[MyLovie]

Hi, My name is devrie. My dog Maximus is a very active 10 1/2 month old. I just found your site and I am now a little concerned. Our local vet has been encourage us to run and or walk him everyday to help with energy. They also encouraged us to get him neutered at 6 months. I have been running him for the last month about 2-3 miles 2-3times per week. Is this bad? What did I ruin by doing this?

 

[Rosemary]

It's generally recommended that you not do forced exercise* until a dog's growth plates close. Growth plates are the sections of the bones where new bone growth is being laid down. Injuries to these areas can result in bone deformities. In a larger breed like a Dobe, growth plates generally close at around 18 months.

Before that, you can encourage you pup to exercise by running in the yard, or short games of fetch. You want your pup to be able to change speed and direction, or take a break as needed. Casual walks are okay, also.

*Forced exercise is where you set the pace, direction and duration. Examples of forced exercise are running/jogging, biking, prolonged games of fetch, or using a treadmill. A causal walk is not considered forced exercise as long as it is at an easy pace, and you allow the dog some freedom to just be a dog.

 

[AlyssaN]

You need to give your vet a smack upside the head for that one (and maybe look into a better one who's more competent with Dobermans).

You're not the first person to do this, so don't beat yourself up. But stop doing it for at least 8 or 9 more months. Exercise is not the only way to tire out a Doberman. I suggest looking into treat balls, and try training for tricks. In my opinion, these are more effective than exercise anyway. Keep to the walks and keep them under 5 minutes per month. So at 10 months he shouldn't be walked for longer than 50 minutes.

Welcome to the forum, and keep on looking around!

 

[Daegan]

I agree with the above responses regarding exercise. Did you get him Nuetered at 6 months?

 

[marthared]

You need to give your vet a smack upside the head for that one (and maybe look into a better one who's more competent with Dobermans).

You're not the first person to do this, so don't beat yourself up. But stop doing it for at least 8 or 9 more months. Exercise is not the only way to tire out a Doberman. I suggest looking into treat balls, and try training for tricks. In my opinion, these are more effective than exercise anyway. Keep to the walks and keep them under 5 minutes per month. So at 10 months he shouldn't be walked for longer than 50 minutes.

Welcome to the forum, and keep on looking around!

Hi... do you have a research source for these numbers? Thanks.

 

[MyLovie]

We got him neutered at 7 months. Was that bad???? Thank you for the advise. Should I be worried that I have caused any injury or long lasting effects, like stunted growth?

 

[Adara]

You can let him free run on his own, at his own pace, off leash on softer ground etc. as much as he wants. The forced (on leash) is what causes problems.

 

[Amelia_]

What's done is done, I'm sure you haven't done any damage to him in just a months worth of running. I would just personally just ease of the forced exercise until he is more mature. I personally believe its much more down to genetics whether or not your dog will have bad hips/elbows/problems rather than exercise, I have never seen any solid, persuasive research results which prove this theory. That being said, better safe than sorry and I always stick roughly to the 5 minute guide.

If he has a lot of energy, you might want to try to stimulate his mind a bit more by doing training, using interactive toys (like kong toys) ect, rather than trying to tire him out physically (which sometimes feels impossible for pups!)

Best age to neuter is a topic fiercely debated by lots of people, there are pros and cons to early neutering, late neutering and not neutering at all, and in my opinion there is no right or wrong answer, its different for everyone. If you google search 'Dobermantalk best age to neuter' you will get lots of previous topics and opinions on the matter.

Love to see some pics of your pup

 

[AlyssaN]

Hi... do you have a research source for these numbers? Thanks.

For saying don't run with your dog until 18 months? I have no scientific articles on it. Just general research around the internet and speaking to my vet about it. I'm very much looking forward to jogging with Murphy and in 3 months we're going to the vet for a checkup to make sure everything looks alright and he's good to go. Here's an article on running if you're interested:

Exercise for Dogs | ASPCA

As for the five minute rule, I'm not sure specifically where I found that. But if you do a search on google there are many results regarding it. Such as:

Puppy and dog walking ? The Kennel Club

 

[MyLovie]

wow I feel very much like I am off to a bad start with my Doberman experience. We really love Max and have had issues with his trying to be in charge and that helped us decide to neuter early, but now I feel that I have made all kinds of bad choices.

 

[Daegan]

We got him neutered at 7 months. Was that bad???? Thank you for the advise. Should I be worried that I have caused any injury or long lasting effects, like stunted growth?

What is done is done at this point. Here is a retrospective study on neutering that you might find informative.

http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf