Puppies and exercise
I have a male puppy who is 3,5 months old. I'd like to know for how long I can take him out for a walk. I'm trying to socialize him as he is quite shy and fearful but I wouldn't like to over-exercise him... Thanks. |
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| If your time is "unlimited" the walk can be lengthy, but allow the pup time to stop, rest and even nap a bit. No heavy climbing, not yet. Level ground but the type of covering can be varied to keep his interest up. If you time is limited and you go too far, you may end carrying the pup home.......been there, done that. Time: 30 minutes would be good to start and go up as his ability increases. Yes, socializing is critical. Take him where there are people. If you have a puppy training class near you, enroll. Good way for the little one to play and learn how to play with others.....and get a little training in as well. |
I would have said 30 min too but you may find your dog can only go for 10 min. before wanting to sit. That was my doggie at that age  ...and this was WITH a daily walk (no conditioning changed this).  |
| Good point that I didn't make in my post......puppy energy comes in spurts. So 10 minutes might be it initially, but oh what those 10 minutes may be! Then they plop and need to rest before they are ready for more. We learned with a Siberian so when the bigger breeds came along, we didn't have to carry them home  |
| Thank you both for giving me some advice and sharing your experience. I really need that! It's my first dog and I really want to make things right! |
| Don't worry. We all made mistakes with our firsties. Dogs loved us no matter what. |
| At that age free exercise (say running around in a fences in yard) is to be preferred over walks , if at all possible. That's because that way puppy can completely control the amount of exercise - rate, length and intensity. They tend to be pretty smart about that kind of thing and then you don't have to worry about overdoing it. Sure, short walks are OK, but it's pretty easy to overdo it. Obviously - and especially in the case you describe - you still need to make sure he's socialized. Depending on where you live you may be able to maximize socialization while not risking overdoing it by pin-pointing some people dense areas that are in need of puppy relief. May be the center of a village (we have one not too far away from me that has great foot traffic, pretty much year around, though I have to drive to get there), a play ground (if dogs are permitted), hanging around outside of a grocery store under the pretext of training puppy (short sit stays, or walking on lead near the store, people etc while not dragging you around, I'm sure you've identified things you'd like to work on) If he's really shy/fearful, you can start in a somewhat less dense area, so the amount of contact/commotion isn't overwhelming. But even standing around watching kids playing at a playground (again, intersperse a little training, why not?) is helpful. Moving equipment, yelling children, strollers rolling by, etc. In grocery store parking lots ( a favorite training place of mine) you have moving and parked vehicles, carts rolling by, automatic doors opening and closing, all kinds of activity/noise it can't hurt to expose him to. And then there's the people. People cannot resist puppies. They will want to meet him. Hopefully it won't take long for him to think new people are the greatest thing on the planet. Hopefully, with time, you will also teach him how to greet them properly, unlike mine who tend to think it's their job to climb up the greeter's front side  If he likes treats, stock up on some of his favorites and use them both for training and to arm people with to give to him when they come to greet him (IF he needs that kind of encouragement) He may surprise you. Not sure where you are, but I do know that it tends to be more difficult in winter time (less people outside typically - except for grocery store parking lots, since we all have to eat pretty much no matter what) But if you give it some thought I bet you can come up with some places. I really enjoy the approach - you learn a tremendous amount about your puppy in the process, and he about you. Kristine |
| Thank you, Kristine! Very enlightening! |
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