Exercise Limits For A Growing Pup?

[CarolineKeithmoore]

Hello,

Following the helpful replies to my previous topic about getting our bitch spayed, I thought I'd sound out the community about another issue that's been on my mind! Our gorgeous whippetxstandard poodle pup Stella has been getting two nice walks a day for a while now. She's about 4 and a half months old and she's obviously full of energy. She's about 19 inches to the shoulder now, and still growing. We are feeding her on a raw meaty bones diet (BARF).

We've heard so many different things about how long we should be exercising her for, ranging from 5 minutes per month, to 'don't worry about it up to about 2 hours a day'. I think at the moment (it varies), she's gets probably about 45 minutes off lead in the morning (running about madly most of the time, playing with other dogs and negotiating the 'agility courses' in the gorse and bracken), and then about 35 minutes off lead in the evening, maybe more (up to about an hour). On top of that probably about 20 minutes on lead as well.

She sometimes is a bit knackered afterwards but not excessively, and she's never been lame. she also runs up and down the stairs at home (when we let her out of the kitchen).

Someone said that it might do her legs in later if she's over-exercised now. Are we over exercising her or not??! We can't work it out. Any advice from experienced lurcher owners welcomed.

thanks,

Caroline and Keith

 

[gabbitas31]

:thumbsup: Hi Caroline and Keith, seems to me you are doing it just right, it depends a lot on the breed and size of the dog, bigger breeds like deer hound crosses should be taken a bit slower because their bones take longer to develop,.

I haven't seen a whippet x standard poodle before so i can't really comment on how big Stella will be, but i will say if you are out walking your pup and she comes to you to be picked up because she is tired you may of walked a bit to far, Good Luck with Stella she sounds a little darling, just enjoy her while she's a puppy because they grow up much to

fast and before you know it she will be one year old. (w00t) Di

 

[CarolineKeithmoore]

:thumbsup: Hi Caroline and Keith, seems to me you are doing it just right, it depends a lot on the breed and size of the dog, bigger breeds like deer hound crosses should be taken a bit slower because their bones take longer to develop,.I haven't seen a whippet x standard poodle before so i can't really comment on how big Stella will be, but i will say if you are out walking your pup and she comes to you to be picked up because she is tired you may of walked a bit to far, Good Luck with Stella she sounds a little darling, just enjoy her while she's a puppy because they grow up much to

fast and before you know it she will be one year old. (w00t) Di

Hiya,

thanks for taking the time to reply. We timed it this morning and realised we may be walking more like an hour in the morning, but she never seems totally exhausted afterwards. As no-one else has stepped in to give a different answer, e.g. saying we're walking her too much for this age, I guess we can assume that most other people checking this thread agree with you. Here's a picture of her for good measure!

 

[peppermint lady]

:wub: shes lovely, and i also think what your doing with her is fine :thumbsup:

if she had company at home (another dog) she would spend half the day running around the place as well as her 2 walks! :teehee:

 

[Debbie b]

she is lovely, looking at her you wouldn't say poodle x

i recommend you keep doing what your doing and she will let you know if she needs more exercise,

i am one for letting pups have lots of free running as they know their own boundaries, seeing that she is a single dog

 

[Tigernidster]

It seems rather excessive to me.

If your puppy is running with other dogs then 15 minutes would be about enough. On its own I would say 30 minutes as long as it is only having bursts of speed.

While pups are growing, the growth plates (ends of leg bones) are soft and "open" which makes them easily damaged and can even become moved out of alignment. Puppies should not be allowed to run too much is because you don't want them to develop muscle before the growth plates close ( muscle develops quicker than bone) and strong muscles at a young age prevent the bone from developing as it should.

You can end up with a lame puppy or an arthritic young dog in later life.

My own pup is 8 months and I am building up her free running slowly and steadily although I know she would love to run much more than she does!

 

[gabbitas31]

:thumbsup: Hi Caroline and Keith, seems to me you are doing it just right, it depends a lot on the breed and size of the dog, bigger breeds like deer hound crosses should be taken a bit slower because their bones take longer to develop,.I haven't seen a whippet x standard poodle before so i can't really comment on how big Stella will be, but i will say if you are out walking your pup and she comes to you to be picked up because she is tired you may of walked a bit to far, Good Luck with Stella she sounds a little darling, just enjoy her while she's a puppy because they grow up much to

fast and before you know it she will be one year old. (w00t) Di

Hiya,

thanks for taking the time to reply. We timed it this morning and realised we may be walking more like an hour in the morning, but she never seems totally exhausted afterwards. As no-one else has stepped in to give a different answer, e.g. saying we're walking her too much for this age, I guess we can assume that most other people checking this thread agree with you. Here's a picture of her for good measure!

Stella looks like a fine girl, very sweet. :thumbsup: Just enjoy her.Di

 

[twinkletoes dylan]

she's a stunner, you must be very pleased with her. as long as she doesn't gallop around like a lunatic the whole walk she will let you know when shes doing too much.

 

[Tigernidster]

she will let you know when shes doing too much.

that's the problem ....she won't.

 

[CarolineKeithmoore]

she will let you know when shes doing too much.

that's the problem ....she won't.

