Just a question as we take Molly everywhere and OH and I were just discussing this.

Today, we went to Ilkley...we paddled in the river, and Molly happily followed...she loves a swim.

Then, we went on Ilkley Moor and walked for 2 hours ( over one hour uphill which included a lot of long grass and heather).

We do this often, and we always carry water and dish for Molly.

She is only a little westie, but she would walk forever it seems. And she is very happy.

She isn't on a lead in open empty spaces like that, but, even so, OH picked her up every so often,and carried her, as we worry she might overdo things.

She is definitely a very bouncy and muscly girl...not a fat waddling westie, such as the poor ones we see who hobble along behind their owners.

But, are we taking our girl too far?

She has ( since we got her as a wee pup) been absolutely everywhere with us...hiking, swimming, camping etc.

But OH and I are wondering if she is too little to do it.

She loves everywhere we go, but she won't have a huge heart or lungs, such as, say, a collie.

Do we do too much with her?

How old is Molly? this is the important factor !

assuming she is fully grown and so long as she is not exserting herself I do not think there will be a problem!

OMGOSHHH! This is one spoilt doggy
In my next life can i come back as Molly pleaseyyy
I'd love to be her ,
I dont think you are overdoing it, you say she's enjoying it..
so obviously not,
As long as she is wagging her little tail then that is the main ! :P
It is what she is used to doing..
You give her breaks and carry her lol
You carry her on her Walk lmao!
Aww bless her,
i bet shes one happy doggy!

Chloe x

__________________

Thanks for the replies,

Molly will be 2 yrs and 6 months next month.

We don't "carry" her like a lap dog!

Lee just picks her up and carries her for 10 mins every now and again to give her little heart a rest.

We just don't see many little dogs doing what Molly does, and we certainly don't want her health to be in jeapourdy, just for the sake of long walks.

At the same time, we don't want one of those overweight podgy westies.

We just want some reassurance that we are not pushing her too much.

We always feel that she would walk to the ends of the earth if we asked her to, and with that in mind, where do we draw the line?

DT, I know dogs such as your Weimies could go forever, but can our westie? We see lots of bigger dogs on our hikes, but not litle ones. And we always have people passing us with comments like, " AWW! Bless her...she's so tiny!!" I sometimes wonder if they think we are dragging her!

We LOVE our baby to pieces, hence my concern.

Thanks everyone. xx

Westies are strong little dogs!
Just because a dog is bigger it does NOT always mean it can do more! look at some of the breeds that can hardly walk to the end of the road!

Westies are strong fit little dogs! and providing you are not doing too much in the hot weather,, running his legs of or depriving her of water you should be fine.
BEWARE of over exercising in the heat though!
DT

Don't worry - she doesn't need one - she's not as big as a collie.

A fit dog will cope with a lot more exercise than they will probably ever get. Provided she's not overweight and you build up the amount gradually, then not only will she be fine, it will do her good and I'll bet she'll love it.

Not any help to you but i have just looked at Molly,s album , she is a lovely girl. suz x

__________________

I am not a complete nutter........Parts of me are missing.

Great post Dundee! how come you always seems to put it far simpler them me! that was what I was trying to say!
DT

Thanks DT and Dundee...very helpful and reassuring.

We didn't ( and don't) take Molly up on the moor until after 4.30 this afternoon...we don't want her to de-hydrate.

My concern was more the fact of her heart size and her ability to walk this far without us pushing her.

I'm glad to know we don't put her at risk with the hikes.

As for building her up, we have done that since she was old enough to start walking. She has been camping/hiking etc with us for over 2 yrs.

I think the people who were hiking today caused us concern, as they kept mentioning she was so small ( as if to say we shouldn't be hiking up a hill).

Thanks so much for the reassurance.

Thank you! xx