Excersising a new puppy

[Elaine]

I know when I got the boys I was told because they were gonna be big dogs not to over exercise them by the breeder and my vet, the rule of thumb was 5 minutes for every month old they are, I stuck to this rigidly as I did'nt want to compromise they're legs or anything, when I was at the vet he also told me not to allow them to walk up the stairs willy nilly as he knew of a labrador who got put to sleep very young because he had been allowed to run up and down the stairs playing with the children and that resulted in hip displacia and bad elbows...I was given a bit of advice from a wolf hound breeder that I know who said if the front paws are turning out when they are sitting this is an early indication of over excersise and if the back legs bow this is another early indication, they can also develop flat feet if over excersised. Just wondered any ones thoughts on the subject ?
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paw prints on my heart

[marcella]

For large breeds I always say that they should not be over exercised. It's something we are very aware of having owned GSDs for 20years especially as they are prone to displacia and joint problems. That is another reason we like to keep our boys lean and not over weight as this can only add to the problem.

It's easy to say 'oh he has tons of energy another 10 minutes won't do him any harm!' but in the long run you can be building up problems for them in the coming years (or months as in some cases).

When either of ours were young pups 12 - 16 weeks, we would take them out for anywhere between 10 - 20 minutes. Most of the time it was nothing more than a couple of minutes in the garden for toilet training purposes.
Only when they had grown considerably and began to mature did we up the walking time but it rarely got above 30 minutes.

That was back in the days before Lindy had us hiking up mountains!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Fiona]

We often leave Jake at home while excersising Libby and Star. The glen is the biggest walk he does and if he does the glen then he comes on no local walks. Its only now he is over 4 months we have up'd his excersise a little.

Jake is a strange puppy, he doesn't run around mad and walks to heal 99% of the walk so I'm not worried about taking him out a little longer.
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Dogs are like Chocolate, you just can't have one!

[Elaine]

Jake is adorable such a quite contented pup.
I had'nt even considered the excersise thing till I got the boys it was only then I realised what damage I could have done to my other dogs in the past, my GS was very like Jake was always at my side, she used to go every where with me from 6 weeks old, would'nt get away with that this day n' age.
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paw prints on my heart

[marcella]

[Elaine]

Yeah I was asking Fi about that last night cause I'm really not sure what to expect when I add a wee girl to my equasion
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paw prints on my heart

[Fiona]

@ Marcella

Well with Star bar as a role model what can you expect!
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Dogs are like Chocolate, you just can't have one!

[shirley c]

Star is ok till Pixel appears she terrorises him she is so rough with him and growls and barks with her hackles up, but does nothing, she is all mouth but she scares a lot of the smaller dogs with that act
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lurchers Pixel and Zev and whippet, Fen
3 cats, Greebo, Yu and Lexx - 2 ferrets and Dales pony Jazz and adopted pony, April

[Fiona]

Star needs to learn not to act like a rabbit then
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Dogs are like Chocolate, you just can't have one!

[suzanne l]

this is a difficult one, all puppies should be minimally exercised, small and frequent, but especially large breeds, can be terrible to their joints, and ive seen it happen, its horrible, dogs end up in pain 24/7, theres no way to move without being sore. people find it hard because the puppies are so cute and playful and i know lots of people who just end up walking them anyways, but in the long run its a lot easier if you restrict them at start. the only thing with the stairs is that when brodie eventually came to use them, he couldnt figure it out, poor boy and hes meant to be an intelligent breed!
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your cat will never annoy by barking at 3am, he wont attack the postman or eat the curtains, although he may climb them to see how the room looks from the ceiling...

[Deborah Hamilton]

Jake is a strange puppy, he doesn't run around mad and walks to heal 99% of the walk so I'm not worried about taking him out a little longer.[/quote]

Hi Fiona,

I noticed he was a quiet wee thing. Just likes to observe the world go by Handsome with it though

[Fiona]

[Suzanne H]

It think it depends on the kind of exercise - a 1 mile walk is not as bad as 1 mile running flat out. We've tried to be careful with Otto, but it's hard when you have a bouncy dog to stop him bouncing. We tried to stick to the 5 mins per month but he has had a few longer ones at the weekend, but we'll walk him once that day rather than twice.

I've tried to keep him off the stairs and to stop sharp changes in direction - not always successfully. And to get him to kip a lot. He's nearly 7 months now, but won't tax him too much in his first year ie no hills!!