# Sticky  Proper Exercise for puppies



## MaggieRoseLee

Because this is such a frequent topic for all new puppy owners. And I see mis-information from breeders going from 'NO stairs for our breed until a year old (?????)' to 'Only short leashed walks around the block for the first year' (?????)

I thought it would be a great idea for the 'truth' to come out from us what a normal healthy pup (of any breed) should be able to do.

I know my pups can off leash hike for miles by the time they are 11 weeks old....


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## littledmc17

Brady was doing stairs a few weeks after week go him 
all on his own


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## Kayla's Dad

This is going to be an interesting topic. I try to break this into a couple of different topics that have highly varying opinions:

Stress management-i.e. things like the stair issue. what can you do in terms and relation to the development of a dog's growth plates and maturing of their bone structures. For smaller dog breeds the closing of the plates occur much sooner than the gsd or larger breeds. So the gsd/large breed owners need to manage stress induced exercises for a much longer period.

Vaccinations schedules - when during the early vaccination period can you get the puppies out and about and what you need to continue to protect them from. This can go from the (IMO) extreme of "I have to keep my puppy isolated and protected from everything until after they complete their vaccinations and get their rabies shots" to getting out and socializing after the first/second round of shotts. The timing of getting rabies also varies from around four months to six months these days.

My puppy - I allowed to climb stairs from the day he came home but I carried him down the staris to avoid stress on his joints for the first few weeks. And then he went down with a leash for a while to keep him from racing down and launching off the stairs. Next phase was placing obstacles at the bottom to keep him from launching off the bottom of the stairs. He was in a puppy class at about 11 weeks and going to a local park to run and socialize with dogs of owners who I knew but I kept him away from certain owners or dogs who I hadn't known previously. Also kept him in the center of the parks and away from the bushes from areas where the animals were likely to defecate more. He was at the regional parks and hiking/swimming in the lake at 3.5 months.


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## BlackPuppy

Agility people know who Silvia Trkman is. She's a top agility competitor in the world. I like to read her web page because it covers everything on dog training, pretty much. Now, keeping in mind that she has a smaller breed of dog (Pyrenean Shepherds), I still think her philosophy on exercising puppies can still be applied. I think it's well worth reading her entire website, even if you aren't interested in agility. 

"When people ask me when good old Lo will deserve retirement, I always tell that good old Lo certainly deserved to never be retired. She is in agility since her 7th week, she is over 10 years old now and still easily beats much younger dogs on grass. "

Go to "Our Training" and scroll down to "Agility is good for dogs."
http://silvia.trkman.net/


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## MaggieRoseLee

to see what I expect as a NORMAL level of exercise and activity for a puppy.

And just 2 weeks later at 13 weeks old 




Glory B is only 11 weeks old and we've been hiking like this since I got her 2 weeks ago. Only increasing the distance and pace.


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## Sheila

Wow, that video clip was an eye opener.
I had always understood that a puppy should be moderately exercised until their limbs matured.
I had a lab puppy years ago and even the vet told me to do restricted exercise for the first few months. I was led to believe that over exercising contributed to hip dysplasia, if the dog was pre disposed to the condition.
Obviously thinking has changed. 
Kerchaks exercise regime is going to alter


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## bigworm36

I exercise my pup who is 5 months now for a 20 min walk in the morning and we go for about an hour at night or spend an hour at the park with the ball and I was always worried that it might be to much. If I didnt exercise him like this he would be running around like a little devil getting into everything.


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## Bcannie

Thank you all for the links and input!


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## doggiedad

my puppy came home at 9 weeks old. i think we started the stairs
at 10 weeks or 11 weeks. coming up the steps i would put him 
on the 3rd step from the top and let go from there. going down the steps i put him on the 3rd from the bottom and let
him go from there. we slowly starting adding more steps.

his walks were very short. he definitely wasn't going a mile at 
10 or 11 weeks old. my Vets office is 1 mile from our house. one day we had to walk home from the Vets office. my puppy just stopped and flopped. he also got a little abrasion on his pad. from that day on i took it very easy on him. my the time he was 6 months old we were walking miles. he's now 2 years old and he can
go 5 miles with no problem. we walk in the woods a lot
so my dog has to jumps over things, crawl under things and climb
some steep inclines.

i don't know when they're able to do what but i
don't push my dogs early on. i let them work up to going
miles.


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## JayneA

Interesting about getting them out and about and socialised before all their jabs are done. I'm a believer in on the ground and interacting as soon as possible but even I worry sometimes.


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## lucymom

I too have read and wondered about restricted exercise, but I trust my breeder and she said to let Zuzu do what she could, and let her rest when she was tired. I did and still do avoid paved roads, but at an early age, she was going on long off-leash strolls in the woods, learning to swim and playing with other pups. 

She rarely slowed down during a walk or romp, but would snooze in the car and be pooped at home before recharging her batteries. we also played on playground equipment to get her used to surfaces and unfamiliar objects. She loved it all. 

She started the carpeted stairs at about 9 weeks, slowly.

Now at five months, she's fit, muscular and has amazing stamina. She runs and runs on the beach after birds, swims like an otter and is calm and happy the rest of the day---mostly.

I'm lucky to have access to great off-leash areas to romp, not sure what I'd do without them!


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## MaggieRoseLee

> Originally Posted By: JenniferDI too have read and wondered about restricted exercise, but I trust my breeder and she said to let Zuzu do what she could, and let her rest when she was tired. I did and still do avoid paved roads, but at an early age, she was going on long off-leash strolls in the woods, learning to swim and playing with other pups.
> 
> She rarely slowed down during a walk or romp, but would snooze in the car and be pooped at home before recharging her batteries. we also played on playground equipment to get her used to surfaces and unfamiliar objects. She loved it all.
> 
> She started the carpeted stairs at about 9 weeks, slowly.
> 
> Now at five months, she's fit, muscular and has amazing stamina. She runs and runs on the beach after birds, swims like an otter and is calm and happy the rest of the day---mostly.
> 
> I'm lucky to have access to great off-leash areas to romp, not sure what I'd do without them!


Sounds like your pup and mine are on the same exercise regime. And both doing just fine!!!


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## elisabeth_00117

> Originally Posted By: MaggieRoseLee
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted By: JenniferDI too have read and wondered about restricted exercise, but I trust my breeder and she said to let Zuzu do what she could, and let her rest when she was tired. I did and still do avoid paved roads, but at an early age, she was going on long off-leash strolls in the woods, learning to swim and playing with other pups.
> 
> She rarely slowed down during a walk or romp, but would snooze in the car and be pooped at home before recharging her batteries. we also played on playground equipment to get her used to surfaces and unfamiliar objects. She loved it all.
> 
> She started the carpeted stairs at about 9 weeks, slowly.
> 
> Now at five months, she's fit, muscular and has amazing stamina. She runs and runs on the beach after birds, swims like an otter and is calm and happy the rest of the day---mostly.
> 
> I'm lucky to have access to great off-leash areas to romp, not sure what I'd do without them!
> 
> 
> 
> Sounds like your pup and mine are on the same exercise regime. And both doing just fine!!!
Click to expand...

Same here.


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## Josiebear

wish i saw this thread when Josie was a pup pup. My breeder did tell me, no stairs, no jumping no excessive exercise like taking the puppy out for a walk around the block. Although i did break the rule and had Josie walking in a nice easy pace around 1 block. Let her sniff the world etc.. But i did restrict her jumping. I got so worried when she kept jumping off the deck when she was playing with my husband's aunt's lab. They both ran on the deck and jumped right off and i had to keep telling Josie to stay off the deck! lol.


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## MaggieRoseLee

*An update*

Here's Glory B at 10 months old, apparently surviving all the exercise  As well as a guest appearance by Bretta Lee who's turning 6 and raised the same!


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## Melgrj7

I've always thought as much exercise as they wanted is fine, just let them stop when they want. And that it was best to avoid a lot of running on pavement and unnatural hard surfaces. Even for adult dogs (and people) pounding pavement can put a lot of wear and tear on joints. In other words: off leash at a park until puppy doesn't want to run around anymore = good natural exercise, jogging miles on pavement = bad exercise . . . ?


