Jessie turned 1 this week, so having been very careful about how much and what exercise she has, my thoughts are turning to exercise going forward. What did/does your walking routines look like for your 1 year old? How long, how often? Jessie would never voluntarily say she was too tired, so I feel I still need to watch young joints. But equally I know she would love more walking. There are also days over the winter when my husband is away where 2 walks are difficult because he's not here to watch the kids and taking them is not feasible. So is it OK now to give her one much longer lunch time walk now? I would also quite like to start running with her. Well, when I say "like," it iis more a case of I've been told it would be good for Jessie's attention on me and I reluctantly acknowledge this could be good for us both. Obviously I am hardly Mo Farrah, so we are talking building up to 5 k together over a number of weeks, not a marathon! Is 1 still too young for this? Thank you from Sally and Jessie pS. I wasn't too sure if this is the right place to post this, is she still a puppy at one or just a badly behaved adult dog?
I don't think you can walk or run far enough to injure a 1 year old Lab, unless you are an ultra-marathoner.
What are you thinking of when you say "one much longer walk"? Mine get one and a half to two and a half hours of walking a day, and have done since around the age of one. We do more during the warmer months, until it gets too hot. When it's very hot, they sometimes only get one walk in the morning, because it's still too hot in the evening. I just spend that time doing training at home, to work their brains. You could consider doing that even when you have the kids to look after. If you're going to be doing something like the C25K app, then that will be absolutely fine for her. I've just done it with my two. Although, they weren't on lead, so could mooch around as they wished as I ran, which is easier on their joints and my sanity. I would toss treats and pine cones for them as I ran, to keep their attention on me. No more running until the spring for me, though!
Thanks for that, really helpful! She currently has around 1 1/2 hrs spread over 2 walks. When my husband is away it would be better for me to do 1 1/2 in one go, which I'm guessing is fine now she's older. As you say we can train more as well. Yes, C25 k app is exactly what I was thinking. I was thinking perhaps we would swap morning walk for a run to burn some extra energy. Our trainer suggested it might help her attention on me as she would find it fun. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and give it a go, no excuse of winter snow here!! Thanks again.
Walking is where it's at. Not running - it's awful for human knees, anyway. Try power walking. I can't actually even power walk, really - well, not compared to my dog walker who really can power walk. But I do my best. It's fab for dogs - on lead or off lead. Steady, non stop, walking or trotting up hills is particularly good for building up their rear end muscles.
I do between 4 and 6 miles a day walking with both dogs. I'm very careful about running its impact on joints is too high.
I hadn't thought of power walking. I assume it would also be good for building up my rear end muscles???
Well, I have to say it's done more for Charlie than for me! When Charlie was recovering from cruciate surgery and we had to build up his rear muscles, 4 humans took turns in walking him up hills! It does work really well!