Hi, thanks Enid. I think on balance that we will keep a more careful eye on how much 'lunatic' running she does in one walk. If she's done a whole lot, say with other dogs, I think we'll turn back and come home sooner than we have been. It's hard cos we enjoy walking, we enjoy seeing her run, and we enjoy having her sleep at home! But I really would hate to do anything to damage her or cause her pain later on. I'm also going to make sure that her second walk of the day is shorter - so she only gets 15 mins free running on in the afternoon instead of about 30mins. It won't be long til she's full grown and we can walk to our hearts content, after all. I don't think she'll grow too much now anyway, so hopefully we haven't already done damage But she's definitely never been lame, so I should think that's a good sign. Thanks to everyone else as well for the encouragement and compliments We are so proud of her, we think she's absolutely a stunning little dog, one of a kind! :wub:

 

[Tigernidster]

Thank you for taking it is it is meant. I am not trying to spoil your fun - quite the opposite. In the long run it will pay off and your lovely dog will be strong and able to run happily for hours.

Personally I find it so hard to put Lily back on the lead while the others are running but I know it will not be for ever.

Enjoy your pup. x

 

[CarolineKeithmoore]

Thank you for taking it is it is meant. I am not trying to spoil your fun - quite the opposite. In the long run it will pay off and your lovely dog will be strong and able to run happily for hours.
Personally I find it so hard to put Lily back on the lead while the others are running but I know it will not be for ever.

Enjoy your pup. x

well thanks for the advice. We've cut back to no more than 30 minutes or so at a time and keeping an eye on the lunatic running with other dogs. have had to sometimes give her two 20 minutes in the afternoon though as she's a bit more of a pest than she was when she was tired out from the hours' walk! Still it will be worth it when she's older. love, Caroline xx

 

[dale.kaf]

think youve got your hands on a very interesting and beautiful dog. Im sat here with our two terriers, two lurchers (mother and daughter) and a big old wooley heap in the middle, the wooley heap being Dylan, a 14 year old black standard poodle. Although now and sadly he cant do many of the things he used to do in his younger days, he was an excellent bushing dog. I think everything you are doing is right, more than anything the diet and from my expierience its the best option you could have opted for. Diet is also a big part in a pups development and I think you have got the balance right. One thing I would say with regards to Dylan from being a pup to now as an old man is heat really does not agree with him, and even though we all take precautions with regards to overheating his tolerance is so much lower to our other dogs and high summer :lol: yes it happens the odd day. really isnt a good time for him, other than that would be really interested to know how her coat turns out, coz that big lump get his coat chopped more times than we get ours done. Hope you all have a good old time.

 

[milly]

We put rock sulpher in our dogs drinking bowl in the summer, that helps them from over heating :thumbsup:

 

[meddling]

Stella is turning into a stunning young lady, will you need to have her clipped do you think? Just interested whether her coat has enough whippet in it to stop it growing and to moult out.

Please update us with pics as she matures..she really is a babe!

 

[CarolineKeithmoore]

Stella is turning into a stunning young lady, will you need to have her clipped do you think? Just interested whether her coat has enough whippet in it to stop it growing and to moult out.
Please update us with pics as she matures..she really is a babe!

Hey, thanks Meddling and Dale.kaf! :b We think she's a stunner...really pleased as we took some time to track down this cross and drove all the way from Hastings to near Nottingham to fetch her :b She's just about 5 months old now, and her coat has been changing a lot in the last month or so. She's been getting longer around the face since she was quite young (the beard first, then the eyebrows!), but now she's fluffing up and thickening up all over. Her legs are getting furrier too. We didn't realise how furry she was getting til she took a dip in the pond the other week (not sure if she fell or jumped...but yes she can swim ) and came out looking tiny underneath it all...little whippety thing! We keep taking photos cos she's changing so much as she grows. A groomer thought she'd get quite a bit longer from 7 months or so (hormones??) but we're waiting and seeing. Doesn't look as if she'll be curly as such, and she does moult a little at the moment, but not heavily. Her fur is very soft as well. And as well as the lovely coat she's got the most beautiful poised shape, like whippet but with an upward turned tail, looking more like schnauzer or patterdale possibly, but finer and more elegant. Anyway I'll stop rabbiting on about how beautiful our dog is now You can also see photos of her siblings on the WhippetXPoodle thread under the Lurcher discussions. We found her through this forum, through the lovely Amanda (finleyfoofoo). Will def keep you updated with pics.... here's one for starters :wub:

 

[Debbie b]

she is turning out to be a very lovely looking girl, i don't think there will be any need to trim her coat as i don't think it will grow much more, as poodles are more heavy coated at that age and need their first trim, my friends in portsmouth have a greyhoundx st poopdle and to look at him you wouls think he was either a beddyx or bearded collie x

good luck with her and hope to see her at the shows this year

 

[CarolineKeithmoore]

she is turning out to be a very lovely looking girl, i don't think there will be any need to trim her coat as i don't think it will grow much more, as poodles are more heavy coated at that age and need their first trim, my friends in portsmouth have a greyhoundx st poopdle and to look at him you wouls think he was either a beddyx or bearded collie xgood luck with her and hope to see her at the shows this year

Hi Debbie,

I think you're right we won't need to clip her as although she's getting longer and fluffier by the day it isn't really like poodle fur. Like you say it looks much more like collie or bearded collie x. we will show her though there aren't many shows or gamefairs down south where we are. there's the sussex one in the summer though and we'll enter her :b love, Caroline