Hi all, Newish here and have kept an eye on most posts. Quick question - my boy is just over 6 months and LOVES the beach and water. We also give him a walk every few days. How much exercise is required for a dog his age? I have read varying ideas and have used the idea of adding 5 mins for every month of his age? Thanks Liam
I am NOT an expert here, In fact I have ignored some advice in the books from Pippa. Case in point, even before fully vaccinated, I DID let my Sora 'four on the floor' (mind you I'm super rural area) and we went to farmers markets and the lake (bush lake, not public) and he played with other vaccinated dogs. My goal was pure socialization, regardless of risk. At 3 months he was bush waking about 40min a day most days with me, and now at almost 5 months he's good for 1-1/2 hours bush time. Some of the terrain is pretty harsh out here. (I limit or avoid this) I let him set the pace of course, it's a fun trip, not a military march. Anyways, my guy is doing just fine (Physically..., Mentally training is another story). His parents had almost perfect Hip Scores, and he's fit as a fiddle. This issue comes down to you and your dog. If I push too hard, my Sora lets me know with a bit of a 'whimper sound' in which case I stop, and rest. I will warn you though. Lab's are workaholics, and can and will kill themselves to please you. This is an extreme example of course, but none the less. This really is a very tough question to answer. All dogs are different, some dogs may get problems like Hip Dysplasia and some won't. There are so many factors that play into it. From your post, you said he likes to swim? or water anyways. That's a low impact activity. If you're not forcefully driving him, I'm betting he will turn out okay. PS: The 5 minute rule is very conservative , and even Pippa mentions there's no proof that it's needed 100% of the time. If you and your Dog are doing fine so far, I'm betting it's going to stay that way. Eating OK, Proper amounts and good nutrition? Not obese? Your on the right track! If I'm wrong, others will chime in soon enough with their advice!
I didn't follow the 5 minute rule with Bon when she was a puppy, but have become very aware of the right amount of exercise lately for my girl. I think I read/watched something about giving them too much stimulation and they just end up wired all the time. So, like Lt. Kippo, I'd say that you have to be aware of how your pup is behaving, if they're having trouble settling down, holding weight, seem too 'buzzy', are getting the right amount of sleep, eating well- it's all in the mix. I've cut Bon's exercise down a little to something more manageable for us both and am trying to get a balance between enough physical exercise and enrichment so that I have a healthy and attentive dog. Not one that's wired on adrenaline all the time!
This photo of a puppy’s bones is a good reminder that conservative excercise while young is a good idea. This is an excellent article - https://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppy-exercise-how-much-is-too-much/
Yup. I definitely wouldn’t want to push my puppy to the point of vocalising, and would class that as excessive. I didn’t adhere to the five-minute rule with Squidge, but when we were out, I did a lot of standing or sitting still and just letting her mooch around me, or if we were all out together, I’d do some training with the older dogs while she just bumbled about. We hopefully have a lifetime of long walks ahead, so there’s no point rushing it in the early months and potentially creating dysplastic joints from over-use when they’re not yet properly formed, which is a real concern even if the puppy was born with perfect joints.
I didn't follow the five minute rule 100% , but I was very mindful of the damage that could be caused by pushing a youngster and lets face it, they don't need much pushing ! I`m pretty sure that Sam would have gone much further than I allowed when he was a pup and juvenile , but its up to us as responsible owners , to know when to draw the line .
My dog has never really gotten THAT much exercise. I never tried to tire him out hat way because I'd have never done it. When he was really small we'd just go on a little walk to the field where we'd play and do some training. We'd maybe be out half an hour but the field is less than a 2 minute walk from our house and we'd just practice recall and walking to heel etc. From about 6 months he either gets 2 30 - 45 minutes walks or one longer one if we're going out somewhere different. It's all flat and pretty much a path. He's never done more than 5 miles and he's 20 months now. We do lots of games in the house and daft bits of training. That tires him out much more than any walk ever would.
