How much excercise is enough. - Page 2

 Off leash dog parks, hiking trails, other natural areas.  I agree that dogs in suburbs should be leashed.  Nasty accidents can happen in seconds, where a dog is distracted by a squirrel or something and gets hit by a car (and it's not the driver's fault because they couldn't possibly stop in time).  "Doggie Daycares" are also a good means of getting supervised play with other dogs.  

I agree with trying a bike.  I can't go fast enough to tire Georgia out, but once we started with the bike we were able to go fast enough.  In the same amount of time, I can bike 3-4 miles with her at a trot that I could (try) to walk 1 mile quickly.  I was worried about her trying to chase squirrels, since they are an obsession and I didn't want to crash, but burning off the extra energy stopped that.

I can even pull my kids in the bike trailer while taking Georgia out, and they have a great time.

Opal

Since my guys automatically go beside me no matter what we're on, I just tie the leashes to the bike, and they run beside it.   Going down the road is just down hill and you fly for literally 2 miles......not as fun going back up...... It's a great tool to let them run fast like they would prefer, and then  going up the hill wears them out too.

 I get what you're saying GSDguy08, but wanted to add that the dog should be slowly accustomed to the pace (i.e. only go 2 or 3 m the first day, then 4 or 5 the second, etc. until the dog is fit enough for longer distances).  You should also start slowly (whether it's the bike, running, or even chasing the ball) to get the dog warmed up before engaging in strenuous exercise.  It's just like a human athlete -- proper conditioning, and proper warm up and cool down to prevent injury.

Don't forget to check your dogs' feet when you're biking them on concrete or asphalt.  I've used this in the past: www.tuffoot.com/

Good GSD should be able to heard flock of sheep all day long. So to tire physically active healthy GSD on every day bases may be just about impossible. If you want to tire your dog, after your every day walk,  do it mentally. Train her something new all the time. If you are not up to it and you just want to get your dog to get tired, then make her "sit stay" for at fist 1 min and eventually for 10 minuets. I guarantee you she will be exhausted after 5 or 10 minutes of sit stay for a while. You can teach her to sit for a treat or toy on her nose or other tricks. Have a fun!
 Prager Hans
http://www.alpinek9.com

A warning. Many people focus on dogs that appear not to have enough exercise.  Be careful what you wish for!

Dogs can actually have too much exercise (I am not talking about over exercising puppies etc).

Physical activity can become an addiction, (read up on the limbic system in the brain) and thus a dog that is used to high levels of physical activity can become an adrenaline junkie and this may affect behaviour. 

I used to swim 30 lengths a day and if I did not I felt edgy and tense, due to the release of adrenaline so had to swim late at night sometimes.

So beware of getting a dog so fit that you need to exercise it more and more and that changes of behaviour can occur.

So  is is safte to say that a 1 mile walk every day is enough as well as playing in the house.. making her fetch toys and bring them back.  She knows her toys by their name.. If  there will be a few of them out and I call one of the names and she picks it out right every time..  With me and my husband's work schedule that is probably about all we can do?   I t hink it would be hard for me to physically walk 2 miles.  I guess I would have to build up to that.  I have Tacky Cardia, so I try not to get to physical.  Take medicine for it twice a day to keep it beating at a normal rythm.   Just had an episode last month for the first time.  I really wasn't doing anything and all of a sudden, I could feel my heart b7eating out of my chest, couldn't breath, was dizzy and I called 911,   When I got into the ambulance my heart rate was 228.   Very Scary! 

 You don't have to walk the 2 miles all at once!  You can go out for half an hour, and then later in the day another half hour, that sort of thing.  Also if you walk on different routes (with new things to smell and see) this provides some very helpful stimulation to the dog.   Mine is still learning, but half an hour of doing obedience/learning a new trick wears him out as much as a brisk half hour walk.