How Much Exercise?

[Sooky]

Hi, I have heard that puppies shouldn't be taken for long walks when they are little, so I just wondered how long a walk should they get at first and when do you start increasing the amount of time??

Thanks in advance :D .

[poodlefan]

I don't exercise my puppies on lead until they are 6 months old.

I think a general rule of thumb is no more than 5 minutes per day for every month the pup is old.

Of course for larger breeds, you need to be even more careful.

The best exercise a pup can get is free play. That's not endless chasing of a ball or being ground into the dirt by big dogs at the park. Just ordinary play either with people or dogs who play appropriately. Even that needs to be limited at first.

Edited February 9, 2011 by poodlefan

[Golden Rules]

Hmmmmm, my Golden pup was 3 months old and we were going to the park in the mornings for 30 minutes exercise ..... not forced, he could stop any time. We walked to the park and walked home afterwards.

Since then (at now 6 months old) we have graduated to two or three laps of the park with a LOT of ball throwing and chasing. Still, puppy gets to stop and rest anytime he likes and usually finds the biggest puddle created from the retic at the park to sit down and roll over in. He comes home a wet dog every day :D

[Scarlett Dog]

We've been told that our pup shouldn't do more than 10 minutes at a time... nothing to say you can't do multiple lots of exercise through out the day. 6 months was when we were told we could start doing longer periods, so not to damage her growth plates or cause her muscles to develop too quickly.

[Dju]

I go by the "no more than five minutes per month old" rule of thumb. So, Hugo is 5 months old, so he gets 25 minutes of walkies.

[Joan of Arc]

I'm with pf, only free play until about 3 months and then 5 minutes per month until 12 months. No agility or jumping over anything higher than the bottom line of thier stomach unti l18 months - only what they do naturally like jumping on the lounge :rolleyes:

[Tassie]

only what they do naturally like jumping on the lounge

LOL mercedes - or the game of - see if you can get right round the room without your feet touching the floor

But seriously - I'm pretty conservative with exercising younger dogs - especially breeds that may be more prone to HD or ED. And even now mine are adults, I don't do a lot of repetitive ball throwing.

I enjoy performance sports with my dogs, and I want them to be able to compete for as long as possible.

GR, I know you've said your pup can stop any time - the problem is, some pups don't know how to stop :rolleyes: , so sometimes we have to be the exercise monitors, and stop way before the pup wants to.

[Bjelkier]

I don't exercise my puppies on lead until they are 6 months old.

I think a general rule of thumb is no more than 5 minutes per day for every month the pup is old.

Of course for larger breeds, you need to be even more careful.

The best exercise a pup can get is free play. That's not endless chasing of a ball or being ground into the dirt by big dogs at the park. Just ordinary play either with people or dogs who play appropriately. Even that needs to be limited at first.

x 1

[Golden Rules]

GR, I know you've said your pup can stop any time - the problem is, some pups don't know how to stop :rolleyes: , so sometimes we have to be the exercise monitors, and stop way before the pup wants to.

You are right. He would just go until he drops and in fact he does some mornings.

But when I see him tiring, I do stop throwing the ball for him (he is obsessed) and make him walk or stop and rest rather than chase. He always manages to find huge puddles to sit down and have a rest in (think he was a fish in another life).

I didn't know about the 5 minutes for each month of age which is good to know - but I guess we have sort of done that anyway.

[Tassie]

That sounds good.

[Tassie]

Oops - sorry - double post - modem trouble.

Edited February 10, 2011 by Tassie