Our choc labrador puppy is now just over 4 months old. When we got him the breeder advised us not to let him go up stairs and jump on and off the furniture because of possible damage to his developing bones. She warned against over exercising him again because of the fact that labs are a rapidly growing breed. We have stuck to the 5 minute rule so far, occasionally taking him out for a bit longer, trying to walk mostly on grass where possible. It is hard to get him to walk nicely on a normal lead though as he has so much energy and is getting stronger by the day. I confess to having bought an extender so he can have a bit more freedom but am aware I am in danger of giving mixed messages. I was hoping to take him to training classes from 3 months but the lady is away on holiday so we haven't been able to start yet and I'm afraid he is getting into bad habits. I don't know whether to get a long training line and let him have a run around this way as there are not many places I could let him off a lead at where we live. I am also confused because of being told to be careful of over exercising if I should be letting him run around off the lead? In the garden/house he is good at coming when called. He can sit and stay quite well and is happy and confident when meeting dogs and people. I had a cocker spaniel before and used an extender with him. He did pull sometimes but of course he was much smaller and less strong! I had really hoped to be able to have my lab walking nicely by my side off lead but am a bit disheartened at the moment and unsure whether I will be able to achieve this without a lot of help. At the moment walks are not pleasurable as I'm being pulled and feel a failure. Any help gratefully received.
Re: Exercise/training Off lead exercise is different because they will run around and then walk slowly for a bit and can rest if they want to. The main thing to be wary of is what we called forced exercise - so a lot of on lead walking where they are made to keep up with you and can't stop if they want to. If anything I would say off lead exercise is better for growing puppies. I never stuck to the 5 minute rule because my pup just had too much energy so if you feel he needs more then as long as you are sensible there's no reason why you can't take him for a longer walk. Letting him off lead now will be more beneficial to teaching recall too rather than waiting until he is older.
Re: Exercise/training Hello there It's quite right that most people think keeping exercise to moderate levels for small lab puppies is a good thing. Everyone has different views and opinions on what this means exactly though, and there are no hard and fast rules. I do not think though this is much to do with on or off lead, it's about the end result. Your pup can walk too far with you off lead as easily as on lead, and you can "force the pace" off lead by making him run to keep up with you, or you can amble along on lead letting him explore slowly, and a puppy can do far, far too much off lead if he is allowed to play freely and for far too long with another dog. Puppies are not good at deciding when enough is enough. I also do not think it is relevant whether he walks on grass or pavement, although jumping around on hard surfaces is not a good thing. If stairs are not necessary, you can avoid them if you wish - it's not a bad thing to do that. Lifting puppies rather than allowing them to do big jumps is also sensible. There are really good reasons to let your puppy off the lead as early as possible. There is a useful article here: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/let-your-puppy-off-the-lead/ Best of luck with it
