How do you exercise HIGH DRIVE pup without damage? - Page 1

I have a VERY high drive, VERY athletic puppy. She always wants to run, jump, and -- if there is a ball to be found -- play ball. Of course, these are all great attributes in a GSD. But what do I do between now (eight months) and the age that she is able to do all of these things without causing potential harm to her bones, hips, etc.???? I have tried not letting her play ball or run, but it not enjoyable. The minute she gets the chance, all the pent up energy is released and she runs around: even in a 10x8 room. What is there to do? (BTW: No water around so swimming is out). Thanks for your help.

She needs to romp and run to build strong bones and muscles, just don't overdo it. A couple of walks a day are fine and will not harm her. When puppy needs to lay down and/or stop to rest the walk was too long. If you have other pups around as occasional playmates, stay in one spot while they play around you and watch for the pup getting tired, then stop play time. Keep her lean and trim, feed good food. And give her a few things to do. What I always recommend, if you have an area available where you can leave her alone for a while, ideally a piece of garden, take the daily kibble rations and spread it on the lawn like you would spread chicken feed. Let the puppy search for the kibble, twice a day (am/pm). Spread it sparse enough to keep the pup busy for 30-45 minutes at a time (depends on space you have available). She will be walking around to search for the food, and get moderate exercise that way, and she is using all her senses, which will make her more content afterwards and settle her down a bit, may not last long though :o). Just make sure there is nothing harmful on the ground that she could pick up in the process. Don't do this if the lawn or surrounding areas/plants have been fertilized recently. You can do this all the dogs life BTW. They love it. Add a few strong chew toys as well that will keep her busy between feedings. In the home you can hide things and let her find it, also a great game.

Why do you not want to play ball with your dog? Exercise is needed for sound mind and body. As long as the young dog is running on a soft surface ie. grass, the dog should not injure itself. Exercise strengthens muscles ans ligaments that stabilize the joints. I would avoid excessive jumping, stairs and long grips. Playing ball with your dog will not get them hurt. Kyle

Thank you for your suggestions. I do play ball with my pup. A lot of it actually. She loves it to no end -- well, some end; she is not fixated on the ball like a Golden Retriever might be, she just loves it while we are playing. But I worry that when we play (always on flat surface grass) that she is just going too hard. She drives after that ball like it stole her lunch. She runs hard and stops hard when going for the ball if it is rolling. And if it happens to bounce on the grass, she jumps for it (this is less of a concern, as the grass is not bouncy). So, you are saying that this is ok? I am REALLY glad to hear it. I was just worried b/c I had read that some folks think ball play is a no go until a certain age.

If you dog is physically sound you can play or chase the ball all you want. The main thing is to limit jumping. Ok to do some just don't over do it. Myself I have trained alot of pups with very high drives and never had a problem. Most problems occur in pups that eventually would have had problems anyway. Some people feel that the running can hasten the onset of HD and they are likely correct. But if your dog has good hips no problem. This is my opinion based on my experiences over the last 20 years. I am not saying to over work a young dog so don't mis-understand....

I agree with the others that playing ball on a soft surface will not injure your high energy pup. Keep the ball low so she doesn't have to jump for it. Do you have a Chuck-It? They're great for throwing a ball far and by using an underhanded toss you can throw low. To avoid my dog from skidding into the fence I aim at a line of pine trees. The branches catch the ball and he has to find it. Or we play two-balls, the game where he has to spit one ball out while he's still running and I throw the second ball. Essentially, the dog is always in motion. You may also want to begin using a stop word such as "Last one" or "Game over". They learn very quickly to switch from ball drive or prey drive into relaxation when they hear that. When you're done with a hard game, cool her down by walking her for five or so minutes, just like you might want to start warming her up before you really get into the serious running and retrieving. A word of caution though I'm sure you already do this: play only in areas which are free of obstructions such as picnic tables or BBQ stands and such. When these dogs get focused on their ball and run they don't tend to pay much attention to what might be in their path. Have fun!

I would second the point about obstructions. When a young dog is highly focused on the toy nothing else seems to matter. Years ago I had a pup whip arond to chase the ball and whack her head into a post holding up our deck. I thought for sure she had killed herself because the whole house shook from the impact. Luckily, no permanent damage just a goose egg on her noggin.

Moderate exercise is good. See if you can find an enclosed/fenced area of several acres or larger where she can have a good off leash romp everyday. What you want to avoid is jumping into the air after a toy, or a lot of twisting and turning motions, which might cause stress to immature hocks, elbows and shoulders, areas where OCD lesions occur most commonly. In the GSD, the growth plates generally close about 16 to 18 months of age.

The frisbee is the worst thing to play with! Rule of thumb is always quit the training/playing before the dog is ready to quit. The dog should still be wanting more when you quit. I even do this on my mature dogs.

We have two caveats for Frisbees: they must be the soft kind and they must be thrown low. No jumping for Frisbees or anything else, ever. The danger of injuries to the ACLs or back is just too high. A dog can catch a Frisbee that's thrown low if you practice throwing, and they seem to get a reall kick out of catching it.