walks vs offleash play

[imported_nea]

What is better excersize? I guess an offleash walk is the best, but I don't feel comfortalbe enough yet to let Web off leash on the paths where we might meet other dogs (and people). So is it better to take a walk with him or let him run free in the woods? I want him to be tired but not over tired, and get the excersize he needs. Now I do both, sometiems let him run and othertimes let him off leash for play time. I'm also a bit worried that I'm giving him too much excersize. In a book about flatties I got at the library it gives this table for how long a walk they should have:
3 months - 10 minutes
4 months - 15 minutes
5 months - 20 minutes
6 months - 30 minutes
7 months - 40 minutes
8 months - 50 minutes
9 months - 1 hour
I often am out more than 40 minutes with him, especially if all his walks/play times are combined. Somehow I loose track of time when I'm out with him... The other day I was planning on being gone for about 20 minutes and ended up being out for about 2 hours! :roll: Is it bad for him to get more excerzie than those guidelines say? Will it hurt him physically somehow? Will be get dependant on it? If I go somewhere and my mom/someone else has to look after him for a week or two I don't want him to be completely unrully if he doesn't get hours of outside time a day.

One more question. There are two courses I want to take that start in March, one is like a contination of the "young-dog" course he just finished, the other is an intruductory to competitive obedience (his trainer said today that she thinks he is advanced enough and that we have such good contact that he is ready for taht! :D ) but they are on Wednesday and Thursday. Which means he wouldn't get any days rest between the two classes. Can he handle it? I don't want him to get stressed out or anything. I don't want him to feel the same about his "school" as I do about mine. Should I just take one course? Or can he do both?

[kendalyn]

I think you'll have the answers to your questions by watching him. Does he seem tired out after your long walks? Does he seem unruly when he gets a shorter walk? He'll pretty much let you know if he's too worn out, and if that happens, just scale it back a bit. Play it by ear and take your cues from him.

I don't think the class on Wednesday and Thursday would be a problem for him at all, but if it seems to be than maybe only go one day. But a young dog like him should really be able to handle it just fine. You could do a shorter walk on those days if you think he needs it.

[imported_Kat]

Walking and not running all over the place builds up muscle so when you walk, keep him on the lead for most of the walk, then let him off where you can to have a decent run, but remember his growth plates in his bones will not be fully closed over yet and rampaging exercise isn't good for that. As part of Agility training to build up muscle a group of us in our club walk our dogs a few miles on lead instead of letting them go buck mad in a field like most people. It really is important no matter what the age.

As far as the class goes, yeah take him of course. The trainer should understand that he is a young puppy and will need to take breaks, in order to prevent boredom, but if the trainer is good he/she will ensure that training is motivational and fun for Webby :wink:

It sounds as if his obedience is coming on great Nea, you have done so well in rearing him :wink:

[TDG]

as long as you aren't subjecting him to strenuous exercise like long-distance running (especially on asphalt and other hard surfaces) or long hikes in difficult terrain etc., you will be fine.

both exercise (as in walking) and play (as in off leash, playing fetch etc.) are important. it's not only the skeletal muscles that need conditioning, but also the cardiovascular system - which gets exercised when the dog's pulse and breathing rate increase from romping and playing.

exercise requirements are a very individual thing, and as long as you don't do any heavy road work with your dog before he is old enough, there is no harm if you spend a lot of time with him outdoors.

going by my own dogs i have owned in the past and own now, at 6 months none of them would have been happy with only a 1/2-hour walk daily, not even if that would include another dog to romp and play with.

[MajiesMom]

I think you're doing okay. Walking IMO isn't really exercise especially for large breeds. I would interprete the table as non-stop hard activitiy like running.
If you're not comfortable with the recall your dog can get just as much freedom with a harness and long lead, I use a 40ft lead.

[imported_nea]

Ok :) Thanks for the advice. :) How much exhuberant running/leaping/playing is bad for him? He loves playing and playing wild, which is fun, but I don't want it to harm him. He also gets to climb/jump up on stones and picnic tables when were out, his trainer says its good for his selfconfidence :wink: . Could that hurt him? He has never shown any signs of pain from his playing, but considering this is the dog who eats cellphones, turkeybones, slabs of fudge and anything else he can steal I don't really trust his judgement on whats best for him.

If you're not comfortable with the recall your dog can get just as much freedom with a harness and long lead, I use a 40ft lead.

Wow thats long! What is it made of? I've tried tying a long rope thats made out of plasticy stuff to his collar and letting that drag so I can step on I didn't like that. The things we used in his class for longer distance were basicly the same except they had hooks on them, and thats the only thing I've seen in stores here too. But are there plain leashes that are 40 feet or so? That might work better. I've been thinking about getting a Flexi too, the 8 meter one. I'm not sure how long that is in feet.. It wouldn't get tangled then either. But I don't perticuarly like retractable leads.. Usually his recall is pretty good, but I'm worried that he might see antoher dog or kid and get so excited that he wouldn't come. Adn I've heard people say they kick away dogs that come up to them and their dogs. :x I'm scared of what I'd do if someone kicked my Webby! :o Were doing lots of practising with his recall though so hopefully soon I'll feel comfortable enough to have him loose.

[TDG]

you could buy a tracking lead, but they can be quite expensive.

sturdy nylon rope, such as the type used by rock climbers only cost pennies per foot and you can have them cut to any length you want. buy a snap hook (often also carried by stores that sell this kind of rope) or take an old one from a leash you no longer use. these nylon ropes knot well, so you don't have to be afraid of anything coming loose.