How far to walk my puppy?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

Our Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppy is now just over 5 months old. We are being told than on no account should she be walked for any more than 25 mins. This appears far short of what she actually wants; indeed until we were told she’d happly run around off the lead for an hour or more. I can understand 5mins/month for small ‘soft’ breeds or the larger heavy breeds due to bone/muscle formation, but can someone give us some breed specific advice?

Thanks.

[Val]

Hallo and Welcome
There is no breed specfic for walking as for soft breeds I do not understand what you mean, 5 mins per month is a guide for all dogs, Staffies need good bone if you let her run about off lead she will just burn of all you have put in.
What is more important is what you feed her some foods make dogs hyper
Val

[tri 'n snatch it bonnie girl]

Hi and welcome 🙂

I agree with Val – for pups it should be 5 minutes per month (so 5 x 5 = 25) mins a day.

You shouldnt be thinking of walks to tire the puppy out – walks are more about good training (so your puppy walks nicely, obeys you and greets other dogs nicely).  Most of this would be on the lead – getting them used to all different environments.

Your puppy will be growing and she needs every bit of nutrition from a good balanced diet to make sure her organs grow healthy, her muscles grow strong and her bones and joints form properly so they can last her a lifetime of playing and running 🙂

Tiny or Huge … an incorrect or insufficient supply of nutrients as a puppy can lead to potentially expensive and or life shortening issues.

What training have you done so far ?  Theres nothing like a good bit of training to really poop a young puppy out 🙂 

Claire x

[kizkiznobite]

hi and welcome  🙂

i would go that little bit more than and say that unless you know the breeding of your pup and know that parents were both health checked with good scoreresults then even 5 mins per month is on the outer side…so many ‘modern’ bred staffies have poor joint genetics to build on…

whats her affix?

[Justine&Rafe]

Just an add on – some dogs are just hyper.

I can understand where Amber1008 is coming from.  A few of you have met my loon, and he ADORES being out.  He IS hyper almost all the time.  As a puppy I walked him within what I guestimated were reasonable limits – as a little-un this was easy to see, but as an older pup, of, say 6 months, he would happily have done 20 miles if I’d let him.  If I’d had to cope on 30 mins per day I think I’d have gotten rid of him.  He didn’t do long walks so much as play out in a yard within a large estate all day.

Is it suggested that outside of the 5/month/day rule you should keep your dog from running around at all?

And at what age is it suggested that it is ok to go outside these boundaries?

NB I will pay for giving Rafe as much exercise as his mental health needed – he already shows signs of OCD (joint deterioration) and is on glucosamine tablets (he isn’t yet 2).  The vet advised us at 12 months that he should be limited to short, on lead only walks, no ball or stick chasing for 12 months, at which point the OCD may have been improved.

I made the decision to put his mental health first, and do whatever else I could to help him – he swims lots, has the glucosamine, but he also goes on mega long walks, enjoying every second.  And he’ll probably need to be put down at a younger age from joint problems.  It’s a choice I made for him, and I think it’s the right one.

I know this comes across as quite argumentative, but I just don’t get at where such figures are taken from.  And most dogs who are predisposed to joint problems are likely to get them whether or not they had restricted walks early on in life.

[Val]

I would think the exercise limits  came from responsible breeders as you have found out it wears the joints out quick we always limit exercise with pups and believe me there is nothing as lively as a beardie, but there are other ways of wearing a dog out.
I treat the pekes the same, I have never had bad joints in either breed.
Val

[Anonymous]

All,

Thanks for your replies. Didn’t mean to offend anyone about the ‘soft breeds’ comment, I just referred to less muscular breeds, and ones not pre-disposed to plenty of boisterous fun.

Anyway, have regulated her walks, but we go more often – so all in all she’s getting plenty of fun off the lead and at puppy classes.

Thanks. 🙂

[Val]

Pleased pooch is doing well you have not affended anyone, I just did not understand what you were saying as soft breed was not a term I had ever heard.
I have been sitting here trying to think of a breed that doesn’t like plenty of boisterous fun all breeds do and all breeds have muscle even the tiny Chi’s have to have muscle it’s just all relative to the dogs size
Val

[quote author=Amber1008 link=topic=13945.msg266819#msg266819 date=1241985287]
All,

Thanks for your replies. Didn’t mean to offend anyone about the ‘soft breeds’ comment, I just referred to less muscular breeds, and ones not pre-disposed to plenty of boisterous fun.

Anyway, have regulated her walks, but we go more often – so all in all she’s getting plenty of fun off the lead and at puppy classes.

Thanks. 🙂
[/quote]

[Author]

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