I've seen quite a lot of information on this, and other, sites about the 5 minute rule for walking puppies. Most of the discussions suggest sticking to the rule until the lab is fully grown. No-one seems to define when a Lab is fully grown. The bones seem to set at about 12 months. Labs seem to fill out with muscle until about 18 months. Some sites suggest that the dogs mature around 24 - 30 months. Holly is 12 months old this week so I'm interested to learn how others have decided when their puppy was ready to move from the five minute rule to normal walks. I'd dearly love to take her for longer walks in the woods, but not if there's any risk to her health.
Re: The five minute rule Remember that the five min rule is a guide , its not set in stone . It mainly applies to hard walking , e.g. roads, pavements where you need to keep fairly careful , same with no running up and down stairs , its just common sense really Walking on softer surfaces like grass , meadows , soft woodland flooring is much easier on young joints so the five mins rule can be extended a little . Most people begin to relax more when their dogs are around 9/10 months of age but still take care/be aware until about a year old , but remember that play in the garden doesnt count at all ;D By all means take Holly for woodland walks , anything up to about 20 mins will be fine , gradually building up to 30 mins when she is four months old, have fun
Re: The five minute rule Hey there,I pretty much stuck to it .....our breeder advised it ( together with no stairs and jumping in and out the car ,HRH still gets lifted on and out now ;D)and a lot of reading and comments on the forum kept me guided by it.Dexter is 13 months now and we are just starting to enjoy longer walks and run outs so your time will come too.Its worth proceeding cautiously ,Dexter is energetic and inquisitive and and I don't feel he suffered in any way with having the amount of excercise monitored and restricted.
Re: The five minute rule We've stuck to the rule for the first 12 months. I guess we'll start stretching it next weekend, maybe take her to an hour and a quarter in the woods for the next month and aim for an hour and a half by Christmas.
Re: The five minute rule I'm a 5 minute rule bender I'm afraid....it's been relaxed here (nearly 8 month old dog). He gets about 45 min in the morning, and 15 min in the evening - always on soft surfaces, grass, woodland. If he ever has a problem, I'll feel just dreadful. But it's a balance for me, in terms of knowing his parents had perfect, and near perfect, joint health scores, managing him and what he seems to need, plus tendency to podge and a vet who thinks the 5 min rule is just silly (I don't, but...). I'm strict with stairs and jumping out of cars though.
Re: The five minute rule I completely agree about cars and stairs. We lift her in and out of the car and never let her go upstairs or allow her to jump things.
Re: The five minute rule [quote author=Hollysdad link=topic=2873.msg29848#msg29848 date=1381690842] I completely agree about cars and stairs. We lift her in and out of the car and never let her go upstairs or allow her to jump things. [/quote] I was ultra careful, until a vet I very much respect (Kate - David Ellis), after looking at Charlie and his circumstances, told me I was being just silly to be so cautious. Like I say, I'll feel awful if he has a problem, but you make your choices...