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## MaggieRoseLee

Melgrj7 said:


> I've always thought as much exercise as they wanted is fine, just let them stop when they want. And that it was best to avoid a lot of running on pavement and unnatural hard surfaces. Even for adult dogs (and people) pounding pavement can put a lot of wear and tear on joints. In other words: off leash at a park until puppy doesn't want to run around anymore = good natural exercise, jogging miles on pavement = bad exercise . . .


That's a good way to put it. :thumbup:


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## Cassidy's Mom

I agree. I didn't get a video camera until Halo was close to a year old so I have pictures, but no video of her running around at the park. Because she tried SO hard to keep up with Keefer I had to keep reminding my hubby to not throw the ball as much or as far as we usually did because we didn't want her to run that hard when she was really little. Swimming is great exercise because it's low impact. She started going to Point Isabel at 15 weeks old, here she is a few weeks before her first birthday:


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## Josiebear

what about dirt roads? is it ok for them to run on it?. I take Josie down to the country road alot off leash and she loves it, she'll run on her own then stops when she wants to and walks whatever pace she wants to etc.


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## Castlemaid

Yes, that's fine - as long as she can be free to pace herself and stop as she is doing when getting tired.


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## Rerun

I have always allowed my pups to exercise as they saw fit, within reason. I'm not asking them to jump anything (I don't know what I'd ask them to jump so this is kind of moot point for me haha) and I have a one level house so no stairs on a daily basis. But otherwise they seem to self monitor fine.

Regarding on/off leash, I don't have any real safe areas except one school playground that we are permitted on for off leash playtime and work (it is about 10 acres fully fenced). So my pups are always leashed, but I never take them so far I'm having to drag them or anything of the sort. On vs off leash they have to keep up with we the human anyway so as long as they're trucking along happily and not tired and wanting to lay down, I keep walking with them. I've never jogged with a puppy, but I wouldn't see an issue with it if the pup was being watched closely, was conditioned in a normal fashion and not a couch/crate potatoe before jogging two miles, and preferably not on hard pavement as already pointed out by other members.


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## Kamahi

Melgrj7 said:


> I've always thought as much exercise as they wanted is fine, just let them stop when they want. And that it was best to avoid a lot of running on pavement and unnatural hard surfaces. Even for adult dogs (and people) pounding pavement can put a lot of wear and tear on joints. In other words: off leash at a park until puppy doesn't want to run around anymore = good natural exercise, jogging miles on pavement = bad exercise . . . ?


That's what I do too.


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## HarperGirl

*Overdoing it?*

I certainly never force anything on Harper, but that girl could go forever! 2 miles doesn't even phase her, and she'll come home and immediately want to be chasing her ball. I hope it's not harming her, because less exercise than that and she'd be a mad woman! (Great dog, just HIGH energy)

Also, with stairs, we have a 4-story home. She has always done stairs, and is too heavy to avoid it. She's 5 months, 60 lbs, and is fine as long as we can keep her from jumping the flights (they're all 1/2-flights, split level home).


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## MaggieRoseLee

HarperGirl said:


> I certainly never force anything on Harper, but that girl could go forever! 2 miles doesn't even phase her, and she'll come home and immediately want to be chasing her ball. I hope it's not harming her, because less exercise than that and she'd be a mad woman! (Great dog, just HIGH energy)
> 
> Also, with stairs, we have a 4-story home. She has always done stairs, and is too heavy to avoid it. She's 5 months, 60 lbs, and is fine as long as we can keep her from jumping the flights (they're all 1/2-flights, split level home).


All the normal exercise she's getting should be fine. The only issue I'd have is the one you've noted, jumping the flights. That's the high impact that can cause issues but you can keep an eye on that.


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## Dolus

Also, it's a good idea to watch for signs of fatigue in the dog. For the most part (not always though), puppies can manage their exercise themselves just fine - however, if they start to sit down for no apparent reason during the walk, or if they start walking constantly behind you and/or stop being interested in the environment instead of sniffing around, it's probably time to stop the walk or take a break


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## Mrs.K

MaggieRoseLee said:


> Here's Glory B at 10 months old, apparently surviving all the exercise  As well as a guest appearance by Bretta Lee who's turning 6 and raised the same!
> 
> YouTube - Glory v Wildhaus - 10 m old Agility Class Sequencing



Wow, this is so different from what we do in Agility over here. I can't wait to join a REAL agility group. I have somebody come with me and film the class on monday. Seriously, no wonder I can't get any further. Maybe it's better to quit the obsticles completely and concentrate on the foundation, which I can also do from home, i guess?

I even thought about getting my own agility set, that I can build up at home and train them myself but I am not sure if it is a good idea to do that without supervision. 

I love our trainers for the obedience and they are great in agility themselves but what I am missing is the foundation and what I've seen on your video. We don't do the contact thing AT ALL!


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## Mrs.K

I just went through your channel. I guess I have the supervision after all since you've got so many videos of the training up there  AND IT'S FOR FREE!!! HAHAHAHA


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## chicagojosh

I've read 5 minutes walking for each month of age. Cody is currently 7 months old meaning a 35 minute walk.

If you ask me, not NEARLY enough exercise. He gets a 20-25 min walk in the morning. A 50-60 min walk when i get home from work, and another say 10-15 minute walk later in the evening. He is still bouncing off the walks.

I just make sure he doesnt run on concrete much.


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## Superhero

So I went to a training class and found out with large breed puppies you gotta be a lot more careful about their exercise.

From the time I got my puppy at 7 weeks old I was walking/jogging her around the block. When she would lay down after a little bit I would let her take a break, though honestly since she was *always* laying down any time I took her outside to play I thought she was just being stubborn. 

I took her jogging one night and noticed that the whole time she lagged behind me, with a bit of tension on the leash for most of the jog. I probably went a mile that night and in retrospect, knowing what I know now, I feel bad.

I also started her on stairs from day one that I had her, and within a few days she was handling them on her own just fine. 

She's a day shy of 10 weeks and since Sunday (when I found out to be really careful about their exercise) I have taken it a lot easier on her. Just short walks around the block a few times.

A lot of the walking/jogging was on pavement.

Without this exercise she would be too much to handle. I don't know how else we'd get her enough exercise without at least the walks.

Should I be worried?


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## Dolus

Superhero said:


> So I went to a training class and found out with large breed puppies you gotta be a lot more careful about their exercise.
> 
> From the time I got my puppy at 7 weeks old I was walking/jogging her around the block. When she would lay down after a little bit I would let her take a break, though honestly since she was *always* laying down any time I took her outside to play I thought she was just being stubborn.
> 
> I took her jogging one night and noticed that the whole time she lagged behind me, with a bit of tension on the leash for most of the jog. I probably went a mile that night and in retrospect, knowing what I know now, I feel bad.
> 
> I also started her on stairs from day one that I had her, and within a few days she was handling them on her own just fine.
> 
> She's a day shy of 10 weeks and since Sunday (when I found out to be really careful about their exercise) I have taken it a lot easier on her. Just short walks around the block a few times.
> 
> A lot of the walking/jogging was on pavement.
> 
> Without this exercise she would be too much to handle. I don't know how else we'd get her enough exercise without at least the walks.
> 
> Should I be worried?


Making her use her brain is much more effective at making her tired than making her use her body. First of all, you shouldn't "exercise" a puppy that age at all - off leash runs are fine as long as you monitor her body language - i.e. don't force her to continue when she sits/lies down etc.

As for making her tired, until she's 16 weeks, socialization will take a lot of her energy. Bring her to all sorts of places and just hang around and let her take in the surroundings. Fields, the city, parks, crowded areas, trains, busses, the subway, introduce her to lots of people and other animals (horses, cats, cows, whatever) - but don't push her, always allow her to take in the impressions in HER pace and make sure she only gets positive experiences with places, peoples and animals.

After the socialization-phase, you can do all sorts of exercises to tire her. Off-leash walks is good - use the time to train recall and contact exercises. Make her use her nose and start doing some tracking foundation work. Make her use her brain with puzzle toys and feeding her in the yard (spread some kibble in your backyard and let her search for it).

