Walking pup

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Flowerofthefen

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Our 14 week old lab is coming on lovely . She has started pup classes and is getting on well. All our childhood puppies were played with and walked with no thought given to this 5 min per month walking rule! They all lived til grand old ages. We are conscious not to do too much but I feel, for our pup, 20 mins twice a day isn't enough. She bolts round the garden, playing with my parsons, surely that would do more damage than a slow sniffy pootle, for let's say 40 mins twice a day? I'm not talking about full on walking, just being out and about. I just need some reassurance that I won't do any harm to her joints!
 
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When I got my pup my other half got blasted on a dog-forum for posting a video of him climbing a set of stairs! Said his hips would be ruined and to carry him up/down stairs from then on. As long as she's not jumping off things from a fair old height, I'd say leisurely strolls will be exactly what she needs. A couple of 40min 'out and about' sessions should be fine, especially if you're just wandering around and not trying to set any land-speed records.
 
skinnydipper

Thread 'Sharing: Puppies, exercise and growth plates.'

Dr. Darryl L. Millis is a Diplomate of both the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, and a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner. He is a Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Director of the CARES Center for Veterinary Sports Medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, where he has taught veterinary orthopedics for over 25 years.

The following is a recent post on his blog. It is an interesting read...
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I would not walk a 14 week old for 40 minutes in one go, twice a day, no. Short walks, out and about in the car, looking at/being taught to ignore things, manners, engagement with you, would all be more useful, IMO. I wouldn't want a puppy clambering up and down stairs either.
If she is doing your head in, give her something to keep her brain occupied rather than trying to tire out her body.
I got my old dog at 14 weeks and he lived til he was 14 and was still running sound in the days before he died despite quite a heavy workload in his prime. He was very energetic but I was conservative with him in his youth and I am glad we had so many years together.
 
CorvusCorax said:
I would not walk a 14 week old for 40 minutes in one go, twice a day, no. Short walks, out and about in the car, looking at/being taught to ignore things, manners, engagement with you, would all be more useful, IMO. I wouldn't want a puppy clambering up and down stairs either.
If she is doing your head in, give her something to keep her brain occupied rather than trying to tire out her body.
I got my old dog at 14 weeks and he lived til he was 14 and was still running sound in the days before he died despite quite a heavy workload in his prime. He was very energetic but I was conservative with him in his youth and I am glad we had so many years together.
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40 mins might be a bit extreme but definitely 30 mins if I can!! She gets 10 mins training a day, she has the attention span of a gnat!! She is just a fit well lively pup.
 
I would do way more tranining, in little bursts. I suspect you have an understimulated pup on your hands. Is she going to training?
Can you make her snuffle mats? Free feed her kibble on the grass? 5min per month of age is a guide only and gentle potter or sniff walks are unlikely to cause an issue but I think what I would focus on is practicing calm behavior out and about - that might take 30 min in itself to sit on a bench and watch the world go by.
 
I would do way more tranining, in little bursts. I suspect you have an understimulated pup on your hands. Is she going to training?
Can you make her snuffle mats? Free feed her kibble on the grass? 5min per month of age is a guide only and gentle potter or sniff walks are unlikely to cause an issue but I think what I would focus on is practicing calm behavior out and about - that might take 30 min in itself to sit on a bench and watch the world go by.
 
Flowerofthefen said:
40 mins might be a bit extreme but definitely 30 mins if I can!! She gets 10 mins training a day, she has the attention span of a gnat!! She is just a fit well lively pup.
Click to expand...

Five or ten minutes training three times a day using her daily food allowance would be my way of thinking and as above, working on how to behave nicely when you can do longer walks, rather than the walking itself.
 
Flowerofthefen said:
Our 14 week old lab is coming on lovely . She has started pup classes and is getting on well. All our childhood puppies were played with and walked with no thought given to this 5 min per month walking rule! They all lived til grand old ages. We are conscious not to do too much but I feel, for our pup, 20 mins twice a day isn't enough. She bolts round the garden, playing with my parsons, surely that would do more damage than a slow sniffy pootle, for let's say 40 mins twice a day? I'm not talking about full on walking, just being out and about. I just need some reassurance that I won't do any harm to her joints!
Click to expand...
We stuck to the 5 minutes thing pretty strictly tbh. I couldn't imagine 40 minutes twice a day at just 14 weeks. I don't think a long walk particularly tires them out anyway compared to going somewhere new or training. Training class was the one thing she was shattered after.
I'd also say, it's easy to mistake over-tired pups with ones that need more exercise. Our biggest mistake was not encouraging more rest and relaxing time.

Eta the 5 minutes rule is only a guide, it doesn't take in to account different breeds etc but the reason its good (to a point) is it encourages people to gradually build up exercise.
 
