does my bearded collie really need 3hours plus exercise a day........or is she taking the p**ss

[heididrink]

okay so we knew when we got our beardie that she would need a lot of exercise but she is now 15months old and I need some advice.
She is out running in the park with other dogs for an hour and sometimes hour and a half each morning.She swims in the river as well as running free so is well exercised.
In the afternoon she gets another hour running free with a dog and when my DH comes home around 6pm she will get a further 40mins.
She is then on a lead for a short walk around 10.30pm.
I am finding it not only exhausting but difficult to fit anything else in.
If I try to ignore her around 1pm for her second walk she whines and follows me around until I have to take her out. As we get home from our first walk around 10.30am I feel that she should be able to wait a bit longer
Does she really need this amount of exercise ?

She certainly expects this much exercise IYSWIM. She should need less as she gets older, although I've never had a bearded collie to care for and am basing this opinion on the way some of the dogs I walk regularly have calmed down over the years. Hopefully a beardie owner will be along soon.

Maybe take for the same number of outings but spend less time on them - 40 mins instead of an hour?

I've no idea whether your individual dog NEEDS that much exercise. However, I've got a fairly high-energy dog (Border Collie X Poodle) and from my observations:

The more exercise they get, the more they seem to need. Mine gets, on average, about an hour offlead a day. Any more, and she just gets fitter and fitter and needs more and more.

Mental stimulation tires them out just as much as physical, if not more so; and they don't seem to get mentally "fitter" in the same way as they get physically fitter. Fifteen minutes clicker training knackers mine.

For about an hour after a walk, they're often still full of adrenalin and still in "Go go go" mode. If they're getting loads of walks, they're actually seldom in "relax" mode.

I seldom take mine out at the same time; I've always deliberately kept it random for the simple reason that life sometimes gets in the way of walks. Sometimes they're late. Sometimes they don't happen. I think dogs should fit around the family rather than the other way round and if you find your life being dominated by "Oh my god the dog's doing a wall of death round the front room because its walk is late" type thoughts, it might be time for a rethink.

I'm sorry but I just read that as 'bearded colleague' and am now snorting unattractively

Beardies are busy energetic dogs and will need a large amount of stimulation. You may find if you work her more she is more tired and relaxed than the three hour exercise.

You will need to keep her busy but that need not mean 3 hours of walking every day. However my collies would easily keep going for 12 hours is given the chance - but they have also been taught to relax.

I had a beardie , she dies 3 yrs ago but she never needed this much exercise.

Beardies as well as most dogs get used to the routine of walks and always expect the next walk. Mine used to jump up if I even looked at my walking boots!

Mine would have 45min of free run in the am and a lead walk in the evening as well as free access to the garden. Was plenty for her. Your dog is a lucky dog and is making sure she gets what she wants!

Love the Bearded Colleague!

My dogs (huskies) get about this amount of exercise but I absolutely wouldn't tolerate being mobbed and whinged at for it - they can, if necessary, have a good hour in the morning and then wait until 4pm for another walk.

So long as I know they don't need the loo any whinging would result in them being shut out of whatever room I'm in. I also try to desensitise to putting on shoes, rattling leads etc. - if I have to put my shoes on and dash out in an emergency I don't want the dogs all hyped up thinking they're going for a walk when I might be gone for a couple of hours.

As above I have also actively taught them how to chill out. A walk means 'you must be quiet and lounge around the house for at least x hours' afterwards.

Again, as above, brain training tires them out more than anything else. A couple of short clicker training sessions every day tires out the boy dog and the bitch sleeps like a log after just an hour's agility training, that guarantees me a quiet afternoon, whereas having them pull me 5k on a scooter just seems to ramp them up even more.

If she's occupied, she won't get bored, and you'll get less hassle, so the trick is to make her work for things. My dog trainer phrased it as 'nothing in life is free'.

If she is fed kibble it is easy to make her work for this.

Scatter it on the lawn - it will take ages for her to sniff out every bit, which will be fun for her, and will also slow down her eating (good for digestion).

or

Put it inside a tough cardboard tube and stuff the ends with paper, or in a cardboard tea box (one of the ones that has a flip up lid) so she has to work out how to open it. If she doesn't get it, don't help her, the brain exercise of working it out will tire her out.

Free running will pump her up on adrenalin which will make her hyper. Do more lead work, heel training, sit and wait etc. Dogs enjoy brain work, and it makes them focus and calm down.

Our dog is a sheepdog and has high energy levels. She has two walks a day. The first is on leash, with a lot of sit, wait and mental obedience. It then includes a strenuous session of ball play and retrieve. Pretty much requiring continous attention from the dog as no time to sniff around.

The second is a leisurely walk along with my neighbour's dog (who comes along uninvited) which involves mooching, chasing the same stick, sniffing each others bum, rolling in deer poo and looking longingly at the cows in the field.

I have seen as well that if she gets a lot of unstructured walks, she is more hyper and full of energy. But all the focused stuff really tires her out.

If it helps my bearded collie is 13 and checks the weather before looking for his lead! Happy to pretend to be a rug rather than go for a walk if it is at all wet!

He is the most loving, wonderful dog though (recent rescue.....used to live outside ALL the time...how COULD they....)

Mermaid, nothing wrong about a dog living outside. Our dog would love to do that, but the problem is that she would want us to sleep outside as well, so we are all together.

Some dogs are happier being outside, as long as they have a garage or something to go to in the rain or cold.

mermaidbutmytailfelloff haha my beardie was like this with the rain , also side stepped around puddles

So glad you found a lovely rescue to love btw. And there is hope for us that one day our girl will become more selective about going out instead of requiring a walk in rain or snow!

Hi thanks for all the replies.
I have been thinking about the exercise making her more hyper and think that this may be the key. She is certainly very hyped up after her walks and takes a bit of time to chill.
I do play with her in order to tire her out as well and to use a phrase my MIL uses I think my dog has me on a string
I am at home all day and am at her beck and call. I will need to get tough with her.
It is just so hard when she puts her head on my knee and pleads for attention.
I have also enrolled her in agility classes which should start in next few weeks and hopefully this will help.
right off to harden my heart

aww it's those big eyes !

I did agility with my beardie too , she was utter crap at it but loved it .

We had a collie cross who needed at least this amount - we ended getting a second dog (we thought the first was hyperactive until the second grew up and turned out to be a collie terrier cross - complete nightmare!) The two of them would play togehter for hours in the garden and it helped enormously - also took the pressure off the first (who had been mistreated and wasn't socialised when we got her) when meeting other dogs - and they would run together on walks too.