Murphy self regulates. It is hot here for quite a while in the summer. He loves retrieving tennis balls. I always keep a bucket of fresh water out in back where we play and there is a kiddy pool filled up in the summer. He plays and then will stop, get a drink of water, in the summer he just gets in the pool to cool off. Our yard has lots of shade and he is a smart doggy, on his retrieves he takes advantage of the shade. At three years he is getting quite a bit of exercise. My OH takes him out in the AM for about an hour usually. She is a big time gardener so they do not play, just mess around the yard. After that, we go out twice in the morning for about 15-20 minutes each time. After lunch 2-3 times for the same amount, and after dinner for 15 or 20. So, let's see, that is about a total of three hours on a typical day. I am not sure that the concept of too much exercise causes them to be "wired". Murphy knows when it is time to go out, so he gets up and let's me know. Other than that, he lays around snoozing, etc. Just thought of something that may feed into this idea of getting wired from exercise. I see some owners get all wired themselves, lots of high pitched excited talk while they are playing, dog jumping, spinning in circles, etc. I can ramp Murphy up with my energy, I don't do it, I see no reason to do so. So maybe that causes the dog to want the excitement that goes with playing? Not sure I said that very well.... hmmmm.
The only thing I have to add to the advice already given is, the more you walk them at a young age, the more they will need as they get older and fitter. I say this because I know someone who has a dog and who walked him 2 X 1 hour a day from 4 months old, and 3 X 1 hours a day from 6 months. That dog now won't settle until he has had a min of 3 X 1.5 hours walk a day.
My two are happy just to hang around the house until midday (as long as they have been fed and have been out in the garden to relieve themselves, of course) - especially if they are allowed to join us for a lie-in!! While we did not stick to the five-minute rule, I have been very cautious about over-exercising, and have been rigorous about not allowing Merlin to put on too much weight, or to do much jumping, or to use stairs. Why take the risk, I think.
The problem is also I don't necessarily know what his vocalization means just yet. Part of the way he looks around blankly makes me think he might simply be nervous of the unknown surroundings. The dirt road is fairly even, and he sets the pace. Frankly when his in my yard (1 acre or so), he's much more 'wild' in his running around full speed. The question then is, gently and slow paced walk in the woods, or wild running and jumping in the yard (which I can't seem to stop) That X-Ray sure looks nasty though.
It’s not nasty - it’s an x-ray of a normal very young puppy. But it makes the point that their joints are not yet fully formed and need care. They DO need exercise, of course, but formal exercise – walking on a lead – for example, is probably best restricted using the five minute rule as an approximate guide. And strenuous exercise such as stair climbing, and chasing balls should be limited or avoided altogether in puppies under three months of age imo
I am not disagreeing with what you wrote. What I have noticed is that mine learns a routine very, very quickly and then expects it after that. I swear he has a notebook or day planner somewhere. In other words, I don't they think they necessarily "need it", maybe more of a "want it". Here is an example, Murphy would come trundling into the bedroom at bedtime, I thought it would be fun to give him a treat from my shirt pocket. After just two days he would come in and immediately sniff my pocket. I stopped, he sniffed that pocket religiously for a while, just checking. Now he will occasionally take a sniff to see if just maybe. Murphy seems to love routine. Since we are retired our daily routine is just that routine. There is very little change from day to day for the most part. Of course there are things that cause some deviation and he loves that too but it is very apparent he likes things to be "normal". Edit: Murphy "settles" right away when we come in, even if I have come in before he would liked to. I guess that is just part of "normal" for him too.
Thank you all for the thoughts and comments. Much appreciated. We tend to vary his exercise and it also depends on the weather. Down here in Australia atm it is Summer and if we have some really hot weather i tend to take him to the beach for a swim and a run. The swimming is hilarious right now, as he actually hasn't learnt to swim properly and although he has actually swam for moments his preference right now is to bound through the water like a gazelle! If its not so great he might just get a 20 minute walk around our neighborhood.
