Exercising a German Shepherd Puppy Health

Could anyone tell me how you exercise your german shepherd puppy? My friend has just got one and its 10wks old. It is her 2nd or 3rd day out today and she took her out for an hour .... Now i have a ESS puppy she is 4mths old an i only take her out for about 30 - 40 min at the most. Even i think that may be a bit too much but thats with lead training as well.

Im seriously thinking she will damage its hips as they dont exactly have the best hip scores to start with

Any views??

Yes it does sound a lot as you say, maybe if some of that is just stood around with her chatting then it isnt so bad, but it does sound a lot for free running and definitely for 4pounding the pavements.

We have 4 1/2 month ESS that we take for roughly the same as you, some of that time is spent with him slowly sniffing around and sometimes play running around with other dogs, very little only a minute or so is usually spent on the pavement walking because most of our walks are in fields.

Ridiculous amount of walking for a 10 week old puppy. Has the puppy even had all it's vaccinations yet?

A 10 week old puppy does not need "exercise" like a fit, fully grown adult dog does. A young pup needs to be exposed to lots of different situations (meeting people, other dogs/animals, new places, etc.) and have plenty of socialization. That is FAR more important (and tiring!) than walking the legs off a pup at such a tender age.

I'm guessing your friend did not get this puppy from a reputable breeder as otherwise they would be aware of the dangers of over exercising.

10 weeks, I'm surprised if she actually is out for an hour walking it - most would sit down before then. Maybe she is exaggerating a bit. I hope so 10 weeks old and out in this weather....even without the hip/elbow issue.

I think for a GSD pup they recommend 5 minutes for every month of their life i.e. 3 months old = 15 minute walk.
My breeder said she didn't believe in that and said the pup would tell us when she was tired, but I didn't subscribe to that just as well in my case I think now! Stairs are a bit of a no no too of course.

^^This is a good guide.

Ive told her the 5min per month thing but she said that the feild is a 10 min walk so she would never just get 15min. i keep going on at her but its just not sinking in. she is extremly good with dogs as well. Her mam has always had rescues tho and they have all been near a year old so she takes them on 4-6 hr walks straight away. My friend said she didnt watch her oldests dogs exercise but i have to keep reminding as he is so small he was prob fully grown at 6mths. She is going to have massive problems later on if she keeps walking her like this.

Ive said i woulnt mention it to her again but im finding it very hard to bite my tongue. I dont want it to look like im nagging her all the time but when her dog is sleeping hours after a walk.... its too far

you could maybe print some advise off the net and show it to her...google search should do it

What a shame, maybe encouraging her to do some training with her pup, you and your pup too, might let her realise they get just as tired.....?

He's only been alive 10 weeks! Such a short time.

i think she is just so keen to get her out. I dont think she is off lead all the time and she does stop and talk to people. Its just 10wks is extremly young for that amount of walking. she has had all vacs

Have I missed the pictures of your pup?

Yes I think that is too much for a GSD. Try suggesting they use treat balls etc and train it a bit. That should help tire it out.

rune

There you are Rune, just put some new ones on lol http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?p=2110936#post2110936

Yeah im trying to change her mind about the amount of walks she gives her but she is such an active person. her other dog usually goes out for 4hrs a day

Your friend will not damage her puppies hips, but she will damage the growth plates in her long bones(legs)she could very well end up with a dog that had bowed legs & joint problems

The 5 mins per month isn't just for GSDs it'd for all breeds & protects the puppy's joints & growth plates.

I've only been a GSD owner since 1958 & I would never ever exercise a puppy for so long at this age. I'm surprised the breeder didn't give her a diet & rearing list/booklet.

I think she thinks that since she is a big dog she needs the walks. But as i keep telling her this is not the case. Id rather a dog play in the house than go for a long walk. esp when they are puppies. Lets see waht the up coming weeks show. Lets hope she realises what she is doiing

People actually have the time to walk their dogs for 4 hours every day? seems a little excessive. Poor pup.

Puppies IME are always over exercised and adults under exercised.

I am not sure why there is this overwhelming desire to walk the legs off a pup apart from finding the energy levels annoying in the house!

No dog of any breed really requires much exercise under 6 months that it cannot get from the garden, house and short forays in the appropriate spots.

The vaccination issue is not a major one necessarily, my GSD was on the floor at 7 weeks and I do not have mine vaccinated until 9 weeks when they are not under the stress of moving etc etc. In a breed such as the GSD I find socialisation and habituation more important than vaccination issues (more dogs are euthanised due to behaviour problems than contracting a disease) but individual owners must make their own decisions based on the environment in which they live.

What is more important than exercise per se particularly for a breed such as the GSD is exposure to life in general in order that it matures into a competent and confident adult.

However you have to face the fact that the dog belongs to someone else and you can take a horse to water but you cannot make it drink!

As already stated th epup's hips won't be damaged by walking but if there is already an underlying problerm that the owner doesn't yet know about, this can be exacerbated by exccessive walking.

I have been around GSDs my whole life. My adult dogs get 2 40/45 min walks (pavement walks) per day and then they get an hour or so, maybe up to 2 hours in the park. This includes free running, walking, snuffling through hedges etc and a fair amount of training.
So it seems to me this young pup will endup walking further than my adult GSDs in a short spce of time. It's too much.

If I were you I would keep on. The owner should realise that you only have the dog's best interests at heart and if nagging gets the owner to listen (if only to get yout o shut up and leave her alone about it) then it's worth it IMO.

if she's trying to wear the dog out she'll certainly do that - although my lot would have laid down and gone to sleep on the pavement if I'd forced them to walk too far. Can she not try some mental stimulation in the house? The pup would beworn out without any physical problems more easily and will get more out of training than being dragged around the streets.

Thought i better have my input seeing as though i'm the owner. She was nearly 11 weeks when i started taking her out, vacs 8 and 10 weeks. I have said a couple of times that i've taken Kirah out for an hour but as also said this was including the time it took me to get me and my son wrapped and then the dogs cleaned upon return. The walk also did have stops (shops, child etc etc). She is 14 weeks now and usually gets 2 30min walks a day. She does sleep a bit more but still likes to play most of the day. The works are not strenuous at all. She tends to stay at my side and may chase a bird but comes straight back. So she isn't doing a great deal, my other dog wont look at her out on a walk. Personally i don't think a 30 min heel walk is a huge deal for her, she certainly isn't suffering from it. I wont be taking her on my usual walks for a long long time. Also i usually do training with her out on the field while the other one is peeing on every piece of grass.

Oh no she wasnt, it was her 2nd or 3rd walk as stated on the beginning of the thread and you said it was for an hour. Even the walks after you said it was all for one hour and that you didnt think it was that bad for a dog that age...... :-|

I didn't take her out until the sunday, she was 11 weeks on the tuesday rofl oi check your messages again missy, i said that included all the prep. You're trying to make me sound bad