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Hi, i am a new dog owner. My dog's name is Ella and she is 5.5 month old chocolate lab.
We walk regularly, maybe 4 times a day half a mile each time but now i feel she is ready for more. I have been thinking about getting one of those dog tow leash for the bike but am afraid that might exercise her or force her to exercise too much.
How do I determine what is enough?
Welcome to the board!
definitely no biking for another 1.5 year. Remember that while you pup has tons of energy, they are still very much growing. You want to avoid any hard impact exercise until joints are done growing (18-24 months). hard impact/"forced" exercise is lots of repetitive impact on hard surface. Even leashed walks should be limited to a certain extent (5 mins per month of age) but definately avoid any running, biking or roller blading until dog is done growing. So 4 walks of 20 minutes is good for leashed stuff.
NEW APPROPRIATE EXERCISE
Having said that - you want to encourage off leash free play on soft surfaces. That they can moderate on their own with lots of start-stop and rests. If you do not have a yard, use a long line and a harness. Stuff like fetching. walks are great but on leash walks don't tire out a young dog. This is the key to a tired puppy, this offleash running and playing. Do play dates with other dogs.
The other important thing is MENTAL exercise. work that little brain of theirs. Lots of short training sessions. Don't use food bowls, meals should be worked for (use stuff like kongs, food toys, food games, training, there are some you can buy and some you can make at home).
and lastly - once they have had sufficient physical and mental exercise, they need ot learn to chill. otherwise they can become energy junkies that always need to be entertained and need more and more and more exercise.
Throw some bumpers.
I'd start doing 3 or 4 short obedience training sessions per day. Mental work really wears them out.
It really varies per dog. A lot of it is based on bloodlines, I think. Lucy was from field champion stock, and her endurance was crazy. I used to say to other field lab owners, never underestimate your inability to tire out your dog. I agree with what's been said already, that mental exercise is very effective.
Mine is a lab mix so but at 5 months Gigi was travelling alot with us last summer in the camper. As we were camping she did alot if walks ,play time at the dog parks, some serious fetch play . We also sent her to day care so the family can visit non dog friendly locations .
She also did training monday night for an hr and everyday .
She did run with the kids while they were riding bikes. I am always amazed how much she takes.
She is a mix and her drive and endurance is off wall. So you never knkw.Even now at a year and half. she plays fetch with wife or me or kids for 4 times a day with a chuck it sling ,walked 3 to 4 miles and every other day runs 4 to 5 miles or runs in the dog park for an hr and half or hike/ swim... or bike riding with her being off leash running in the woods with us..Now she never seems tired for more than 20 minutes....Then she is ready for more
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Surprised, no one has mentioned this. It's a lab and at its age it has all its shots. Time to go swimming. Awesome low impact way to exercise.
You're in Florida, and dogs can overheat really fast. They don't sweat. They have to pant. When panting, they can't really get air deeply into their lungs and gas-exchange is sacrificed to keep their bodies cool. (Physiologically this is a real Catch-22 for dogs because when they're using their muscles vigorously, they are building up lactic acid, and must blow of CO2 to maintain pH balance. That is to say, they can get acidotic. And, just when their muscles are working hard, they can't really oxygenate their blood as it passes through the lungs.) We train field labs in hot summer weather (trying to keep it to early morning and/or just at dusk) but watch them like a hawk and throw them in to water (or pour water on them) and keep their runs really brief (a matter of a few minutes) and then put them up with lots of water.
Just be super, super careful.
Yeah, but my breeder specifically cautioned that swimming can stress tendons, muscles and ligaments. Just think, it's much harder to run in water than on land in air. Swimming is a resistance exercise, you have to build up to it too, and at that young age joints aren't solid and swimming that pulls t, l or m can strain joints.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff
Hmm ... mine have all swum from a young age with no problems. We just watch and do it at their pace, gradually amping up. I’ve never had any problems resulting. I mean, maybe if you put a lead on the dog and made him swim behind a boat, but a few water retrieves from the shoreline shouldn’t be a problem. Although with the OP being in FL, I wouldn’t let him swim in anything but a pool because of alligators and water moccasins!Quote:
Originally Posted by Snowshoe