Puppy walking woes

[Jellycatspyjamas]

I have a 14 week cavalier poodle cross. He mostly walks well on lead though gets very excited to see other dogs and people - we’re working on him not jumping etc and he’s slowly getting the hang of sitting when people approach.

We do two 20 minute sniffy walks a day and one shorter training walk. The last couple of times on the way home he’s started snapping at my legs, usually as we turn into the street to come back to the house. I’m going to extend his walks a bit because he clearly doesn’t want to finish his walks but what can I do about the snapping?

He also gets the zoomies after a walk, is that quite normal?

All very normal OP. He is very very young still. Our dog (lab) wasn’t a good, fully sensible walker until he was 18 months hahaha and he still jumps occasionally if someone whips him up.

I was going to say that sounds a lot of walks for his age...maybe before you get to the road he snaps on offer him a treat and again as you get to the corner as you get home so he starts associating it with good things.

He's maybe over stimulated by the 3 walks its quite a lot of "out" for a little pup I don't think they need that much.

Thats a lot of walks for a 14 week old. Mine usually don't start being walked until theu are 16 weeks. Up until then it is training at home in garden: heel + lead walking, recall, basic retrieval work and basic manners. If dog doesn't have manners at home it won't do out on a walk.
At 16 weeks we then start with 1 x 5 min walk per day and build up an extra until 5 mins per walk per week until we get to 30 mins. Stick at 30 mins per walk until 6-8 months old.
Your pup sounds over whelmed.

That’s to far and to many walks. He’s like get to overstimulated. If anything I’d say cut back to two walks a day!

Also, if you do think he’s saying he doesn’t want to go back the last thing you should do is extend. You need to be firm with him or he won’t learn. At 14 weeks they really do push boundaries. Walks aren’t about exhausting them either. If he’s still excited and energetic at the end, that’s fine.

That’s really helpful in terms of maybe too much stimulation. I’m trying to get myself into the habit of walking twice a day but he might not be ready for that. I’ll try dropping one of the walks and using treats to encourage him home. He’s a total ball of energy so I was worried about him not getting enough exercise. We have licky mats, kongs, various tug toys etc for the house for stimulation - maybe he just needs more downtime.

He sounds overtired to me!
We've all been ill here so our 8-month pup has been having the minimum. It's been enlightening to see how well she does off a ten- or fifteen-minute training walk plus brain games at home.

Training is more important than walks at this age. It also tires them out more.
So basic obedience training can replace 1 of your walks: sit/stay, recall, "me first", 4 paws on floor around the kitchen and when guests come etc. 15 mins of training once or twice a day will easily replace a walk until they are 6 months old.
You also need to teach them how to settle and do nothing.

Do you enforce nap times on the little bugger as well? I think ours was plonked in bed every two hours at that age (it's already a blur).

They also don't need over stimulating at home. Teach them that walks = time to have fun, home = settled + calm. I hate all these millions of brain training toys: dogs need to learn how to settle themselves.

If they are over tired they go hyper and there Is no talking to them. Take pup into the garden at 1 of the walk timedo a bit of training outside and then nap the pup.

Do you enforce nap times on the little bugger as well? I think ours was plonked in bed every two hours at that age (it's already a blur).

I do, he follows me from room to room if I don’t. Someone here posted a 1 hour up/2 hours rest schedule which I’ve been following loosely, which has helped him settle. He’ll take himself off to bed now but still jumps up if I leave the room so we use his crate as his safe space and as a “time to rest” signal.

I had the same with my puppy last year, she’d get very overstimulated and tired with all the interesting smells and sights on her walk. I took it as a sign to finish up and go home to settle her, she did grow out of the snapping after a couple of months. Good luck op!

I certainly wouldn't be walking more - his behaviour sounds like classic overstimulation to me.

You have to remember he is actually a baby it can take months be consistent with him and it will work out.

Picture of the little land shark…

He's very cute 😍

I was just about to say this - they're like babies and they definitely need proper enforced sleeps rather than catnapping all over the place. Also helps you to get things done!

Far too many walks at 14 weeks. His growth plates have not developed yet. Have you not heard of the 5 minute rule?

From The Happy Puppy: (I cannot upload photos by my iPhone can cut and paste from a photo!)

The five-minute rule
'When can I take my puppy for a walk?' is something I am asked a great deal. Itis not unusual to find people taking tiny twelve-week-old pups for quite long walks on a lead. However, a puppy's bones are still soft and growing, and it is believed that inappropriate exercise may damage the growth plates within them. This damage might then cause or exacerbate joint problems later in life, especially if the puppy has been unfortunate enough to inherit a tendency to hip dysplasia.
Consequently, experts often recommend that puppies be walked for no more than five minutes per day for each month of their age, starting when they are around four months old. This means no more than twenty minutes of exercise per day for a four-month-old puppy or thirty minutes at six months.
I should make it clear that there are no official studies to back up this rule, although it is certainly widely acknowledged to be a sensible precaution. One recent Norwegian study suggests that it may be the type of exercise rather than the quantity that is most relevant. Of all the puppies studied, the ones most likely to develop joint problems were those that had been allowed access to steps before three months of age. It makes sense, therefore, to carry small puppies up and down steep steps or in and out of vehicles, and to avoid teaching or encouraging dogs to jump much before their first birthday.

The five-minute rule does not include gentle play in the garden.

I really didn’t realise he was too little to be out for walks - I had read about the 5 minute rule but the thing I read was 5 minutes twice a day. I’ll pull it right back and focus on training and learning to rest properly. I really appreciate all the wisdom on here - thank you.

I have a baby gate on the stairs so he can’t access the stairs.

The five minute rule was never really based in any kind of science so I really wouldn't worry about that. As long as they're not walking for ages on hard surfaces or barrelling up and down stairs, walking for half an hour or so on grass etc. is fine.

The issue isn't so much the length of the walks but the fact that for your puppy, it's too much right now and it's showing in her behaviour. Maybe swap one of the walks to a drive - take her out in the car so she can see and smell and experience all sorts of things from a "safe space", or carry her to a cafe or pub and have her sit with you watching the world while you have a drink.

All those things are just as (if not more) important than walks at that age.

I wouldn’t worry about the 5 minute rule as it’s largely debunked now.

Very useful when one of you has flu and the other Covid, though. Oh boy.

I agree I think a bit of "find it" or sniffy games are a life saver in the house if you are not feeling great.