How much exercise for puppy?

clipclop · 06-02-2008, 07:46 AM

I've read threads that make it very clear puppies shouldnt be forced to exercise hard as its not good for them. Here is the thing - playing with Wyatt isnt enough... he doesn't go nuts over chasing a ball (maybe its cause I throw like a girl) and even with the chuck-it after a few tosses he loses interest. So i have started walking with him twice a day. 2.5 miles in the morning and 2.5 in the evening... both are done way before the sun is out because its just too hot. He prances along beside me just fine and doesn't even pant... he seems to enjoy it- ive noticed that if I don't do this... he is just restless and bonkers... is it too much? Sometimes I notice he still wants to go a little further and I take him 3 miles in the morning... is 5-6 miles in a day too much? He is 16 weeks old...

**voodoolizard** · 06-02-2008, 08:01 AM

zeus has never been keen on fetch.. he will run after it a couple of times but thats it.

not all dogs like fetch.. tug of war with a rope toy is a great way of getting exercise and mental stimulation, he might be restess cos he needs more mentally as well.

do you do a session of training every day ??

not sure how far 2 miles is??

i walk for 45 mins to 1 hour once a day.

play tug, ball, etc for half an hour/ to hour every day.

and we do training for about 30 mins, but that is with 2 dogs.

i think walking is ok, on soft ground is better for joints ive herd.

im sure youll get lots more hints and tips soon from others !!

gracieface · 06-02-2008, 08:44 AM

sorry but that is too much, in my opinion, for a pup, too much stress on developing joints. Can you find him a play mate? My guys expel more energy when they have another dog to play with so I try to make play dates for the young ones (oldest no problem, VERY ball motivated).

DobeGirl07 · 06-02-2008, 08:51 AM

Clipclop, I agree with Gracieface, that is too much walking for a young pup. My boy gets his exercise playing in the backyard with his big sister this tires him out. A playdate with another puppy would be a great idea. Are any of his litter mates close enough to where you could get together with them?

clipclop · 06-02-2008, 09:12 AM

I took him to the dog park yesterday and he showed 10% interest in other dogs!! I thought it would be great for him to chase or be chased and he just had no desire. I've brought him around other dogs to play, and other than a cursory sniff hi how are you... nothing. Maybe I will just keep it to one walk a day or two shorts walks... but it just seems like he loves them. We arent going fast... just strolling along with him leading the way. How can I get him interested more in playing with other dogs? Also, seems like walking is less stressful than running full force after a ball? (which again, would be great if he cared! He has all sorts of balls and doesnt like fetch!)

clipclop · 06-02-2008, 09:12 AM

Dobegirl07- his littermates are in Houston and are thus quite far.

robinb · 06-02-2008, 11:22 AM

That's too far to walk a pup that age in my opinion. At the same age I was walking Rex about 1/2 mile 2x per day on trails, not pavement.

If you do some obedience even 5 minutes morning and night that does tend to help. Also make yourself interesting and fun with toys. Dedicate a few toys just for when you take the pup outside, then put them away, thus they will carry a higher value.

clipclop · 06-02-2008, 11:36 AM

ok - I fully get that i need to cut back on the walking and will do... I can also tell you that 1/2 mile twice a day just wont do it for him... guys he can do this walk and still go bananas for play time. He also gets a 45 minute daily play sessoin with a pet sitter at 4pm and when I come home at noon- AND still with all that when I come home from work is just bounce bounce bounce....

Is it possible that my pup is just higher energy than most? is this normal? I try everything I can so that he has outlets for his energy...

BTW for the person that walks there dog for an hour ... you can def cover 3 miles in that time- i'm 5 feet and thats how long it takes me to cover 3 miles at a walk. I think talking about it in miles versus time makes it sound probably worse than it is... he seems to enjoy two one hours walks a day... but again- i'll cut back. I'll see about maybe two half hour walks a day instead...

clipclop · 06-02-2008, 11:37 AM

just wanted to add that i keep his toys in a basket above his crate that I dole out- that way they do hold more interest vs. him having access to all of them all the time.

JagerMonster · 06-02-2008, 12:46 PM

So I am prefacing this with the fact this is my first dobe puppy but thought I would share some of things I am doing to keep my active 16 week one...happy. We enrolled in puppy/obedience classes where he gets to meet other puppies in a structured environment. He has playdates with our friend's dogs, but this may end soon since he is getting braver and does not always check in with momma. I give him some "alone" time outside in a puppy safe place. He loves to explore and sometimes it is a drag to have me along because he can't choose where he wants to go. I also have two collars, one is for structured walk and the other is for free walk and he is actually doing really well with this. He loves to go on the trails on his free collar and practice heal on the other collar. We play a lot of tug of war at home but this is only after he learned sit and give, (wanted to make sure things stayed within reason). I also learned that sometimes his "activeness" (and this is when he bites more, dont know if your puppy is like this) is that he is tired. I found that I had to learn to ignore him sometimes to let him know that it isn't playtime 24/7 and he can play by himself or sometimes he will grab a chew toy and just chew and other times I have noticed since getting him a better and comfy bed that he goes and falls fast asleep, (as I had asked before about naps..he never took one!) And I am probably going to get yelled at here but I also use my treadmill at very slow pace. He now just walks (before he liked to bite at the runnerboard) and I swear now he is watching tv while he walks as he is down in there when I run too! I also take him on lots of rides. We have a side by side four wheeler and loves to go for rides in the back.