Hi! So Max is 7 months old and ever since he was 3 months he has loved playing chase the ball/disc. But then i read in the blog here that chasing the ball puts extra pressure on the joints and running is a better exercise. We have a big yard and we are running in the same yard as we were playing chase the ball in. Earlier he was playing chase the ball for more than an hour (with breaks whenever he wants of course) twice during the day but I have noticed that he doesn't really like to run on the leash very much and starts pulling back after just about 5 mins of running. Ever since summers began he had started taking frequent breaks during his play time and i was okay with that but with running he wants to quit after just 5-10 mins of running, giving breaks doesn't help. What do i do? Should i go back to playing chase the ball with him or keep running with him in the hope that he will start to like it more gradually? Also when the weather gets too hot (as it does every summers here) even during early mornings, would it be advisable to cut down on the physical activity? We tried to cut down from his peak activity levels but doing so he got very restless during the day. Is walking a better option than running or chasing the ball in that case? Thanks in advance for all your input and suggestions
Chasing a ball can indeed by very bad for their joints and an hour doing this is way way too much for a 7 month old puppy. Rather than chasing the ball, could you ask him to sit while you hide it and then send him to hunt for it?
Walking sounds like it may be a good option especially in the heat. I don’t play ball with my young lab unless she is by water to run in or swim to help minimise impact on her joints. Is there anywhere your lab can swim to retrieve, it’s good exercise, fun and good in hot weather. When we are on a lead walk then I make sure it’s her time to explore and sniff too as she loves that.
Yeah i realize that now. He is my first dog and i didn't know about this affect on his joints before. Earlier we used to play till the time he wanted to play, stopping whenever he wanted to go back inside or taking pauses when he wanted to rest. That's why i wanted to move to either running or walking so that we can engage for a time frame doing something that affects his joints less.
We don't have a pool or stream nearby and due to the Covid scare we aren't venturing out together since last year so almost all the activities are within the confines of our boundary wall . Thanks for your input btw but just one question. If you keep giving her time to explore and sniff then how do you get any exercise in because if we do this with Max he will just happily keep on sniffing, digging and burying his face in the mud all around the yard. How do you in that case figure out how much exercise he/she has got?
I am not sure what is your objective. If the dog likes to sniff and play in the mud, why do you find that problematic? Why does your dog have to do X minutes of exercise per day? If I were you I would be giving her lots of mental stimulation. Physical exercise in a puppy is less important.
I was very careful not to over do her exercise in her first year. Are you not able to get your dog out at all? If you are unable to do that during covid times, could someone else help? Are you able to do some training and enrichment games, lots of ideas on line.
No i never said that i find it problematic. Everywhere in the forum it says that exercise for Labs is very important otherwise they have a tendency to put on weight and also lack to exercise leads to destructive behavior. If i remember rightly, it said somewhere that you need to exercise him 5 mins for every month of his age. I was just trying to figure out how to know that my pup has had enough exercise. But i understand your point. could you suggest some good mental stimulation exercises? I would get started on some of them. Thanks a ton in advance
The situation is pretty bad here and it doesn't look to be settling any time soon so it looks like he will have just us for company and exercise for sometime. We have been able to do some basic training with him. LAM, Sit, Stay, Lie down, Fetch (though he doesn't let go of the toy all the time yet), Leave it and a few other basic commands. Enrichment games i have no idea about. could you suggest some please? Thanks in advance
Hi Dave, The 5 minute rule is designed to set a maximal amount of time one should exercise a puppy. It is not intended as a minimum. As you are finding one cannot control a dog's weight with exercise alone. The dog evolved to scavenge and hunt over long distances. We mere humans cannot exercise them to such an extent. So, one has to also increase and decrease weekly meal portions to control weight. I had in mind scent games as something to provide mental stimulation. Get him to find his food which you scatter around your home. As he gets better, start to hide in towels, or under blankets. He then has to work out how to unravel the towel. Teach him to find your mobile phone, wallet, or car keys. Use some/significant amounts of his daily food allocation for scent training. Buy a toppl. Initially semi-freeze some minced meat in the toppl. Let him work to get it out. As he gets better, freeze the minced meat. Below is a link for some good interactive toys designed for dogs. The firm has toys for the dog alone-at-home for some portion of the day. The manufacturer had made some youtube videos with the vet-behaviourist who helped with the design of the toys. I think you'll find them under the name Robert Holmes. https://aussiedog.com.au/product-category/alone/
I really can not thank you enough for your pointers. I will get started on your suggestions right away. Hopefully, even if i am not able to reverse some damage that i had caused to him, i will be stopping from causing him further harm. Thanks from both me and Max
