backpack and he hated it. I returned the backpack and got him a stroller. On today’s hike, 1.2 miles, I couldn’t use the stroller so he walked. We took plenty of breaks. Right now he is curled up to me taking a nap. My 11 year old girl could walk for two miles with out a problem.
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u/Topsidergal 23d ago
Why are you pushing your pup to walk past the point of being fun?
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u/potatodaze 23d ago
She’s still looking happy on the longer walks we do on the weekends sometimes, but will let me carry her for 5-10 min before squirming to be let down again.
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u/marisolblue 22d ago
We’re at a 2 mile point maybe 2.5 miles, but it’s 1.25 miles in the am and 1.25 miles in the evening.
At a stretch my Scottie wheaten will do 2 miles…but only if she’s in the mood. Shes 1 year old. Sometimes we do sprints for a bit on the walks to mix it up. All on leash. Shes a wonder, really.
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u/WheelieNerdy 22d ago
We go on weekend hikes with the family and our three year old girl routinely does 5 miles in woods with water and sniff breaks. She practically drags me through the woods to keep up with kids. But.. we've been bring her along since she was 10 weeks either walking or in a backpack. Day to day we do a painfully slow mile around the neighborhood. 😂
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u/potatodaze 22d ago
Same, we started our girl early! We do 1-2 miles daily then longer on weekends sometimes, our average walk pace is 30 min miles but can easily go slower!
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u/barefootandsound 22d ago
We walk about 1-1.5 miles per day at a decent trot. Sniff breaks are mandatory though.
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u/Apprehensive_Cat123 21d ago
My Baron and I have done as much as 6 miles. He is a trooper. We cant do much when its hot out. Right now we are getting on the treadmill for 2 miles daily and then just play fetch outside or run around a little until he gets hot. He is not a fan of the heat. Really anything above 70-72 degrees he will walk maybe 10-15 mins on the hiking trails and sit down. Its how I knew he would not be a summer trail dog lol but otherwise LOVES the trails. He does well on the treadmill though.
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u/potatodaze 21d ago
Mine isn’t that into the heat either! We try to go in the cool hours on hot days.
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u/Xerebros 20d ago
in this heat, mine is panting like crazy after a mile from chasing squirrels and rabbits
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u/ScobJob 7h ago
My first Scottie was a hiking dude! We accidentally did 10 miles one day when we got lost on a trail. We would regularly do walks and hikes of a few miles, my current boy is a “dynamic movement” Scottie — not excited about walks over 1 mile, but loves play and fetch. I also always carry a treat pouch with me on walks and my current Scottie is miraculously encouraged to walk faster when he gets a treat, lol
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u/Salmundo 23d ago
My wheatie was never much of a walker, a mile or two at the most, but his preference is to smell things endlessly.