Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum so bear with me,! I know there are already a couple of topics on this subject already, but I have been trying to find a definitive answer to the whole “amount of exercise to give a puppy” question! My Black Lab, Guinness, is 5 months old. He comes with from great blood lines (parents hips and elbows are 100%) and he looks superb, a really good looking and strong lad. I have been trying to limit his walks since we got him at 8 weeks old. I have in the past week though, been walking him off-lead in a huge set-aside field near where we live. His recall to whistle and verbal commands is superb ad his behaviour on the walks is good. The walks off-lead have been lasting between 30 and 40 minutes. During this time, Guinness spends some time running about like a lunatic, some time practicing his recall with me and some time just trotting along. Nothing apart from the recall from a distance is forced. Is this too much for a pup of his age and am I better to wait before carrying on with these walks? I know a lot of this is down to personal opinion but all your various opinions will be gratefully received. Thanks Tom
Re: Level of exercise for a black lab pup?! Hi Tom and Guinness and welcome from us Hattie 5 1/2 years and Charlie 2 years. I was always told that it is 5 minutes walking for each month and not to over exercise until they are at least 12 - 18 months when their bones have formed, that is what I did with Hattie, Charlie is another story Just the way we chose to do it, but I am sure someone else will have the correct answer if there is one. Helen
Re: Level of exercise for a black lab pup?! I dont think there is a definitive answer, but generally speaking try to limit jumping and too much strenuous exercise... Only you can judge your dog. Do try to be careful though, it is easy to over-estimate the strength of those still-developing joints!
Re: Level of exercise for a black lab pup?! Hi and welcome from me too . Its a controvertial subject and many adhere to the five minute rule , five mins per day for every month of their lives . However , I understand that this usually applies to hard surface walking, roads and pavements , where their joints take more of an impact . Softer surfaces like fields are much kinder to joints and ligaments , so please dont stress , he is fine . Be careful over jumping in and out of cars and limit stairs to a minimum but usually by 10-12 months, you can be a lot more relaxed about the whole thing . There is also a school of thought that says that the problems are far more likely to manifest in a dog who`s parents dont have good hip and elbow scores , but then similarly, just because both parents do have excellent results , its no guarantee that their offspring wont have issues , so just use common sense and if in doubt, err to caution .
Re: Level of exercise for a black lab pup?! Great advice so far guys, thankyou! I think I am getting overly stressed about it. Guinness is my first ever dog so I have nothing to compare him to! Tom
Re: Level of exercise for a black lab pup?! Hi Tom, Welcome to the forum. I think you will find, by the way, that Guiness remains incomparable in your eyes all his life. Enjoy - they are truly great dogs.
Re: Level of exercise for a black lab pup?! Hi Tom, I too have a 5 month old pup, my first dog. The only reason I knew about this whole 5 minutes per month thing is because of sites like this and really looking in to dog ownership before I got him. The breeder did say to us no strenuous exercise, throwing balls etc 'til 6 months, and the vet said don't over exercise until he's around 9 months but it was that vague, nothing as strict as a 5 minute rule. If I am walking Digby on pavements at my pace I definitely stick to the rule. However, often on a weekend we take him up to the woods with our 3 children. Quite often we have been out for up to 45-50 mins BUT Digby is by no means running around all this time. He spends most of it just pottering along. Quite often the children stop for 10 minutes to play on an old tree stump or something and Digby just stands around or lays down for a bit. We have a toddler so the pace is not very fast. Its also all in the woods/fields so soft underfoot. I'm sure this is fine. If we meet another youngster and he has a really mad 5 minutes playing we would cut the trip short. Welcome to the forum. I can't believe what an integral part of our lives Digby is already, they are wonderful are't they? Best decision we ever made (and it took a now 10 year old 5 years of nagging). ;D
Re: Level of exercise for a black lab pup?! [quote author=Sersi link=topic=1183.msg7353#msg7353 date=1360401439] Welcome to the forum. I can't believe what an integral part of our lives Digby is already, they are wonderful are't they? Best decision we ever made (and it took a now 10 year old 5 years of nagging). ;D [/q Lol. To be fair it was my wife nagging me for ages to get a dog! That's good advice. It sounds like I'm not really over doing it. I will be careful though. Thanks all Tom
