First walks for puppies?

[cansleepanywhere]

Where did you guys take your puppies on their first walks?

Today's the first day my lab puppy is allowed out into the big wide world. This morning at 7am I took her for a quick spin around the block for 15 mins, most of that spent standing still while she sniffed everything!

This afternoon she's had a play date with an older lab. He certainly put her in her place for her constant jumping up. She's now out for the count in her crate.

When the kids have gone to bed and it's a bit cooler I was planning on taking her to the park on a long lead to do a bit of recall training. Is that too much for one day?

I've carried her round shops, car boots, kids playgrounds etc and she starts puppy classes next week.

Would be useful to know where you have taken your puppies to get them socialised. Plus did everyone stick to the '5 minute rule'?? Did you find that enough of a walk?

I took him around the block for the first few days, and now I alternate that with a wander through the woods with our older dog. I'm only taking him out once a day at the moment, he's very little and I don't want to overstretch him. That said, if we go through the woods and he's off lead rootling with Jas, we might be out for 45 minutes. He isn't running about the whole time, of course, and when we walk I go at his pace. He's 13 weeks old.

My pup will be able to go out on Saturday. Like the Senior Terrier, he'll start with a gentle walk in the fields behind the house to get him used to his lead. Then he'll do a small walk in the local nature reserve in town with Senior Terrier who will be bounding about with delight. Small Terrier won't be off lead until we've done some recall training in the (big) garden though.

I think taking your pup out again today to another strange place is probably a bit much TBH. If you're desperate, take her round the block again for 10 mins.

My youngest lab is 6 months old now, and we have done puppy classes, playing with next door's dog, lots of playing with other young labs, walks around all sorts of places - mainly rivers and the sea now it is getting hotter - lots of trips in the car, visits to the vet, and trips to the pet shops that allow dogs. I have other older dogs at home who will also play with the pup. We've also taken her to other houses and had lots of visitors here too.

The Kennel Club's 'Puppy Plan' is quite useful for planning socialisation.

The important thing to remember is that it's not just getting in as many experiences as possible in the socialisation period, it's about the quality of each experience and making sure they are as positive as possible.

Starting gently with simple walks around the block and to your local park is good and you can gradually build it up from there. There's no need to try and cram it all in - although I do understand the temptation to want to show off your pup and share in their excitement and enthusiasm for each new thing they come across.

If you can gradually introduce her to all the different things she needs to become accustomed to and comfortable with to start with, you could aim for, in a few weeks time, over the summer, perhaps taking her to some country fairs, summer fetes, fun dog shows etc. We take ours to VW shows and they are fantastic for socialisation, as everyone is feeling laid back and happy, there are dogs of all ages, shapes and sizes and people from tiny babies to grandparents, as well as people in wheelchairs and mobility scooters etc.

Perhaps you could do the recall training in the garden instead of the park though, as you need to do it with as few distractions as possible before upping the ante to trying it in the park.

It sounds like you are doing really well and have done a great job so far by carrying her with you for socialisation prior to completing her vaccinations. As far as exercise goes, I always prefer to err on the side of caution, particularly with larger boned breeds, as having had a large breed pup years ago who developed panosteitis, which put paid to his socialisation - as he was too big to carry, I prefer to protect their bone health at such a young age.

I've got terriers so you don't have to be quite as careful about distance as with larger boned breeds but for all that, it's really important to take things carefully. Little walks only and actually, dogs really don't mind going to the same places again and again if you can guarantee a positive experience.

Small Terrier is being taken to meet various people and their dogs but one introduction a day is absolutely all he needs right now. All are reliable dogs and can be guaranteed to offer a nice but not too overwhelming a visit for the pup. He's a very confident little chap so I don't want early experiences to cause him to lose his boldness.

I'd stick to the 5 minute rule, well as close as is practical...it may well be for nothing, but joint issues in young dogs are not fun to live with, so do everything you can to minimize them.

Mine has elbow dysplasia, he started limping at 16 weeks, he's had to have an operation, months of rest including weeks of crate rest and he may well be on painkillers for life...and that's without even considering that it may well shorten his life as it will definitely be an issue when he gets old.

He's 10 months old and until a few weeks ago he'd never had a walk longer than 20 minutes and that was before he went lame, he couldn't go offlead, play with other dogs, play fetch, play with his kong wobbler - it's been awful with a lively puppy. He's just now managing what he should be for his age in terms of walk length but I still have to be very careful about what he's allowed to do.

So I say always err on the side of caution, just in case it does make a difference.

Thank you for all the responses. You're right, I guess I am trying to cram in as much as possible lol.

I've left off going anywhere different this evening, to be fair I think she's still tired from her playdate.

as for the 5 minute rule, is that just forced exercise i.e. lead walking etc? If she's 'off lead' then I guess it's her call whether or not she rests or plays?

Also when would you let your puppy off the lead? I do train 'come' in the house and the garden several times a day and she's good around 90% of the time. The only time she refuses consistently is if she already thinks it's bedtime and doesn't want to come out for her night time wee I'd heard it was best to get them 'off lead' pretty sharpish whilst they still want to be near you?

She's chipped and I'm a pretty fast runner

I was just about to ask people that cansleep!
TopPup was off his lead as soon as he was on the floor. I have done this with every puppy I have ever had as I have nerves of steel and work heavily on recall from the minute they come home. I am always amazed to know of people who don't let their pups off for months (and then wonder why they won't come back)
I am also slightly sceptical of the 5 minute thing as you are assuming all dogs are equal and will grow up to require the same amount of exercise. The idea that someone would exercise a pug for the same amount of time as a border collie is crazy. So TopPup is out and about with GingerDog on 99% of our walks. When he's tired he stands in front of us and looks longingly up so we carry him (admittedly easier than carrying a Rottweiler, I've done that as well!)
As for new experiences we are very lucky in that we live in a small village. Everywhere we go the puppy comes, in arms initially where he would fall asleep if tired, now on lead he actually pulls us into the pub doorway which amuses me every morning

topbanana thanks for that, I didn't want to leave it too late to let her off. At least at the size she is now I can rugby tackle her if needs be. Obviously it wouldn't come to that though......

Ours was off lead from first walk if it was somewhere safe (away from traffic etc.). Our puppy class trainer advised this as to start with they won't be brave enough to go far from you so it's the best time to work on recall etc.

The 5 minute thing is more for large breed puppies where there can be an issue with joint problems...it's nowhere near as important for smaller breeds where they don't do that massive growth spurt and low incidence of things like hip dysplasia, labs' growth played don't close over until they're about 18 months old.

It is enforced exercise or anything exciting where they might not rest themselves. So just bumbling about off lead sniffing things doesn't count.

Growth plates, not played, lol.

Sorry, I wasn't saying don't let her off at all, if you've already done lots of work on recall and she's in a secure area with no danger from traffic etc, I was just suggesting you work on the recall in the garden instead of taking her out again yesterday.

It was poorly worded though - apologies.

No worries moosemama, I didn't think you meant that.

We went to the park this afternoon, I was intending to let her off until about 10 dog walkers came out of nowhere! She was a giddy kipper and it would have been absolute carnage.

Will try again tomorrow lol.