Your opinion about exercise during puppyhood - Page 1

Hello,
I wish to know your opinions about exercise and puppyhood.  It is said that too much exercise can lead to health problems.  My vet said there is no veterinary evidence though about exercise and joint problems.  My GSD is a W/L 12 weeks old puppy.  Very high energy level....like me.....
What does "not too much exercise" mean ?  I don't run a 10 km with my pup but we play together, take walks everyday.  We swim.  She is always ready to play/exercise.  Do you calculate some amount of exercise a day ? 

here is an example of too much exercise for a 5 month puppy.... she just had to keep up wth the big dogs......now she's on crate rest and anti-inflamitories.

I exercised my puppy with long walks,1-2 hour , twice a day, on and off leash. She played and socialized in a puppy group 3 times a week for about 30 minutes and went almost everywhere I went. We started tracking at about 12 weeks (puppy tracks) and did some fun obedience exercises with treats (sits and downs).
...she is a very healthy energetic 12 months old dog now!

I do not feel you should do too much;  by that I mean I would like to see a puppy 10 weeks to 6 months with limited and controlled exercise to prevent injury on leash if possible, walks, swimming, walking in sand that type of controlled exercise, 6 months to 12 months more of the same only you add more distance and that is as long as  you have NO SIGNS OF PANO.  Rest if you have signs of Pano.   12 months on you can pick up distance and type of exercise to a little more road work type and tracking,  as long as there are no signs of pano.  Keep protein levels lower while growing up a puppy; add some raw to do so if at all possible, things that have collegen and cartlidge like chicken feet, backs and necks are good.  You can add ball chasing at 10 weeks, low impact,  not throwing up in the air and letting him jump as high as he can to get it, absolutely not.  In fact until you do preliminary hip x-ray I would keep jumping to a minimum.  JMO.  Nan  Stimulate with brain exercise and you will be amazed how tired they get and keep LEAN. ..

Nans gsd - you're spot on

the only thing i can add is that a pup's free play time should also be monitored. 
if your pup is kenneled make sure it isn't pacing the fence line, especially if the kennel is on top of concrete.


It was suggested on this board (a while back) that puppy walks at 5 minutes per month of age...... so a 6 month puppy can withstand a 30 minute walk if its been slowly worked up to it.

 

Yes Sita I would still try to keep it controlled if they take a 30 minute walk, do it on leash.  Puppy free run play time is OK, not too hard, not with adults and not too long as they will try to keep up with adults then pay the price.  Not worth it.  6 mo  or so OK to play with adults if they do not have any signs of PANO;  if they do only play on leash.  Sounds harsh but if  you don't protect them, they surely are NOT going to protect themselves.  BOL  Nan

PS:  I am assuming that we are talking about growing up a GSD puppy or another medium to large breed puppy.  If we are talking a small puppy;  I am not sure what  you would do except I do  know to also keep them lean while growing and throughout their lives.  N

One thing I would like to add to the great advice of Nansgsd, SistasMom, and Tingleandtails, no jumping allowed above chest high until the pup is at least 18 months.  My vet works with orthopedic K9 vets at Michigan State University, and they all agree the way current GSDs are bred (their words), no pup should jump above chest high until 18 months.  They also emphasized that pups are still developing and should not be over exercised, 5-7 minutes per month of age at a time.  Think human toddler (within reason of course), a pup is still a baby dog, and yes, they need mental stimulation in controlled increments because just like a human, they can be over stimulated.  I was also told that if your dog starts misbehaving when it normally wouldn't (like out of the ordinary) then there is something going on and you need to do some investigating because although dogs should challenge you somewhat, they should not go overboard on that (think temper tantrum, not because the dog is a bad dog, but because the dog has been pushed beyond its limits for that instance).  Have fun together.

Ouch SistasMom, hope the pup is better soon

Swimming rocks as pup-ercise. Builds muscle tone, tires them out, low/no impact. 

I set up a deep horse trough at my house and put a pool filter on it (I was on a well and didn't want to be constantly refilling it.) I put crossties on it and got the puppies used to it slowly before putting them in a harness and crosstying them in the tub. Five minutes of swimming is about 30 minutes of walking according to my vet. Worked great to rehab my mom's dogs from HD and cranial cruciate ligament surgeries, and has worked great to exercise pups, too! 

I do no leash walking until over 6 months my dogs from 8 week have free running on grass and some uphill work, this helps to develop good fore reach and rear drive no stilted/hackney action develops.
It also helps to develop the gluteal muscles which help to stabilise the 'ball' in the 'socket', so no wear.
The only time they go on a leash is at training 3x week.
The dogs I have known to be restricted to just 5min rule and no off lead have all gone onto develop severe hd that as required surgery, whereas the highest score I have had is 2:4 and lowest 0:0