Amount of puppy exercise

dandog · Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 1:56 pm Post subject:

I'm with the healthy exercise school of thought here I'm afraid! Dan is 6 months old and I have to say he has come on walks off the lead almost as soon as he had his jabs! Obviously for little strolls at first or turns round the garden, nothing too far. Now he has two walks a day, and sometimes another one in the evening. He gets walked for about 20 minutes in the morning and then about 40 minutes at lunchtime. Both times off the lead unless we have to go on the road a little way. Usually on walks he just trots ahead and sniffs around, sometimes in the woods he will go running after a rabbit or a squirrel and disappear for a couple of minutes. He comes to work with me and as I work in a very rural environment he has some lovely walks at lunchtime.

He is very level headed and not boisterous at all. He is socialised by all the other dogs he meets and comes back on a whistle if I really want him back! He settles down in the office really well and goes outside throughout the day for a tootle in the garden and to the loo. At weekends we go to a gundog group on Saturday mornings for a couple of hours. He has a good play with the other dogs and then some training (basic sit, stay, recall and retrieving) for a couple of hours. He has a slip lead and is getting a lot better at walking to heel.

He is not heavy boned so I don't feel he is putting too much strain on his joints. He seems healthy, has strong muscle in his quarters. is growing well and, more importantly, happy and well adjusted. There is a black lab puppy who lives nearby, who is just 3 days younger than him, and she is never walked off the lead. She is boisterous, roly poly and generally looks overweight. I would be more worried about her joints than Dan's!

As NigelB says - common sense is needed!

frodosmom · Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 2:01 pm Post subject:

wow dandog...must congratulate for you wonderful training...i cannot imagine my frodo without a leash...he's run ebhind everything that flies or runs.... i think i'm a lil late with teaching him to walk....but better late then never...cud you share as how you trained Dan to walk....

Thanks
Vidhya