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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Do you think I’m exercising my puppy too much

11 replies

Babana123 · 25/09/2021 17:07

My puppy is 5 and a half months old. I had been taking her out twice a day but this week I have upped it to three.

We do an early morning off lead/long lead trot around the park or woods for about 30 mins (just two mins of lead walking to get there)

Late morning 30 mins loose lead walking around streets.

Evening 30 mins off lead/long lead again.

She seems to love it but would I be damaging her growing body?

She is a Collie cross.

OP posts:
icedcoffees · 25/09/2021 17:16

It sounds fine to me.

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 25/09/2021 17:16

As long as you are going at her pace, and she's not exhausted, she will be fine.

The evidence around restrict exercise is that steps and stairs (esp going down them, iirc) isn't great for larger breeds, and no one would say it was a good idea to march a puppy round on a lead for hours on hard ground, but free running is NOT a problem.

ReallyRatherBlonde · 25/09/2021 17:25

I've got a collie pup of a similar age and have read it should be 5 mins per months of age, twice a day. So 5 months, 25 mins twice a day. But with such a high energy breed it's hard so we tend to play fetch a lot on the walk so although we are out for the advised amount of time, he covers a lot more ground than we do! We try to balance it with mental stimulation at home and also 'enforced' (sounds harsh but can't think of a better word!) chill out periods. Need to appreciate that they need lots of exercise and engagement, but we don't want to build an athlete either!

icedcoffees · 25/09/2021 17:27

@ReallyRatherBlonde

I've got a collie pup of a similar age and have read it should be 5 mins per months of age, twice a day. So 5 months, 25 mins twice a day. But with such a high energy breed it's hard so we tend to play fetch a lot on the walk so although we are out for the advised amount of time, he covers a lot more ground than we do! We try to balance it with mental stimulation at home and also 'enforced' (sounds harsh but can't think of a better word!) chill out periods. Need to appreciate that they need lots of exercise and engagement, but we don't want to build an athlete either!
I would be very careful playing fetch at that age tbh - I'm not meaning to sound preachy but it has the potential to do much more damage than 3x30 off-lead wanders/lead walks as it involves putting much more strain on the dogs body.
Original poster
Babana123 · 25/09/2021 18:30

Thank you all. I feel a bit better now. She is a bundle of energy and we do quite a lot of brain training at home too.
We do spend quite a bit of time at the park practicing and reinforcing things like ‘sit’ ‘wait’ and recall and polite behaviour around other dogs whilst in a more distracting environment. She never does more than 30 mins of pavement walking a day. That was mainly to try and establish loose lead walking (which touch wood was fantastic today)

OP posts:
tabulahrasa · 25/09/2021 18:36

Re the 5 minutes per month of age thing, it’s just a rough... build it up slowly reminder, there’s no reason 30 minutes will do anything 25 wouldn’t have.

Fetch is terrible for joints though.

Also your walks are all separate, so plenty of chance to rest in between if needed.

ReallyRatherBlonde · 25/09/2021 18:50

@icedcoffees @tabulahrasa thanks good to know. We do play it a lot as he loves it so much but it's not the whole of the walk, it'd 10 mins out to the fields on lead, max 10 mins fetch then some free time off the lead for smells on the way home. Sounds like more smell time less fetch is in order!

Helenluvsrob · 25/09/2021 18:53

Size ? That sounds a lot . You do risk her joints if you over do it . Collies will go for ever and if she’s a petite lady maybe your get away with it but if she’s larger it could cause issues.

Please do lots of training , scent work / brain work to tire her too. Maybe instead of the 3rd walk

ReallyRatherBlonde · 25/09/2021 18:58

Oh and it's only once a day - I know he could go twice but he has free run of house and garden through the day with our other dog as I work from home. So I feel that's a good swap for the other possible walk!

icedcoffees · 25/09/2021 19:02

[quote ReallyRatherBlonde]**@icedcoffees* @tabulahrasa* thanks good to know. We do play it a lot as he loves it so much but it's not the whole of the walk, it'd 10 mins out to the fields on lead, max 10 mins fetch then some free time off the lead for smells on the way home. Sounds like more smell time less fetch is in order![/quote]
If he loves his ball, have you tried hiding it and getting him to find it instead?

tabulahrasa · 25/09/2021 19:08

“If he loves his ball, have you tried hiding it and getting him to find it instead?”

That’s a really good one - and tires them out more because they’re having to sniff and think too.

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