All this info is also available on these forums - just do a search on the term "puppy energy" or something like that 

Good lucky with your puppy and don't be too hard on her


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## ruger

My pup now 19 weeks loves the flirt pole and chasing his tug. We go into the back yard and he runs up to it right away. He'll play with it for a long time but I worry he's gonna hurt himself because he'll tackle it sometimes and even rolls over sometimes after diving after it. 

I try to not overwork him but he doesn't ever seem to want to quit. After he catches it he'll chew on it but if I move it he's right back on it again. I've been making him take breaks every couple of rounds we go. If he doesn't get worn out he'll pace the house and I have to end up putting him in his kennel so he'll chill out. 

Is the flirt pole too intense for a pup?


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## Superhero

My trainer specifically doesn't want me to train her to do anything until our classes get started. That won't be for another week though due to the July 4th holidays. That's kind of irritating actually because she is very eager to learn, and the couple of small things he had me work on with her are not very challenging to learn at all. She is going to start on basic obedience work and then once she masters that and is old enough she is going to start training in French Ring.

I am taking her everywhere and socializing her. Stores, walks around the neighborhood, pretty much everything you've mentioned. She's been socialized with everything from baby ducks to black bears and coyote and turtles and squirrels. 

Also another thing I did with her when I first got her was taught her to do some stairs. My friend lives in a condo 3 floors up and she did those steps a bunch of times. She's actually quite confident and good at stairs now, though since I've learned better she doesn't get to do them unless necessary.

She gets a lot of off leash play in a field by my house, but I don't have a backyard yet and generally for her to get any real exercise I need to walk her around the block a few times.

I've been very busy until recently and have just now had the time to really start doing research on these forums. I posted in this thread because I read so much about what's good and not good for puppies to do.

What about those people who would say exercising them young is not a problem?

Thanks for your detailed reply! I have definitely started taking it a lot easier on her recently.



Dolus said:


> Making her use her brain is much more effective at making her tired than making her use her body. First of all, you shouldn't "exercise" a puppy that age at all - off leash runs are fine as long as you monitor her body language - i.e. don't force her to continue when she sits/lies down etc.
> 
> As for making her tired, until she's 16 weeks, socialization will take a lot of her energy. Bring her to all sorts of places and just hang around and let her take in the surroundings. Fields, the city, parks, crowded areas, trains, busses, the subway, introduce her to lots of people and other animals (horses, cats, cows, whatever) - but don't push her, always allow her to take in the impressions in HER pace and make sure she only gets positive experiences with places, peoples and animals.
> 
> After the socialization-phase, you can do all sorts of exercises to tire her. Off-leash walks is good - use the time to train recall and contact exercises. Make her use her nose and start doing some tracking foundation work. Make her use her brain with puzzle toys and feeding her in the yard (spread some kibble in your backyard and let her search for it).
> 
> All this info is also available on these forums - just do a search on the term "puppy energy" or something like that
> 
> Good lucky with your puppy and don't be too hard on her


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## JudynRich

This is the first time I have ever heard about the stair issue. I carried Mia down until she was about 14 weeks...she was afraid. I think some of her high reactive response to other dogs is not taking her for walks until 4 months when her shots were done.


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## LaRen616

I got my GSD when he was 11 weeks old and he conquered the stairs by the time he was 12 weeks old (though he moved down them rather slow, he didn't need any help) and I had alot of stairs. As for a workout, my big yard was a workout for that little bugger, he ran and chased toys and I had other puppies (they had their shots) and other dogs come over and play with him. I started taking him for 1 mile walks when he was a little over 4 months old.


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## Superhero

My pup turns 10 today and has conquered stairs and has no problem with a 1 mile walk as long as it isn't too hot.

I am mostly just wondering if she is at risk for any permanent joint damage. In my own mind I don't think some hard exercise for a few days spread over a couple of weeks will be a problem (despite her young age), but I don't really know much about large breed joint health.

I really wish she had some puppies her age and size to play with.


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## Dolus

That's great  Remember to take her through the experience several times and not just once. Also, it's a great opportunity to train focus behavior with distractions (if you prefer to wait until you're trainer has given his/her ok, there's plenty of time).

It's a shame you don't have a backyard - it really makes a big difference. We just moved to a house with a huge back yard from an apartment in the suburbs and our current dog (Sheltie) who is a little bunch of uncontrollable energy transformed into a completely different dog after we moved. It made a huge difference in several aspects of her life, but most importantly she's much more calm now that she get's to go nuts in the yard whenever she pleases. I think it's made a big difference, so that may be part of the reason your dog has a lot of energy.

Of course there are ways to compensate, but it's tricky because you can't exercise her, so you're limited to open areas where she can run free and if it's not a yard, you have to be there all the time. Perhaps you can find some other puppies / young dogs in the area and go meet them on a daily or semi-daily basis? Playing with other dogs is great for both socializing and burning energy  

As for people saying exercise is fine when they're young, they're probably talking about off-leash exercise. If you exercise them too much while they're still growing, you're risking permanent damage. Still I feel fairly sure that leashed walks is ok as long as the dog doesn't show any signs of discomfort (such as stopping and sitting) or tiredness, but low impact is much preferred. On leash or off leash, just always be very aware of their body language - if you can interpret that, you should be fine.

Most "rules" are just guidelines - for instance, small breeds tend to mature faster than large breeds and as a result can also be exercised more at an early age. Small breeds also tend to show less signals of tiredness, so ironically you have to be a bit more aware of them. But it all depends on the breed and on your specific dog.

And a last comment on the energy issues. Nosework is really good. Even if your teacher prefer you not doing stuff like that, preliminary stuff is great also. Having her search for hidden treats, feeding her on the grass, putting some treats in the bark on the trunk of a fallen tree is all good. Good dog toys also work - make a small hole in a tennis ball and put treats in it, use a kong with some cream cheese and some kibble in. Buster toys are also great 



Superhero said:


> I am taking her everywhere and socializing her. Stores, walks around the neighborhood, pretty much everything you've mentioned. She's been socialized with everything from baby ducks to black bears and coyote and turtles and squirrels.
> 
> She gets a lot of off leash play in a field by my house, but I don't have a backyard yet and generally for her to get any real exercise I need to walk her around the block a few times.
> 
> I've been very busy until recently and have just now had the time to really start doing research on these forums. I posted in this thread because I read so much about what's good and not good for puppies to do.
> 
> What about those people who would say exercising them young is not a problem?
> 
> Thanks for your detailed reply! I have definitely started taking it a lot easier on her recently.


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## Superhero

She was good with fireworks over the weekend. 

I think the trainer has a specific way he intends to train focus so I'm going to wait until then to do so. Her natural focus is quite good to start with. Good enough the trainer asked if I had worked with her on it before the last session (I haven't).

I take her out to the field often. It's not really a field, actually. It's about an acre of grass in the middle of my wife's law school. I let her run there as much as she wants, usually in the evenings so she doesn't bug any of the students who are trying to study. We'll have a backyard in a few weeks. Our new house is almost ready to move into.  

I've tried finding other puppies for her to play with - no luck so far.  My friend has a dachsund/beagle mix that she likes to play with. He was a bit rough with her when she was younger but she's big enough now he can't really pick on her anymore. 

I've been tossing her food into the grass to let her sniff it out. I've also been "charging" her marker word the last few days as well. I've got a Kong toy stuffed with some treats she likes but she lost interest in it. Next week I am going to pick up a buster cube thingie for her as well. 

What kind of permanent damage are we talking about as far as exercising goes? Regarding stairs: she still has to use them daily, but it's only about 8 steps, and half the time when she doesn't wanna go down them herself I carry her. I don't take her to my friend's house with 3 stories worth of stairs anymore. If I do I'll carry her up and down, but those are the same flights she did several times when we first got her. Obviously, I probably pushed her a bit much for the first couple of weeks I had her; do you think I should be concerned about her joints and have them x-ray'd or something?


Thanks!





