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Exercise and Stimulate Your Puppy
We call it The Puppy Craze because you have probably seen it by 6 months. One minute, your precious little pup will be sleepy and calm, and the next he will be insane. Your puppy will run around the living room in circles, bouncing up and down on furniture, and act crazy for a few minutes. Don’t worry, your puppy isn’t possessed.
The puppy craze is normal and healthy, it provides a quick energy release as a response to all of the puppy energy bottled up inside. The day’s exercise doesn’t include a burst of excitement. You should be taking your puppy on long walks, running in the park or playing fetch at least once a day by 6 months.
It is crucial to provide your puppy with exercise and stimulation on a daily basis as they grow up. The most effective way to stop chewing, digging and barking at this age is by providing adequate physical and mental stimulation. If you don’t have time to take your pup to the park or on long walks, you can enroll in puppy daycare to get that energy released while you are working. A tired dog is a good dog.
How Much Puppy Exercise is Too Much for Large Breeds?
Large dogs are prone to joint problems. For the most part, it is true that mixed breeds are less likely to have health problems. Even though mixed breed dogs have the same chance of developing issues like hip dysplasia and other common medical issues as their purebred counterparts, you should still be aware of their size.
What do we know?
Large dogs take a long time to develop despite their shorter lifespan. Your exercise times should be shorter for younger people.
Even if your four-month-old German Shepherd is more than happy to keep up with you on a long hike, you should save that kind of exercise for when they are older. You won’t want to start agility training early because large breeds don’t develop fully until they’re 15 months old. Bigger problems in the future can be caused by strain in underdeveloped joints.
You should allow your puppy to sleep when she wants to. She will be able to rest when her body tells her it is time.
Joint supplements can help promote healthy joints. Pick the best joint supplement for your dog’s breed and age. You still have to be aware of their joints when you exercise, but joint supplements can give you some peace of mind when you do.
There are rumors.
There is a lot of talk about puppy health and exercise, and some of it is alarmist. You would go crazy if you tried to follow every preventative measure on the internet.
Large breed puppies are not allowed to run on hard surfaces and are not allowed to jump or twist. We all want to keep our puppies safe and healthy, but some behaviors are unpreventable.
Tips for Safe Large Puppy Exercise
There are a few things you can teach your puppy and that you should keep in mind as you learn how much and how often she needs exercise.
She needs to learn how to walk on a leash. Puppies tend to see leashes as toys in the beginning. Before your puppy is wiggling around on the ground with the leash in their mouth, you might only get a few paces.
You can keep their attention away from the leash by carrying treats and working on skills like sitting. One of the safest forms of puppy exercise is walking with a leash, as they will get used to it over time.
You have to think about how long to walk a puppy. Work your way up to longer walks with short, slow-paced walks. Don’t start jogging with your large breed dog until they’re at least 6 months old, and keep the jogs short until they’re at least 15 months old.
Don’t walk at the hottest and coldest parts of the day. Puppy pads are sensitive, if the sidewalk or pavement is hot or cold, it can cause cracking or blisters that will make it difficult for them to stand and walk. It’s a good idea to exercise your puppy with short walks on hot days.
So, How Much Puppy Exercise and How Often?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. It is possible to exercise a puppy too much under the umbrella of large breed dogs.
Understanding how much sleep a dog needs is one way to gauge how much exercise a dog should get. Puppies sleep anywhere from 18 to 20 hours a day. If your mastiff puppy only gives you 4 to 6 waking hours a day, you should be prepared.
Only a fraction of the waking hours should be spent on exercise. If you have puppies six months or younger, plan on two to three bouts of high-impact exercise lasting around 10 minutes each. It could mean two walks up and down the block a day and one game of fetch.
Work in one to two bouts of physical activity. It lasts about ten minutes each. You don’t have to take away the toys with treats after ten minutes, but don’t hide their bones for too long.
When it comes to puppies walking, you can gradually increase these times as your puppy gets older. It will be okay by the time they are one year old.
You will need to learn to read your dog. Let them sleep if they are ready.
They suddenly get the zoomies and want to crash all over your house if it is time for them to sleep. That doesn’t mean they are awake. Just like toddlers, puppies can get tired. As soon as you get them calmed down and into bed, they will fall asleep.
What We Do Know
Large dogs take a long time to develop despite their shorter lifespan. Your exercise times should be shorter for younger people.
Even if your four-month-old German Shepherd is more than happy to keep up with you on a long hike, you should save that kind of exercise for when they are older. You won’t want to start agility training early because large breeds don’t develop fully until they’re 15 months old. Bigger problems in the future can be caused by strain in underdeveloped joints.
You should allow your puppy to sleep when she wants to. She will be able to rest when her body tells her it is time.
Joint supplements can help promote healthy joints. Pick the best joint supplement for your dog’s breed and age. You still have to be aware of their joints when you exercise, but joint supplements can give you some peace of mind when you do.
