A fortnight ago I acquired my first puppy for 15 years, having had a series of adolescent rehomes, and am interested in current thinking regarding exercise levels. He is 16 weeks old ( a post Christmas rehome) and is going out and about for socialisation as he has missed out on this so far, but how much, if any, free running should he have?
The net seems to suggest exercise should be five minutes for every month ie 20 minutes, but I'm not sure if this is up-to-date thinking, ot if this is free running or on-lead, which is obviously more controlled.
At the moment he is usually doing about 20 minutes on-lead once a day with one of my geriatric dogs who is kindly showing him how to behave politely when out, and obviously having play/training sessions several times a day at home, inside at present due to the weather, but I have a fairly small garden anyway. Sometimes I have been replacing the lead walk with a similar amount of time off-lead on suitable occasions where he can interact with other dogs known to me.
He is a fairly small leggy Border Collie (I hope he will grow!) and is destined to be an agility dog, though obviously won't be starting training on agility equipment until he is a year old.
Current thinking on this subject would be appreciated.
Ann Button, by email
Congrats on the new addition!
ReplyDeleteI got very confused about this when I got my BC pup too. To be honest, I just let him exercise as much as he wanted. Lots of off-leash playtime and if he started looking tired I took him home. He'd generaly sleep for 10 minutes and then jump onto my older dog to initiate a game!
Soft surfaces are probably better than hard surfaces and lots of short sessions will be better than one long one.
Well done you for taking on a rescue.
ReplyDeleteI think taking out a pup with your oldie is a good idea. I would probably split the exercise into two sessions though, and maybe try and find somewhere large but safe where you could play/train the pup. I was very cautious when I got my WSD at five months, and a friend said to me, on a farm he's be starting to work at six months!
If you are very lucky, you might find pre-agility training for puppies in your area - worth a look. And I'd definitely recommend Greg Derrett's foundation training video, which shows fun exercises you can start at a young age.
Must be exciting to have a young pup after such a time - enjoy him!
I found that most puppies will stop playing when tired, so being out and about playing should not be a problem. It is more the strenuous walk that seem to be a problem; they do not walk at their own pace but yours and when you realize he is tired you might be too far away from home. I suppose, with a few small sessions per day 8and I assume your oldie does not run excessively anymore, either), you should be fine.
ReplyDeleteAs for the agility, you can always do some short exercises like having him walk over a board or ladder on the floor, on tyres or try Tellington ground work. Most puppies also like tunnels and seesaws. Helps him to become aware that he actually has hind legs and develop balance, but without any strain on the growing joints. Just as long as you keep it short and fun and give him lots of positive reinforcement.
Just enjoy you little new addition, they grow up so fast!