Bellaboo18 said:
I'd also say, it's easy to mistake over-tired pups with ones that need more exercise. Our biggest mistake was not encouraging more rest and relaxing time.
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This is so true. I've learned from many years of dog ownership that an over tired pup can be just as bratty as overtired children. :)
 
She is a nightmare when she is over tired. I will up the training and see how we go. I didn't want her to get bored with the training so stuck to short sessions.
 
I just accidentally liked a post on the thread shared from 2020. Oops.

But yeah, it seems the 5 minute rule is actually not that helpful - it’s repetitive impact exercise you need to be wary of. (Such as repeated ball chasing or jogging 20km a day etc).

HOWEVER at 14 weeks, I would still be thinking ‘needs more enforced rest and sleep’ rather than more stimulation. Tired puppies are horrible. They should be sleeping a good ~15 hours a day - it sounds like your pup is busy in the household. Do they get quality rest during the day?

Short brain training sessions, perhaps a slightly longer ‘walk’ or new experience and more importantly learning to settle in between would be my approach.
 
Depends on the walk, I think.

Ten minute walk to the field, ten minutes training around distractions, ten minutes focusing on just laying down to observe the world and teaching puppy to relax while out and about and then a ten minute walk home. Sounds fine.

Forty minutes continous walking. No.
 
skinnydipper said:
Stairs are not good for puppies.
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The variables are huge. If I had a 10-week old Dachsund I would carry it up and down a set of stairs, but I was referring to a 14 week old Ridgeback going up a set of stairs in a normal house. A 14 week old Labrador will have no proplem going up and down a set of house-stairs twice a day.
 
Norts1531 said:
The variables are huge. If I had a 10-week old Dachsund I would carry it up and down a set of stairs, but I was referring to a 14 week old Ridgeback going up a set of stairs in a normal house. A 14 week old Labrador will have no proplem going up and down a set of house-stairs twice a day.
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It isn't about whether they are able to go up and down stairs, it's whether they should.

If I had a large breed puppy I would be trying to look after his joints, and I would be thinking about the stress on his elbows coming down stairs.

Also, although they can jump down from a vehicle, I wouldn't recommend it. I would suggest using a ramp and continue using a ramp throughout the dog's life.

People ask what supplements they should be giving to preserve joint integrity, IMHO they should also be looking at ways they can be prevent unnecessary stress on a puppy's/dog's joints.
 
I would probably be able to eat cake for every meal but it doesn't mean it would be good for me.
We don't put babies in boxing rings or ask pensioners to run a 10k daily.

No puppy of mine would be doing stairs. Especially a weight bearing breed prone to HD/ED.
Although I live in a bungalow ;)

I also assist puppies and the elderly dog in and out of vehicles.

ETA I say that as someone who was involved in helping administer health testing and have seen/monitored a lot of dogs and their x-rays/results/health/lifespan over the years.
 
Norts1531 said:
The variables are huge. If I had a 10-week old Dachsund I would carry it up and down a set of stairs, but I was referring to a 14 week old Ridgeback going up a set of stairs in a normal house. A 14 week old Labrador will have no proplem going up and down a set of house-stairs twice a day.
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I’d probably carry a daxie up and down stairs throughout its life 😏. My GSD pups weren’t allowed to do stairs until at least 6 months , and then not regularly .
 
I'd stick to the 5 minute rule, just my opinion based on only having one dog so maybe not that valid but its a good guide. Better to be over cautious and reap the benefits later in her life. At that age she probably could be sleeping like 18-20 hours per day anyway
 
Jenko109 said:
Depends on the walk, I think.

Ten minute walk to the field, ten minutes training around distractions, ten minutes focusing on just laying down to observe the world and teaching puppy to relax while out and about and then a ten minute walk home. Sounds fine.

Forty minutes continous walking. No.
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Definitely not continuous walking, just plenty of mooching and sniffs
 
FionaMc said:
I just accidentally liked a post on the thread shared from 2020. Oops.

But yeah, it seems the 5 minute rule is actually not that helpful - it’s repetitive impact exercise you need to be wary of. (Such as repeated ball chasing or jogging 20km a day etc).

HOWEVER at 14 weeks, I would still be thinking ‘needs more enforced rest and sleep’ rather than more stimulation. Tired puppies are horrible. They should be sleeping a good ~15 hours a day - it sounds like your pup is busy in the household. Do they get quality rest during the day?

Short brain training sessions, perhaps a slightly longer ‘walk’ or new experience and more importantly learning to settle in between would be my approach.
Click to expand...
No she isn't in a busy household, quite the opposite. We both work so she gets plenty of sleep time in her crate when we are not there. She is out for 2 hours or so before work, 1 hour at lunch then is in and out of the crate during the evening depending on how tired she gets. She gets a variety of ' walking', garden, trips out to paddle in the reservoir. We try and keep everything very low key. No jumping etc. Play limited with other dogs. Training at a venue once a week, last week was her first session. I would never properly walk 40 mins.
 
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