Dolus said:


> That's great  Remember to take her through the experience several times and not just once. Also, it's a great opportunity to train focus behavior with distractions (if you prefer to wait until you're trainer has given his/her ok, there's plenty of time).
> 
> It's a shame you don't have a backyard - it really makes a big difference. We just moved to a house with a huge back yard from an apartment in the suburbs and our current dog (Sheltie) who is a little bunch of uncontrollable energy transformed into a completely different dog after we moved. It made a huge difference in several aspects of her life, but most importantly she's much more calm now that she get's to go nuts in the yard whenever she pleases. I think it's made a big difference, so that may be part of the reason your dog has a lot of energy.
> 
> Of course there are ways to compensate, but it's tricky because you can't exercise her, so you're limited to open areas where she can run free and if it's not a yard, you have to be there all the time. Perhaps you can find some other puppies / young dogs in the area and go meet them on a daily or semi-daily basis? Playing with other dogs is great for both socializing and burning energy
> 
> As for people saying exercise is fine when they're young, they're probably talking about off-leash exercise. If you exercise them too much while they're still growing, you're risking permanent damage. Still I feel fairly sure that leashed walks is ok as long as the dog doesn't show any signs of discomfort (such as stopping and sitting) or tiredness, but low impact is much preferred. On leash or off leash, just always be very aware of their body language - if you can interpret that, you should be fine.
> 
> Most "rules" are just guidelines - for instance, small breeds tend to mature faster than large breeds and as a result can also be exercised more at an early age. Small breeds also tend to show less signals of tiredness, so ironically you have to be a bit more aware of them. But it all depends on the breed and on your specific dog.
> 
> And a last comment on the energy issues. Nosework is really good. Even if your teacher prefer you not doing stuff like that, preliminary stuff is great also. Having her search for hidden treats, feeding her on the grass, putting some treats in the bark on the trunk of a fallen tree is all good. Good dog toys also work - make a small hole in a tennis ball and put treats in it, use a kong with some cream cheese and some kibble in. Buster toys are also great


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## Dolus

Superhero said:


> I take her out to the field often. It's not really a field, actually. It's about an acre of grass in the middle of my wife's law school. I let her run there as much as she wants, usually in the evenings so she doesn't bug any of the students who are trying to study. We'll have a backyard in a few weeks. Our new house is almost ready to move into.


No problem then - trust me, you'll appreciate that! 



Superhero said:


> I've tried finding other puppies for her to play with - no luck so far.  My friend has a dachsund/beagle mix that she likes to play with. He was a bit rough with her when she was younger but she's big enough now he can't really pick on her anymore.


I guess that stuff is region specific, but try googling puppy play classes in your area. You may want to try area-specific web forums also. Alternately you can also stalk popular dog-walk areas - parks etc.



Superhero said:


> I've been tossing her food into the grass to let her sniff it out. I've also been "charging" her marker word the last few days as well. I've got a Kong toy stuffed with some treats she likes but she lost interest in it. Next week I am going to pick up a buster cube thingie for her as well.


Charging marker words sounds like Ellis/Leerburg stuff  I really like Ellis system (I'm not really into aversives, but apart from that I think Ellis is really great). Is your trainer using his system?



Superhero said:


> What kind of permanent damage are we talking about as far as exercising goes? Regarding stairs: she still has to use them daily, but it's only about 8 steps, and half the time when she doesn't wanna go down them herself I carry her. I don't take her to my friend's house with 3 stories worth of stairs anymore. If I do I'll carry her up and down, but those are the same flights she did several times when we first got her. Obviously, I probably pushed her a bit much for the first couple of weeks I had her; do you think I should be concerned about her joints and have them x-ray'd or something?


To be honest, I'm not sure. It's something about growth plates and the way joints develop, but if you want a more professional answer, you'll have to talk to a vet - that goes for the x-ray stuff as well (although I'm pretty sure x-rays aren't needed). A lot of people over-exercise their dogs and they go on to work out just fine - AFAIK it simply increases the likelihood of damage, it's not a sure thing by any means. Unless you've noticed any irregularities with her, I wouldn't be too concerned (but again, consult a vet if in doubt)


----------



## MaggieRoseLee

> Originally Posted by *Superhero*
> _What kind of permanent damage are we talking about as far as exercising goes? Regarding stairs: she still has to use them daily, but it's only about 8 steps, *and half the time when she doesn't wanna go down them herself I carry her.* I don't take her to my friend's house with 3 stories worth of stairs anymore. If I do I'll carry her up and down, but those are the same flights she did several times when we first got her. Obviously, I probably pushed her a bit much for the first couple of weeks I had her; do you think I should be concerned about her joints and have them x-ray'd or something?_


ARE YOU KIDDING? You are carrying her?

If our 'working' breed can't do 8 steps then there is seriously something wrong with our breed. You don't need x-rays to know a NORMAL puppy should handle this. It's a great lesson in their learning body awareness and coordination. Which learning you are STUNTING by not letting them work it out and use their brains to figure it out.

We do NOT want repetitive exercise (jogging on pavement) or jarring exercise (jumping on and off the bed 100 times a day). But NORMAL is what happens in our day...

This is my 'normal' puppy and what is NORMAL exercise (off leash is best):


----------



## Dolus

Oh, and also, what she'll do when left to herself (so to speak) is a good indication of her limits - off leash walks can work as an indicator of what her comfort level is


----------



## Superhero

Well, first, I really appreciate you taking the time to advise me (everyone?) on this.  

I am just now figuring out how to get her to play with me. Instead of walking her so much I just play with her in the field. Since I'm starting to learn her personality and how she likes to play, I have only been walking her a few days a week, usually in the mornings, and not for more than about 30 minutes or so at a time.

I've been looking for puppy play stuff on meetup and on craigslist. No luck so far but I'm gonna keep trying. The breeder has two puppies she is starting to train in French Ring. If I could ever get a hold of her I bet she'd let me bring Gwen over to play with them. 

I'm not familiar with Ellis or Leerburg. I'm doing basic obedience stuff (sit, down, stand etc.) using a book Cristine Dahl wrote (







Good Dog 101) for this. Regarding the trainer, I don't know what method he uses. I do know he is very anti-compulsion/anti-traditional/anti-military style training and absolutely hates Cesar Millan. He has titled a few dogs on the national level and several on the west coast in French Ring and his dogs and his students' dogs appear to be supremely happy and excited, especially when it's their turn to get out and do some training.

Our puppy, when she is old enough and has a good obedience foundation, will be trained in French Ring so long as I can continue to make the training classes. I don't intend to title her or really even push her that hard. I'd consider myself quite fortunate if she even makes it to the brevet level. I'll take her as far as she seems happy going I suppose. As long as she'll defend my wife and our home then I'm good. 

I tend to be something of a hypochrondiac with my own life and have been applying that to my puppy. lol Logically, I know that there isn't really anything to worry about, but there is always that nagging concern that because things haven't gone *perfectly*, something will go wrong. 




Dolus said:


> No problem then - trust me, you'll appreciate that!
> 
> 
> 
> I guess that stuff is region specific, but try googling puppy play classes in your area. You may want to try area-specific web forums also. Alternately you can also stalk popular dog-walk areas - parks etc.
> 
> 
> 
> Charging marker words sounds like Ellis/Leerburg stuff  I really like Ellis system (I'm not really into aversives, but apart from that I think Ellis is really great). Is your trainer using his system?
> 
> 
> 
> To be honest, I'm not sure. It's something about growth plates and the way joints develop, but if you want a more professional answer, you'll have to talk to a vet - that goes for the x-ray stuff as well (although I'm pretty sure x-rays aren't needed). A lot of people over-exercise their dogs and they go on to work out just fine - AFAIK it simply increases the likelihood of damage, it's not a sure thing by any means. Unless you've noticed any irregularities with her, I wouldn't be too concerned (but again, consult a vet if in doubt)


----------



## Superhero

lol sometimes she can be really stubborn about coming outside. She's really attached to our air conditioner! 

We take her off leash hiking and whatnot already. She acts just like the videos you posted (I saw those while researching this topic too - they're great vids thanks!) and pretty much runs around having fun. She acts much like Glory B does. The first time we came up to a mountain stream she just leaped in and hasn't looked back since. She's a great swimmer, though she can't go for very long before getting tired.

