How much exercise should a lab puppy get? I've just started taking my pup, who will be 6 months old next week, on a two-mile walk, once a day. Is that too much?
(The other walk is much shorter with ball-playing and running around. She can stop when she's had enough (or is tempted by deer p**p and mole excavate!))
Hi,
I am a fanatic about my puppies and dogs fitness but would have to say that 2 miles is likely too far for a 5-6 month old pup. Part of that depends on the surface he/she is walking / running on. That is too far for a forced walk on leash pavement IMHO. I would say 1 mile is appropriate but if the pup was on soft ground dirt path or grass for further and was off leash to stop, sniff and go it's own pace.. slightly longer than a mile might be ok. For now I would say to do 1 mile walk.. one or 2 times a day.
As recommended by veterinarian and canine athletic coach Christine Zink, I do not walk puppies on leash for more than a few dozen feet (for training purposes) or even loose behind me on trails until they are a year old. Puppies just need play where they can be active for less than a minute and then rest and then be active and then rest.
I wait until all growth puppy plates are closed, and then I start slowly leash walking and build up slowly. Start with a quarter mile and work up slowly over a year to three miles.
I do not run with dogs until they are two years old. Again, I start running slowly and over short distances and build up distance and speed slowly.
I am fit, my dogs are fit, and we are all staying fit into our old age. You will not know the impact of what you are doing now until years later.
Absolutely no disrespect meant but how on earth do you get a 6 month old puppy to play for less than a minute and then rest? And do you crate a lot that first year to keep them quiet? I would think that they would go nuts without that exercise????
I interpreted that to mean that the puppy had the option of resting even after a minute of hard play. I am picturing puppies playing for long periods but intermittently in short bursts with short rests...all mixed up.
When I take my pups for walks, I go very slowly so they are at their own pace. I don't go far but it still might take a while. Soft ground...No leads.
um...
Absolutely no disrespect meant but how on earth do you get a 6 month old puppy to play for less than a minute and then rest? And do you crate a lot that first year to keep them quiet? I would think that they would go nuts without that exercise????
Many thanks for the advice ladies. I really do appreciate it.
The concensus seems to be that two miles is too much for my pup, so I will stop doing that immediately and take shorter walks with lots of sniff breaks thrown in. She is lucky that she has another dog to play with and we can walk to an area where they can romp around together and she can stop and smell the deer poop (I mean roses) whenever she likes.
Puppies naturally play and then rest. I once timed my 4 month old puppies and found that they were very active active for less than 30 seconds before stopping. Then they resumed. Then again activity for less than 30 seconds, and so on. The rest does not have to be longer than the exertion; the whole experience is quite different from walking on lead continuously--even for 10 minutes. And, yes, you can get very fit on this workout and rest regime. When I worked out to race, my sprints were less than a minute followed by a 2 minute recovery. Yes, these small rests make a difference in the pounding your body takes during exertion.
