puppy is 7 month old we do 2 walks a day both 30 mins. off lead through fields all the time. shr likes to run and someone said i should keep her on a lead as runs to much!! am i doing something wrong ?
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? Other people on this forum are more knowledgable than me, but I'd say NO you are doing nothing wrong at all! My little boy Pongo is 17 weeks old, and we go for two long (40 min) offlead walks each day plus lots of running round the big garden. My understanding is that off-lead is fine, because the puppy is able to stop and rest when he wants (as long as you are not continually calling him to keep up with you). It is on-lead walks that can be too tiring, especially on hard pavement surfaces which are jarriing on the joints and paws. Enjoy your pup and all that energy! Rosie
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? shes definately not tired or resting always in front of me thank you
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? Hi, I have to admit I stuck to the 5 minute per month rule as I didn't want to chance any joint damage etc. but I know lots of people don't and it largely depends on the surface you are walking your dog on. Hattie was not getting 1 hour walks until she was well over a year and we were walking on a little pavement but mostly grass. Someone will advise you as I was probably a bit over the top as she was my first dog :
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? The thing to avoid is lengthy 'forced exercise' where the dog can't change pace or have a rest. So, jogging or running beside a bike are not good for a dog under a year old. Long on-lead walks are not great either. But I don't see anything wrong with two 30 minute off-lead walks for a 7 month old dog
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? Harley is 8 months and we go for walks in the woods for at least an hour a day - she is in the stream a lot of the time, and on grass/mud the rest of the time. I drive to the woods if we are going for an hour, but walk (15 mins on pavement) if only a brief play in the woods
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? no i am sure thats ok i got my lab when she was 6 months old while i did not do 2 hour walks i did let her off lead in woods or the beach as it is soft going i did try 5 mins per month of age but soon found when she is free running she slowed down as she wanted so dont think your are doing wrong also you can practise recall at the same time have fun dont worry
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? I always stuck to the five minutes per month guideline. But 99% of her walks are off lead. Puppy bones take 18 months to develop and need to be cared for - especially in large breeds. High-impact and leg-twisting activities like leaping after flying disks or over jumps, jogging (especially on hard surfaces), and similar activities need to be be avoided until the pup's bones have matured.
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? And on another day you'll find someone that says you are walking your puppy too little! I don't think that there are any rules, just guidelines. As long as we are sensible (eg don't run marathons with our dogs but don't completely abstain from exercise either) and have our dogs' best interests at heart I doubt that we'll go too far wrong. To a certain extent I think we can take guidance from our dogs (much easier in off-lead scenarios) - are they bouncing around like a Duracell bunny on acid or are they flagging and looking more like Dylan from the Magic Roundabout? (Off topic trivia - did you know that the Magic Roundabout was French and dubbed into English?)
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? I stuck to 5 minute rule reasonably rigidly up to 12 months then built him up gradually from that,if our off lead period has been quite small in the day we do 2 lead walks of about an hour an half each time.....he still sets the pace thing,he's a blummin power walk I can tell you! Also I have been really careful about jumping,even now,he's only a little fella at 23 kgs so I can lift him in and out the car,it's quite a big jump for him X
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? I took my 16 week old puppy for a 300yd walk on the common and he followed a man round the pond and broke his elbow. The breeder was furious that I had taken him out! So with number two I stuck rigidly to the five minute a month rule until he was 12 months old.
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? Think this is generally a pretty confusing area. I sort of stuck to the 5 minute guidance, until a vet I trusted (and still trust) said "what a load of nonsense, that dog needs more exercise" - Charlie was 7 months by then. Then I relaxed a bit, but still did a lot less than I would have without the worry about joints. I worried about walking on hard surfaces and pavements, until 2 orthopedic surgeons, an orthopedic specialist vet, and the owner of an orthopedic rehabilitation centre told me not to be so silly. I think, restrict exercise for very young pups, not a lot of forced exercise (as Racheal says) until way passed a year, and restrict jumping (particularly on hard surfaces, which I don't think is the same as walking on hard surfaces). I had to hang onto Charlie to stop him jumping into cars. By 6 months he would take a jump from 6ft from the back of a landrover with not a bother on him. I'd carefully lift him in and out. Then cringe as he jumped, off lead, on and off much higher walls, boulders, and cliffs! Honestly, I don't know! Moderation, I suppose. Don't go mad. Try not to worry too much.
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? I searched long and hard for scientific evidence to support the commonly advised 5 minute per month of life guidance and couldn't find any. I think obviously you don't push a puppy to the point of exhaustion or do repeated exercise on hard surfaces, but I take Molly (7 months) out three times a day (2 X 20 - 30 minutes, one 1 hour) - almost all off-lead. When she gets home she still quite often wants to play or takes herself off to the garden for a dig. I have walked all previous puppies for about this amount (years ago I didn't worry as I hadn't heard of suggestion that exercise should be limited) and none have had joint problems. (Well actually my last dog developed arthritis aged 13, but still wanted to walk.)
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? I suppose it is what kind of walking you do. I sometimes stay out longer than usual with Lola if she wants to stick to a small area for a good sniff otherother wise we do 20 mins (she is 3 months) or so through long and short grass, paving and lots of lovely mud ;D but our walk is always a relaxed walk as I suffer with sciatica
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? i definitly found the 30 mins at 6 months old was not nearly enuogh as said the dog natrually slows down when running off lead i dont go for 2 hours at once but really be guided by the dog yuo can tell if they need more or less
Re: someone said i am walking puppy too much? We are very much guided by Benson, and how he is at home is he tired, bored, alert..or maybe a bit too excitable? We used the 5 mins a month guide strictly until he was about 4 months old, but were very careful about ensuring that we managed his off lead time so he didn't run around like a maniac and overtire himself thus becoming at risk to muscle/ligament trouble which would make his joints more susceptible to damage. This also included stairs, jumping up, we avoided hard surfaces simply because I don't like walking on lead on pavements preferring to walk in nearby fields and trails. I have found however, that Benson knew his limits with regard to jumping off walls..although the stairs were just too tempting until we put a stair gate in place! We also use a lot of mental stimulation on walks, I don't think we actually walk him that long...x3 walks of probably 20-30 mins a day, however we do set up a lot of games to challenge him, and also obedience training which I think is quite tiring in itself for a puppy.