I wish we knew some people like you to take her out with. She'd absolutely LOVE hiking with other puppies and dogs.

I am guilty of jogging her on pavement a few times (in retrospect, for a lot longer/farther than I should have even considered) once or twice while she was in her seventh week, but as soon as I found out that's bad I stopped. 

She generally handles stairs, up and down, just fine, but from what I had been told stairs are a bad idea for them so when she doesn't wanna go down them I just carried her. I thought it was absurd too but meh, I'm still learning about large breeds and figured better safe than sorry. She learned how to negotiate stairs, more or less on her own, from day one.



MaggieRoseLee said:


> ARE YOU KIDDING? You are carrying her?
> 
> If our 'working' breed can't do 8 steps then there is seriously something wrong with our breed. You don't need x-rays to know a NORMAL puppy should handle this. It's a great lesson in their learning body awareness and coordination. Which learning you are STUNTING by not letting them work it out and use their brains to figure it out.
> 
> We do NOT want repetitive exercise (jogging on pavement) or jarring exercise (jumping on and off the bed 100 times a day). But NORMAL is what happens in our day...
> 
> This is my 'normal' puppy and what is NORMAL exercise (off leash is best):
> YouTube - Glory B (11 wks) and Bretta Lee (5 yrs) Hiking in the Woods
> 
> YouTube - Hiking the Poconos w/Friends and their dogs


----------



## adamdude04

With my black lab.. when 10 weeks old, I started to let him chase me on the golf cart. 

After awhile he got faster than the golf cart. I first started running him about half a mile when I got him. Then as time moved on, he could go 1.5 miles. He turned out just fine. Which is good.. at my place (corporate housing) my patio was on the second floor (basicly ontop of the garage) and one day he jumped off the roof onto the ground which was roughly 12-14' just so he could chase the golf cart. No broken bones or nothin. He was about 6 months when this happend..


----------



## Superhero

Holy crap lol

Well I am glad to hear he came out ok! 





adamdude04 said:


> With my black lab.. when 10 weeks old, I started to let him chase me on the golf cart.
> 
> After awhile he got faster than the golf cart. I first started running him about half a mile when I got him. Then as time moved on, he could go 1.5 miles. He turned out just fine. Which is good.. at my place (corporate housing) my patio was on the second floor (basicly ontop of the garage) and one day he jumped off the roof onto the ground which was roughly 12-14' just so he could chase the golf cart. No broken bones or nothin. He was about 6 months when this happend..


----------



## Chicagocanine

What I have always been told and read is to limit FORCED exercise. They can do as much off leash exercise and playing as they want (as long as it's on soft surfaces, not concrete) and will stop when they get tired, but long leash walks or high-impact exercises like doing jumps or jogging should be avoided with puppies.


----------



## Chicagocanine

Dolus said:


> Charging marker words sounds like Ellis/Leerburg stuff  I really like Ellis system (I'm not really into aversives, but apart from that I think Ellis is really great). Is your trainer using his system?


Actually "charging" is a clicker training term. My guess is Leerburg got it from reading about clicker training.


----------



## MaggieRoseLee

> We take her off leash hiking and whatnot already. She acts just like the videos you posted (I saw those while researching this topic too - they're great vids thanks!) and pretty much runs around having fun. She acts much like Glory B does. The first time we came up to a mountain stream she just leaped in and hasn't looked back since. She's a great swimmer, though she can't go for very long before getting tired.
> 
> I wish we knew some people like you to take her out with. She'd absolutely LOVE hiking with other puppies and dogs.


One of the other great things about attending dog/puppy classes is you get to meet other dog nuts and can meetup AFTER classes or on other days for meet ups and walks in the woods.


----------



## Superhero

It's also been adapted for use with marker words, which are essentially the same thing as clicks except you use a word.



Chicagocanine said:


> Actually "charging" is a clicker training term. My guess is Leerburg got it from reading about clicker training.


----------



## MaggieRoseLee

Superhero said:


> It's also been adapted for use with marker words, which are essentially the same thing as clicks except you use a word.


While you can use words, for most of us (specially in the initial training stages) it's just not the same. Humans talk ALL THE TIME. A clicker only means one thing, all the time.

Why Can't I Just Use My Voice? | Karen Pryor Clickertraining worth the free registration 

Why Clicker Train?


----------



## Superhero

I know the benefits of using a clicker, I just don't want to have to always carry one around. I tend to be forgetful and leaving behind a clicker would probably cause me more problems than it would solve.

It also helps that my trainer uses words and it's won him a bunch of competitions so I think it'll all work out in the end.  I don't think he uses marker words though.





MaggieRoseLee said:


> While you can use words, for most of us (specially in the initial training stages) it's just not the same. Humans talk ALL THE TIME. A clicker only means one thing, all the time.
> 
> Why Can't I Just Use My Voice? | Karen Pryor Clickertraining worth the free registration
> 
> Why Clicker Train?


----------



## Superhero

Yeah, I found this out after "forcing" a few pavement jogs/walks on my 7-8 week old puppy. I tend to have a very OCD-type personality so, as is probably obvious, I am quite paranoid of any potential permanent problems. :crazy:

Yes, I know I'm a little crazy.

:wild::crazy::wild::crazy::wild::crazy::wild:





Chicagocanine said:


> What I have always been told and read is to limit FORCED exercise. They can do as much off leash exercise and playing as they want (as long as it's on soft surfaces, not concrete) and will stop when they get tired, but long leash walks or high-impact exercises like doing jumps or jogging should be avoided with puppies.


----------



## Chicagocanine

Superhero said:


> I know the benefits of using a clicker, I just don't want to have to always carry one around. I tend to be forgetful and leaving behind a clicker would probably cause me more problems than it would solve.


Not really. The only time I make a point to carry the clicker is if I am planning to do a training session and training something new-- the clicker/rewards are faded once the dog knows the cue. I don't regularly carry one around with me otherwise. Not having it has never caused a problem even with my terrier who was pretty much exclusively using clicker training. 
If I need to mark a behavior when I not doing a training session I just use a marker word, although it does not have the same impact as the clicker it works when needed. You don't need to carry a clicker everywhere.


----------



## Sirscarecrow

As to taking your dog outside to socialize etc before all shots are done, well, I think it is safe to say in what countries where it is mandatory that all dogs have their vaccines and where no stray dogs etc exist, I see not many reasons why your pup should stay at home locked up in such a circumstance. However, if you live in a country with many stray dogs and whatnot, yes, I believe then it is best for your pet to stay home. That is my humble opinion as I had dogs in a country where no stray dogs exist and I went out with them when they were 9 weeks, no problem and now, I live in a country with stray dogs and I will simply not take it out until it had all the shots. I do however invite neighbours and their dogs over of which I know are properly trained and vaccinated.


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## RogueRed26

My 4 1/2 month old GSD is just FULL of energy. She is at the moment running back and forth on the balcony tipping over her food and water bowls. We played with her bamboo tug toy for 15 minutes, practiced obedience for 20 minutes, and went on two walks around the apartment complex two times, and she still has energy!!! 

Can I actually engage her on a light jog to drain some of that energy? Or would I be risking hip dysplasia issues?

I live at an apartment complex, so she does tend to use the stairs quite frequently and does get walked on pavement and occasionally around the university grounds where there is plenty of soft grass. Could this be a future issue?


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## bmasplund

MaggieRoseLee said:


> And I see mis-information from breeders going from 'NO stairs for our breed until a year old (?????)' to 'Only short leashed walks around the block for the first year' (?????)


I find the stairs thing a little funny. How about people who own a split level homes. I have a split level and no stairs till a year. LMAO. I mean I wont be carrying down a 50lbs GSD and I am sure my wife wont be either...

As for exercise I go to the local off leash area and let sasha run around. We walk the trail and she stays with in 10 feet of me at all times. As for leashed walks I use an extendable leash that goes out to 15ft. Reason why is she pulls and if she is on a long leash she wont. She does good on short leash after some some obiedience training. Other exercise we do is go up to the local Jr High football/soccer field and I let her off leash and I throw a ball with her for about 15 mins. She seems to like it. I try to keep everything somewhat short as within 15-30min.


