I am worried that I am over-exercising my puppy. She spends most of the time off the lead, and definitely has no more than 30 mins/ day on lead walking and this is usually an amble with her stopping to sniff etc.. But once she is off the lead at the beach or field she runs around crazy, playing with other dogs, and running flat out. I also limit this to max 30 mins, but starting to think it is too much. The last couple of weeks she has seemed a bit stiff when she gets up after a sleep. I am thinking of taking her to the vet... or maybe she just needs a few days rest??
Hi Shelly, My first lab Daisy used to have same issues and would come up lame after playing with the bigger dogs in the park. We had to stop the off leash play altogether as she was eventually diagnosed with panosteitis. I would give your pup a few days of rest and then only take her on leash walks afterwards for a few days. If she seems okay after that, then limit the off leash play to 5/10 minutes at most and see how she does.
Thanks for the suggestion. I rested her yesterday and only let her off lead today for 10 mins and there were no other dogs around, so not so crazy!
Aside from the physical issue around whether this is a good idea, do consider what it is teaching her: It is strongly reinforcing to run around 'crazy', with other dogs. You are strongly associating play and contact with other dogs away from the house, as a source of reinforcement for her. This is how people create dogs which are dog-obsessed... You might want to have a read of this article I wrote: https://dogsnet.com/over-friendly-dog/ And also these links: http://playwaydogs.com/we-need-to-s...DMK5WQ83Yab7_7_WByR6oHljCpEGHvdY68YrdV4O-2mEs https://paws4udogs.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/too-much-of-a-good-thing/ In terms of her being physically stiff on getting up, if this continues you should definitely talk to your vet about it. A healthy young dog should not be stiff on getting up, even if she has had a lot of exercise. Many issues such as hip and elbow dysplacia can cause pain...
