What Age Did You Start Walking Pup?

[Adza]

Hi All,

Just wondering, Tahli is hitting 4 months this Friday and get confused when/how much you should be walking your pup.

Every time I come home, I do play with her but some days her energy seems to last forever, and trying to work out if it's alright in taking her for a walk twice a day in the morning and night?

So, just wanting to know what age did you start walking your pup and how long would you recommend?

I also can't get her to walk on the flat lead, I have tried to let her get used to it walking around the house and outside with it on but always wants to bite it and I just don't see it working yet, so if any hints on that as well much appreciated.

[W Sibs]

With my 2.. as soon as I got them, i took them out and everywhere. As for walks, i would use to walk my 2 up and down my street.. so we go for 2x 5 minutes walk a day... by the time they were full vaccinated, they were going on 2x 15-30 minutes walk a day (one in the morning and one in the evening).

Emmy is terrible on the leash.. she is a puller! There are days where she's awesome on the leash, but most of the time she's not!

No advice on the leash though.. my 2 knew from the start that the leash means going out for an adventure. Emmy will bite and pull on it if we are taking to slow to leave the house though.. it's just one tug, and an impatience bark to hurry us up.

[TsarsMum]

i will take my boy out 2 weeks after his last needle. i will not risk it before then as my rotti got parvo and i will not go throu that again.

if he is in a fear period as im doing the k9pro distance course it will not be til after then as he recommends they stay home in that period. I will take him to pick the kids up etc from when he gets here but no walking until the needles are done

[kat99]

mine were walking at 8 weeks at age across to paddack and back 1 lap around whne they were full vaccainated 25 to 30 minutes around the block ,

it also depends on your breed as some of the large breeders you have to be careful how much exercise you give them ,

[Adza]

Dogluva - yes according to the K9 pro info, she will hit the fear stage next week, and worried I'll make everything worse, even was planning to go puppy school and that might also be the wrong time? still not sure what to do there.

Kat99 - That's why I haven't done much either, because I was told the same thing about large breeds, and in another post I had issues with her front legs which seem to be fine now, but I didn't want to risk it.

She does run around in our yard, but wasn't sure whether it might help to get her out in the open. Just got to work the lead part out.

[jazawayaya]

I took my 18 week old girl out her her first walk last night :D (got her at 16 weeks and not leash trained at all)

I was only going to take her around the block to try and get her used to the lead but she was having a great time so took her the whole way with my older dog on out favourite route.

At first she wouldnt budge. I tried using some cheese to lure her but that didnt work. Ended up just pulling her a bit and then she happily walked along

so happy! she can come with me and banjie very night now!

[poodlefan]

For training or for exercise?

I take my pups for small walks onlead for training but they dont' get any onlead exercise at all until they are 6 months old.

Pavement pounding is tough for a growing pup. They can get overtired but will try to keep up. They can't be expected to do the pace of an adult dog for long.

I cringe when I see baby pups being expected to do long walks.

[Genabee]

Genevieve was on the leash for puppy school at 8 weeks... When we were home I would practise walking around the yard with her on the leash, which usually meant stop starting and pulling her in the other direction every time she took off! By the time we finished puppy school at 12 weeks, I was taking her for a 15 minute walk up the foot path outside our house late at night after I got home from work (when no one was around!). From about 13 weeks, we started walking her regularly, for much longer. Now at just over 5 months, she would quite happily walk for about an hour.

Spray her lead with a bitter bite or white vinegar and she should find it slightly less tasty! It seemed to work for us anyway. I know some others on here suggest eucalyptus oil. Another option could be to try a harness, where the lead might not be in her face so much, thus not as tempting to bite.

[Nekhbet]

from the day they come home they're taken out.

Please tell me your dog has not just been at your house up until this time and you have been socialising it everywhere?

As for fear period, I still didnt lock up my dogs. Every dog is different and it is a rough guide as to when you could expect it. The point is you should be helping your dogs learn and cope, not just wait until all funny or hormonal or difficult periods may pass. If we all waited to take our dogs out I think most would never leave the backyard.

[Bundyburger]

Bundy was walked from 8 weeks. His breeder recommended 20 minutes per month of age. He's 11 months now, and he still doesn't get any 'hard' exercise on lead. He gets walked for about an hour a day sometimes twice, depends how much time i have.

[Gemelo]

Our Pointer puppy is 3 a half months and yesterday he went around the block for his first walk. It was so slow it took us about 15 minutes while he stopped and checked everything out, Previous to this he has just been walked at shows.