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## Emoore

Just got back from taking Rocky and Kopper on Kopper's first off-leash hike. Rocky and I have been hiking off-leash together since he was about 6 months old and he knows the rules, so he was great for showing Kopper the ropes. Both boys stayed within sight at all times and were very good. We hiked for about 40 minutes and didn't get nearly as far as we would have if it had been just Rocky and I, but when the puppy sat on his little butt and started whining I knew we were done. Now he's sleeping peacefully.


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## Josie/Zeus

I wonder about the stairs issue. My pup has learned to go up the stairs (18 steps total) on the 3rd day he was home with us. We carry him down but he knows how to get up on his own. Of course he's not going up the stairs a million times a day, once he's up in the office, he stays there with dh.


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## idahospud49

Great thread!! I kept seeing all of these "warning" things about exercising your puppy. I firmly agree with all of you that hiking, off leash walks, stairs, and everything (when not forced) is good for the puppy!! Every summer I go back to Idaho to our cabin up in the SNRA (Sawtooth National Recreation Area) and do hiking. I am hoping I can go this summer and take Glock. He will be 5 months the end of June, and do some hiking with him! Just have to figure out how to get him up there... Don't really want to take my truck with gas being the price it is!!


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## MissCherry

I'm happy to have read this thread too. I'm still worried.. I have no car so I have to walk him on the side walk to get the bus to go to the park, and go back home. Park is really far away (when I go I stay out 2 hours), and there is no grass in my area. I have stairs, hard flooring, so it is really hard for me to control him not to run around the house. When I play with him at home there is allways some pounding on the ground. I'm soooo paranoid too right now..... I can't wait to take him to get his first x rays at 6 months!


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## Bristol

Yeah good exercises I'm glad I read this! Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuu!! ^_^


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## JulieBays

Sasha loves to jump. It was quite by accident we found this out. She loves to play tug and we often do it. But, this heat has made it impossible in the evenings and frankly, I get bored with tug. So, I have a ball that I was trying to teach her to fetch. She wasn't really interested in chasing the ball and bringing it back. I decided to bounce it around to see if it would catch her interest. It did. However, about the 3rd time of bouncing it, she jumped up and caught it mid air. I was shocked!! Now, that's all she wants to do. Even outside with her tug, she wants to jump for it. I admit that she's really, really good at it but at 12 1/2 weeks old, it can't be good for her hips. I tried to redirect her but she ends up laying down and looking at me with those sad eyes. She jumped at her tug today while I was walking back to the door. I'm 5'3". She jumped at least that high. What should I do? She absolutely loves it but at the same time, I need to protect her. I'm conflicted.


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## PaddyD

Try to make her just jump a couple inches off the ground. That takes some skill on your part. I had to do that with frisbee. My dog would jump high and twist and do anything to catch it. It took some time for me to put the frisbee where she could catch it without the potential for injury.


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## JulieBays

PaddyD said:


> Try to make her just jump a couple inches off the ground. That takes some skill on your part. I had to do that with frisbee. My dog would jump high and twist and do anything to catch it. It took some time for me to put the frisbee where she could catch it without the potential for injury.


That's what I did today with her tug. I would only swing it a few inches off the ground after she released it. She laid down and sighed....and stared at me!! Anyway, I know that I need to keep it low. It makes me sad that her instinct and fun is to jump as high as she can but I have to limit it. She is a natural at jumping. I suppose all GSD's are. She also has a very high prey drive which adds to it. What am I going to do with her? She is so smart and so athletic that I feel that I will hold her back but at the same time, worry about her day and night. I am obsessed with her well being and her health which don't always sinc right. :wub:


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## SummerwoodSoaps

Maybe if you have access to water you let her jump into a lake or pool?


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## bratt

*jogging*

ok im still confused I was told you shouldn't jog/run your dog till older maybe 12months that this would do damage. I love to run and was even considering purchasing a dog stroller so i could still run and take the puppy with me. The ones for larger dogs are expensive so do i not need this???


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## MaggieRoseLee

bratt said:


> ok im still confused I was told you shouldn't jog/run your dog till older maybe 12months that this would do damage. I love to run and was even considering purchasing a dog stroller so i could still run and take the puppy with me. The ones for larger dogs are expensive so do i not need this???


Read thru all this thread from the start and see what we are all doing, and still have healthy happy pups.

You MUST avoid *high impact* exercising (like jumping your dog continuously at great heights) and *repetitive exercising like jogging at the same pace on a hard surface *for the first year or so.

I'm not sure how young your puppy is right now. I initially don't really 'run' with my pups, but give them and myself exercise by hiking on trails. Being able to have the puppy OFF leash takes away the repetitiveness because they can walk/jog/run/rest whenever they want. And the trail will be a softer surface than pavement.

As your pup grows, you can then start jogging and you'll see an older pup will still be able to greatly adjust their pace to run/jog/stop while you keep the same pace. Trails are still the best for this.


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## ladyfreckles

I've been exploring boundaries with Viking as well. I took him on a ten minute walk today and when we got back he was fine and had bundles of energy (tearing at his toys). He's started to become a little destructive with the carpet, so I took that as a sign of too much pent of energy and started trying to take him out more. He's currently 7 weeks, 5 days and a ten minute walk is a _breeze_ for him. I'm trying to think of more mentally stimulating exercises to work on, so suggestions for those would be great. 

I want to try to give him some puppy experience in agility/herding. Nothing serious, I just want to see if I can find some exercises that stimulate those skills early on (sort of like how toys for toddlers are meant to build specific skills such as logic, music, art, etc). Does anyone have any suggestions for those sorts of exercises?

He sleeps a lot so I know he isn't high drive. He seems to be medium drive to me, which is good because I want to do a lot of work with him in the future and it would suck if he tuckered out too easily.


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## pinogirl

*Too much exercise?*

My Stella is 5 months old and has alot of energy.
Every night her and I walk 2 miles through the neighborhood.
This is great exercise for both of us.

I just want to be sure that 2 miles is not too much for a 5 month old.


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## hoocli

two miles on grass or two miles on pavement?

Try and do as little on pavement as possible. Its alot harder on the dogs joints, and yours.


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## chadmonger

we took my 12 week old female gsd on a 12 minute walk/jog (5 walk 2 jog 5 walk) last night and she got home and panted for almost an hour. She was fine during the walk but I will definitely take it much easier from now on, even though I thought that was quite an easy exercise already.


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## boy.rulez16

10 minutes walk is enugh for 9 weeks old GSD PuPz ?? or shud walk 20 or else please reply !!!


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## Castlemaid

Hi Rj

10 or 20 minutes is fine, depending on what your pup can handle. Do as much as your pup wants to do. You can gradually increase the length of the walks as he gets older.


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## Alwaysaworkingdog

I would not walk a pup at 9 weeks, that just seems too young. On top of that, until the pups joints have developed completely, I would avoid long repetitive exercise, especially if you have a pup from bad lines.

Even if your pups parents had good scores, you can ruin your pup by doing too much. 

At 9 weeks, they don't need that much exercise. You should be working on engaging with your pup and socialising him. The aim of exercise should be getting him to use his full range of motion, without making it too strenuous. The only reason I would walk my pup at that age would be to get to a place nearby that I was going to socialise him at


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## MichelleMc

You know stupidly I never thought about the stairs hurting him. He was up and down the stairs pretty much from the moment we got him. He prefers spending time upstairs because of my daughter. He is nearly 6 months old now. Is this something I should be concerned about at this point?
And as far as exercise goes, we take him to my daughters school to play fetch everyday. He plays non stop for a hour and it is still not enough. We are going to start walking him as well. He loves to climb things, so eventually I would like to find something to exercise him that involves climbing. Hiking so far is the only thing I have come up with. And should I wait for that until he's older?

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## Linck

So after reading the thread, Is this proper for 4 months old puppy?

