puppy exercise

[hitfreshairagain]

Hi Everyone,

I have read I should be giving my 16 week old pup 5 mins exercise for every month so i should be giving him 20 mins.Does this mean 20 mins exercise then his training on top of that.At the moment i give him a couple of minutes free running then call him to heel for his training Heel work,sitting but no retrieving(im doing that at home in a controlled enviroment to stop him circling)

Do i need to give him more running exersice.

Many thanks Lee

[garyb]

I don't think so.

 

You want a gundog, not an athlete - engaging their brains for 15-20 mins at a time is far better than running his legs off!

 

He's young, plenty of time for longer walks to build him up as he grows.

[kent]

pretty much as above, as an aside how much training you doing with a 16 wk old pup? Remember he is real young yet and it could be two years before he is ready for real work, ok some less but the season after this is going to be the earliest. Many don't do much at all with a pup til it is six months and he certainly don't need any intensive conditioning just keep him happy and healthy and have some fun

[Stretch]

At that age he will get all the excerise he needs just playing in the garden.

[hitfreshairagain]

thanks so much for your replies guys you have all put my mind at rest.

Thanks again for your help Lee

[SteveH]

The 5 minutes per month of age 'rule' is often repeated but it's just a rough guide and doesn't work for all dogs. When the older of my Labs was a puppy he was always on the go and although we started by following the 5 minute rule we soon upped the level of exercise he got.

Edited August 27, 2010 by SteveH