[lilli_star]

I have only been walking my 14 wk old Lab puppy for the past week or so. I waited 10 days after her 2nd vacc and then took her for a little walk to the end of the street and back- she loved it! And was so much better behaved on the leash than she is when I take her out to go to the toilet! Now I take her around my neighbourhood in the morning and afternoon (except tonight bc it was pouring rain and cold!) for about 15-20mins. Usually (touch wood), she trots along nicely on a loose lead (sometimes I can even wrap the excess around my hand), but the last few days I've noticed she goes into leash grabbing mode in the same place. This morning she even tried zoomies while on the leash! Didn't get very far naturally There's quite a few big dogs around my neighbourhood- all fenced in thank goodness- that bark when we go past, but I just keep walking, and Ruby is pretty good about it. She doesn't bark back.

[Adza]

Thanks everyone for your replies

Nekhbet - no she has not been locked up at my house the whole time. I've had her for 2 weeks and been doing small walks just been having a hard time on the lead, some people will say nothing too long but what is long? As for the fear I only read that today from K9pro and just got even more confused?

I just wanted to know what people do as I'm told different times and not too much exercise etc it just can all get confusing.

[TsarsMum]

Thanks everyone for your replies

Nekhbet - no she has not been locked up at my house the whole time. I've had her for 2 weeks and been doing small walks just been having a hard time on the lead, some people will say nothing too long but what is long? As for the fear I only read that today from K9pro and just got even more confused?

I just wanted to know what people do as I'm told different times and not too much exercise etc it just can all get confusing.

hey I think you need to go with what you feel is right for you and your pup. I am going with k9pro because after i read his posts on here (the puppy sticky topics) and thinking about it i realized some of THE biggest mistakes i make with my rotti was because of what i was told was right and what happened in the fear period. I do not want to make these mistakes again. It made him DA (more extreammly domminate) and he actually hated female dogs.

I am one that hates seeing young pups ones that you know could not be fully vaccinated being walked. I had a pup who was vaccinated and got parvo (got to love rottis) and he nearly died and i dont know how anyone could risk there dogs for the sake of walking them.

so you do what is right by you and your pup. there will always be someone telling you different and there opinions you must choose whats right for you

[becks]

For pups who are still growing, I wouldn't walk more then 20 -30 mins but I do this off lead in a safe place where the pup can pick their own pace. I don't like to pavement pound my young dogs.

Taking the pup out to new places to experience new things - eg go and sit in town and let her watch the people and traffic while you have a coffee can be just as tiring as a training session or longer walk

[aussielover]

Regarding the fear period, the most important thing is not to force you puppy to do something it feels scared/uncomfortable doing. For example, if puppy gets scared of walking up stairs (yes, it can happen) don't force them to do it, they will be able to do it at a later stage (hopefully you can pick them up or find an alternative route)

If something is scaring pup eg dogs barking or loud noise, move away from that area if possible to a place where the pup is not so scared anymore (tail not between legs and taking treats)

I commenced walking my pup for about 10 minutes at a time from the time when she was fully vaccinated. before that she was taken out but carried in our arms to minimise the risk of catching disease ie parvo.

Because you haven't been walking her much before, I suggest you start off slowly (5-10 minutes) and aim for quality walking. You may not get very far though, we only got about 5 or 6 houses down the street on our first real walk lol

A long walk for a puppy who hasn't walked much on the lead would be 15 to 20 minutes in my opinion.

I only do a max of 15 to 20 mintues as it is too tiring physically for my puppy and too tiring mentally for me

It is funny though, I did the same walk i usually to with mindy the other day and it literally took me half the time! (i am naughty and cheat at roads i don't sit at the curb, i don't wait for the pedestrian crossing lights hehehe)

[Adza]

We take her through our driveway on/off grass and to get to the front takes about 5 minutes (alot of poking around ). We also have a common area not used at all for anything next to us which is just grass and quite a large open area which I also take her in for another 5 minutes or so.

I haven't taken her outside on the actual footpaths because I am waiting on her vacc as well, and don't want to risk anything.

Thanks for your advice I will be starting slowly and what feels right to me I don't want to force her into anything and she was actually quite good on the lead last night just some pulling.

Regarding the fear period, I think I will watch out for things like that if I notice she is not right about something I really don't want her to develop behavioural issues later on.

[SIDSAM]

I was thinking this same thing this week. As Sidsam has only just had his first round of vacc I am not sure if it is safe to take him out. There are a lot of big dogs in our area, and my little Staffy might feel quite intimidated by them as we walk past.

[aussielover]

I was thinking this same thing this week. As Sidsam has only just had his first round of vacc I am not sure if it is safe to take him out. There are a lot of big dogs in our area, and my little Staffy might feel quite intimidated by them as we walk past.

i would carry your puppy if you do take him out. Most puppies have NO immunity after the first vax only. Are you in a parvo area?

Wait until he has finished the course of vaccination

[TsarsMum]

i agree dont put the pup down out side at all.