Fetch session in the backyards several times a day. 10 minutes walk on pavement a day. I used to do flirt pole too but now that he grows so much bigger it gets harder to throw a long robe around. I don't want him to turn around too much so I change to fetch instead


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## Castlemaid

That sounds just fine for a four month old. You could do a lot more too without hurting him. Longer walks on pavement as long as it is walking. A four month old could easlily do a hike, off leash, on trails, running and playing with other dogs. Let him set the pace: if he is tired, he can slow down, or have a break and rest. You'd be surprised at how much energy he has to burn off. Longer exercise sessions at a slower pace will help the growing and development of bones and tendons more than many short sessions of maximum exhertion.


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## Linck

Castlemaid said:


> That sounds just fine for a four month old. You could do a lot more too without hurting him. Longer walks on pavement as long as it is walking. A four month old could easlily do a hike, off leash, on trails, running and playing with other dogs. Let him set the pace: if he is tired, he can slow down, or have a break and rest. You'd be surprised at how much energy he has to burn off. Longer exercise sessions at a slower pace will help the growing and development of bones and tendons more than many short sessions of maximum exhertion.


Thanks for the advice! I guess we could do more hiking. After all we live right by the second largest canyon in America. We have only been there once and he got sick after that but I don't think its because of hiking. How long is appropriate for the hiking like that though?


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## Castlemaid

Depends on your pup, but on average a 4 month old can easily do a couple of hours at his own pace. If you watched some of puppy hiking videos at the beginning of the thread, I think MaggieRoseLee's puppy was doing two, three hours at that age? 

It is very rare actually that people over-exercise their pups - most pups get vastly under-exercised. The warnings about over-exercising are aimed at people wanting to take their puppies jogging and bicycling with them on a regular basis.


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## Beckch

I got "schooled" by my vet for taking my 5 month old Ares on a two mile walk every day. We have now reduced it to about 4 to 6 blocks depending on the warm weather and his energy level. Although sometimes we go 4 blocks and he acts completely tired only to come home and dash around the yard? Go figure?


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## Lukapuppy

Luka is 14 weeks old and he is a fetch ADDICT. He loves to retrieve anything I throw and he'll play for about 30-45 minutes depending on the day and what other exercise we've already done. I love Luka and he's a great dog, and without this exercise he'd be a wild man in the house. I also live in the desert and it's too hot (115 degrees, and that's not even talking about how hot the pavement is!) for his puppy paws while the sun is out. We play fetch in the house where he can run during the day and he goes for a medium length walk at night (around 30 minutes) once the temperature has dropped. I think it's impractical to expect dogs with such high energy to sit around all day and maybe go for a slow 15 minute walk each day. I never force him to exercise, we just play until he gets tired.

I have three stairs that go from my kitchen to my family room, and two stairs from my porch to the backyard. Luke was 9 weeks when we brought him home and we initially tried to keep him off the stairs but he taught himself to go up them quickly and down them a couple days after that. The vet says he's developing fine.

Leave all the exercise restriction to the couch potato dogs, Luka's not having any of it.


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## belladonnalily

This thread makes me feel better. Last night I took Tucker on his first real hike. We walk on leash and off leash on the farm, and on leash when I'm staying in town, but usually no more than a mile or at a time. Occasionally 2 miles on the farm but we don't power walk. We do the occasional sprint through the field when the mood strikes us 

He is 15 weeks old. 

Last night we hiked about 3 miles or so and I worried maybe it was too much, but he didn't seem exhausted after. He DID sleep well, however. There were a few rocky places and some river crossings, and he had one crash and burn when he decided to run instead of pick his way down a short decline (I was more afraid he would attract predators with his screaming but was no worse for wear as soon as he realized he wasn't dying :what. Although I wonder how many campers packed up after hearing that strange animal in the woods :lol:

Tucker is a BIG pup and I want to balance enough exercise to keep him strong with being careful with his growing joints. 

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## Kaun

Thanks to this forum I have been enjoying off leash hiking with my GSD puppy.



I've had hip issues myself due to pregnancy so having been stuck to my bed most of last winter unable to walk I'm super concerned about HD in my puppy. I am still recovering (90% back!) and also training my 2 1/2 year old son to hike with me and I love taking both hiking. When she's loose I can always see when my puppy starts getting tired so we slow down or take a short break.


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## Phantom

I've realized since I got Jinx that I'm really out of shape. So I've decided to start a running program. Is it safe to take her with me? She is 6 months old. I can run by the edge of a cotton field near home if it's just the pavement that's bad. Also this it's for people who don't run at all and is more walking then running at the beginning.


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## Corvus Laeus

Sorry for the big thread bump, but I had a question regarding exercising my pup. I also had heard to minimize rigorous exercise and jumping/stairs while pups are developing. Tiberius is coming up on 12 weeks now and I'm just now letting him go down stairs slowly. 

I had taken him on a couple of half mile walks around my neighborhood slowly. Starting out, he heels extremely well, loose leash and walking right next to me. However, about halfway through our walk when we turn to come home, he starts pulling me. I stop every time he pulls hard and have him sit, but right when we start again he starts pulling. I was wondering if he was doing this since he was tired of walking or wanting to get home? I would limit his sniffing of "dog areas" since he has not had all of his shots yet. 

Any advice would be great!


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## DutchKarin

chicagojosh said:


> I've read 5 minutes walking for each month of age. Cody is currently 7 months old meaning a 35 minute walk.
> 
> If you ask me, not NEARLY enough exercise. He gets a 20-25 min walk in the morning. A 50-60 min walk when i get home from work, and another say 10-15 minute walk later in the evening. He is still bouncing off the walks.
> 
> I just make sure he doesnt run on concrete much.


Well I have totally broken that rule. Tygo is almost 8 months old and he goes for 1/2 day hikes regularly. And like others, I live in a stair master house. Oh well. I'll report back in 10 years to see how it is going.


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## Jmoore728

My whole house is tile floor.....Hopefully this won't causes future issues....He is almost 20 weeks....I'm starting to lose track of his age....Something like that,.....Take him on daily walks....I try to keep him in the grass, but he will walk some on the sidewalk until I get to the pastures and woods....

When at home, we try to keep him on leash when inside. But there are times he might get the occasional roam....


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## DellaWrangler

At four months, we walk/hike for 45 mins. to an hour in the mornings and evenings, plus 20 to 30 mins. of fetch/chasing each other around the yard at lunch. I've slowly started introducing her to jogging, where we run part of the way, increasing the intensity/distance every time. Once we build up to a full run, I'll start biking with her (probably in a couple of months, at the rate things are going). On Sundays, she gets a couple of hours of either hiking, the off-leash dog park, or a vigorous playdate with a friend's Golden Retriever. 

After all of this, she still has energy to burn. (Except on Sundays, then she's all happy and tuckered out


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## Daisyline

Ok so I have read this thread and I have a question. How do you off leash hike/ walk your pup without them running off. I am about to pick up my little girl march 20th and would love to know how y'all do this because we have plenty of yard (about 2 acre) and tons of trails around us to hike but I'm afraid if she is off the leash she will run away at any deer or squirrel.


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## marbury

Daisyline said:


> Ok so I have read this thread and I have a question. How do you off leash hike/ walk your pup without them running off. I am about to pick up my little girl march 20th and would love to know how y'all do this because we have plenty of yard (about 2 acre) and tons of trails around us to hike but I'm afraid if she is off the leash she will run away at any deer or squirrel.


You train! And follow all posted leash-laws for the area until you have confidence in your dog. That's just courtesy for other hikers if you're on public land. If you're on your own... train a solid recall, proof it, and then enjoy.


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## Me_and_Kali

we were supposed to wait up to one for the stairs and long walks? 
im sorry, but my Kali is SUPER energetic. We took a 3 hour walk yesterday and while i was exhausted, she still wanted to walk. and she's about 3 or 4 months old. 
she's so strong too, when she pulls. how could have i waited some 9 or 8 months for this? 
she had no problems climbing up/down the stairs the first time she saw them. me carrying her is out of te question. she weighs some 10 kilograms [20 pounds] and i have back problems from carrying too much while moving.


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## Diesel7602

Kayla's Dad said:


> This is going to be an interesting topic. I try to break this into a couple of different topics that have highly varying opinions:
> 
> Stress management-i.e. things like the stair issue. what can you do in terms and relation to the development of a dog's growth plates and maturing of their bone structures. For smaller dog breeds the closing of the plates occur much sooner than the gsd or larger breeds. So the gsd/large breed owners need to manage stress induced exercises for a much longer period.
> 
> Vaccinations schedules - when during the early vaccination period can you get the puppies out and about and what you need to continue to protect them from. This can go from the (IMO) extreme of "I have to keep my puppy isolated and protected from everything until after they complete their vaccinations and get their rabies shots" to getting out and socializing after the first/second round of shotts. The timing of getting rabies also varies from around four months to six months these days.
> 
> My puppy - I allowed to climb stairs from the day he came home but I carried him down the staris to avoid stress on his joints for the first few weeks. And then he went down with a leash for a while to keep him from racing down and launching off the stairs. Next phase was placing obstacles at the bottom to keep him from launching off the bottom of the stairs. He was in a puppy class at about 11 weeks and going to a local park to run and socialize with dogs of owners who I knew but I kept him away from certain owners or dogs who I hadn't known previously. Also kept him in the center of the parks and away from the bushes from areas where the animals were likely to defecate more. He was at the regional parks and hiking/swimming in the lake at 3.5 months.


 I was going to post something close to this until I saw this post. I was having my puppy run with me for about 2 minutes to run out the rest of his energy on some days. But I went to his puppy class yesterday and they told me to limit play and no running because of his growth plates. I'm very clue less since I never had this breed. Just a boxer, that needs a lot of exercise because they can be overly hyper. I'm I to wait a certain age to run or exercise with him?

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## wyoung2153

Walks are fine for now with him.. but playtime is also fine. You just need to watch the high impact type things. Running a lot on hard surfaces, jumping on and off things, up and down stairs a lot, those kinds of things. Playing with him and walking him isn't going to hurt him as long as you aren't overdoing it.


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## wyoung2153

Also, start researchign things on this forum in the puppy section, since you said you don't know much about the breed. Very good info there.. why a GSD out of curiosity?


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## Diesel7602

wyoung2153 said:


> Also, start researchign things on this forum in the puppy section, since you said you don't know much about the breed. Very good info there.. why a GSD out of curiosity?


I was looking for a lab for my son because he has autism. The therapist said one of the best dog for that is a gsd. They are very smart and loyal. The kind of dog my son needed was a best friend one he can learn to love and would love him back no matter what. My son lacks social skills, and at 7 he has no friends. So this is a way he can have a friendship that is real and teach him how to care and love. ( which autism has a lot to do with lack of empathy) so far his a service dog for him. Hopefully perseus can alert us if he is having a overload, ahsma attack ,acting suicidal, or trys to run away.

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## mydogs

Stairs as early as possible. I want my pups exposed to every kind of surface, unleveled ground as possible it builds their confidence as well especially if you are doing a sport they need to be exposed to as much as possible as soon as possible 


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## Tauntingbull

Subscribed


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## Drunken_Unicorn

I was a little worried about my pup and stairs when I brought him home. He's 13 weeks, and after a couple of days and a little bit of coaching he goes up and down with almost no problems. He does like to go diagonally though.

Some of the videos I watched on the first page of this thread were awesome!

I'll be going through this thread bit by bit. Thanks for the great info!


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## Amshru

*Thank you Maggie Rose Lee!*

Like many people with a new GSD puppy, I've worried about how much exercise is too much, but mine really loves her walks. Very reassuring to watch your trail videos.

Here's Elva, still running about after an hour in the woods at nearly 12 weeks. She came home and had a lovely sleep afterwards, but didn't seem overly tired at all. A tired puppy is a happy puppy? She's certainly very calm most of the time.


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## selzer

I like to let a puppy be a puppy. They can run about and jump and play and wrestle with other puppies that are similar in size. I do not prevent them from climbing stairs, though I have no upstairs or downstairs, so I only have a few steps. Evenso, I let the puppy be a puppy.

I do not go on forced marches or ride a bicycle with a young puppy. I do not force them to jump, and I do not push them to fetch or run after something for any length of time. Some puppies do not know when enough is enough, so we have to be realistic when we are directing exercise.


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## Gribby

This post has made me feel so much better. My Obedience Trainer told me im over walking Luna. 

She gets a 40min off leash walk in a gated park in the mornings and around a 30min - 1hour walk in the afternoon again on and off leash, along with some new experiences and mental stimulation. 

We always have a sit down if she seems tired or scared and just soak up the environment around us.


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## Bmaez

Took our dog for a few miles (couple of hours) of trail walking. Is this too much? 5 month old puppy


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## car2ner

my boy at 5 months could go do a couple of miles along a beach and then back down along the road, and after a nap be ready for more. Watch you pup. A nice long casual walk should be fine.


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## selzer

Town is 4 miles away from home. I don't know how old Jenna was. 4 months? 5 months? Be we walked into town. I gave her some water at the vets. Then we set out to walk back home. I got out of town to where my long, long street starts, and Jenna sat her butt on the ground refusing to move. 

I had to lift her up onto my shoulders and carry her all the way back. 

New rule: Do not walk any farther with your puppy than you are willing to carry them home.


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## car2ner

selzer said:


> Town is 4 miles away from home. I don't know how old Jenna was. 4 months? 5 months? Be we walked into town. I gave her some water at the vets. Then we set out to walk back home. I got out of town to where my long, long street starts, and Jenna sat her butt on the ground refusing to move.
> 
> I had to lift her up onto my shoulders and carry her all the way back.
> 
> New rule: Do not walk any farther with your puppy than you are willing to carry them home.



good advice  Same goes for senior dogs. I had an old gal stop and need a rest on the opposite side of the park from where the car was...and she was way too large to carry! So we both took a break.


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## pawpower

I'm so glad I saw this thread. I too kept hearing about restricted exercise, but man, Shadow has so much energy that he plays hard and runs around the house with our older rescue dog Pepper.


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## a_ndre

I had the same doubt and after to talk with some trainner they all just say that excessive exercise is when the dog begins to want to stop and sit and you continue to insist with him, there you should stop and have a rest. My puppy with 3 months go hiking several miles and she is always chasing our adult dog and in the end she still want to play a bit more. When they are young, what all the recommend is not to walk in too soft ground like beach sand, too mud or snow.


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## Jen H

Question. About to bring home my GSD Baron - he is going to have 2 brothers and a sister (my other dogs). The males are older (9 and 12), my female (the biggest) is a bloodhound mix and is 4yrs old. She wants to play so bad. She is good with the Bassett across the street, I am getting a little concerned about her possibly being to rough with baby Baron, he will only be 9 weeks old. Of course, all play will be under our supervision. With all this said - we have a TON of stairs! Coming into the house and going into the backyard. I think he will be fine, just looking for thoughts!


We are massive dog people (hence why I am about to have 4 total) - I have been researching and educating myself on GSD's since I was about 10 yrs old! I have wanted one the majority of my life, but I also have a HUGE soft spot for rescues! 


Thanks!
Jen


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## Kylothegsd

Hi im hoping theres a doctor here orbsomeone with a similar problem. I want a second opinion on my 4.5 month old german shepherd. I got him when he was 8 weeks old (now 20) he was never an active puppy, slept a lot, didnt like running etc. He started avoiding going out and getting up a couple weeks ago. If something he wants is behinf him he will rotate with his front paws not moving the back ones. He will constantly lay down outside in the middle of a walk. He is on the heavy side, 20 weeks old and 57 pounds but surprisingly the vet said his height and overall size is also bigger than whats normal for his age ao that the weight is okay for his size. He got xrays done to check for hip dysplasia ive attaches his xrays, the vet pointed out the left femur head is smaller than the right and this is what is causing the pain, she also said he was born with this and it wont get better as he grows, hes on rimadyl 100mg and artroflex hip joint vitamins. The next step is to get xrays in december and decide if he needs a FHO wich is the removal of the femur head.


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## Joys

Interesting thread. My girl is 4 months old with a high play drive. I don't let her do a lot of jumping, but I can't imagine not letting her burn off all of the energy.


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