 puppy energy needs draining!!!
#383037 - 09/16/2013 06:06 PM |
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Hello, I just got a 5mon old malinois, she is an absolute ball of pure craziness!!;-) What age is ok to start running and biking with her? What about a easy paced 20min run? What about rough housing with my other dog, playing ball etc?? And if none of these things for now I need suggestions on what to do to tire her out. I work full time, my fiancée can let her potty mid day but being crated for all night and then part of day I feel guilty, I took her for a 30min walk before work and another walk tonight plus playtime with our other dog. I imagine she needs more than this but don't want to risk damaging her joints etc. What do you folks with high energy dogs do while still in the growing phase?
old age means realizing you will never own all the dogs you wanted to- unknown |
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Re: puppy energy needs draining!!!
[Re: Cat Richter ]
#383038 - 09/16/2013 06:15 PM |
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I like lots of backyard play for young dogs and puppies. It's easier on the joints than running and lets them work out more energy. Tug, flirt poles, throwing a ball...all of these are good ways to help her run around without much risk to joints.
From what I understand, it's best to wait until about 1 year for most larger breed dogs before taking them running and 2 years for giant breeds. I would ask my vet for recommendations as well. They may have a better idea of when you can expect the growth plates to close, but I would run or bike with a dog before that.
Right now, I'm in the stage where my puppy (6 month old St. Bernard/Belgian Malinois mix) is as big as an adult, but still needs his joints babied and yes...it does get "interesting" wearing him out!  Good luck!
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Re: puppy energy needs draining!!!
[Re: Cat Richter ]
#383039 - 09/16/2013 06:51 PM |
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Definitely for puppies its best to let them play naturally. I wouldn't encourage a developing puppy to run all-out when its in high drive because they will ignore pain. If they are just playing and do short sprints its fine. As far as structured play and drive building, I'd stick to toys on a rope rather than tossing a ball (esp kongs because they bounce all over the place causing them to turn sharply). Just because a puppy can do something, doesn't mean it should. I also wouldn't try to wear her out with long walks, but wear her out with backyard play instead.
Instead of methodical walks on the side walk...for a puppy I'd do more walks at a park on a long line, let her be a pup and speed up slow down, sniff, catch up. As they mature they need more and more structure mentally and physically they can handle more structured exercise.
A tired dog is a good dog, a trained dog is a better dog. |
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Re: puppy energy needs draining!!!
[Re: Cat Richter ]
#383042 - 09/16/2013 09:58 PM |
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5 mos is a really tough age. The muscles are weak and the bones are soft. There is a ton of energy and it's hard to burn it off safely.
Swimming is good, going to a lake and throwing sticks, allowing the dog to get wet and zoom in the sand is safe and tiring.
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Playing hide and seek in the house, "Where's (your roommate/partner)?" Then the other person calls the dog, when it comes gives a treat. That's a great winter game.
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Re: puppy energy needs draining!!!
[Re: Cat Richter ]
#383043 - 09/16/2013 10:19 PM |
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Swimming x100 is a great way to wear her out. Also, teaching her how to be calm when you tell her to be calm is beneficial for later in life. Giving her a doggy puzzle or high value chew to work on helps a lot, too.
I have puppy fever!
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Re: puppy energy needs draining!!!
[Re: Cat Richter ]
#383045 - 09/16/2013 11:34 PM |
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Scent games can surprisingly take a lot out of a dog/pup.
old dogs LOVE to learn new tricks |
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Re: puppy energy needs draining!!!
[Re: Cat Richter ]
#383047 - 09/17/2013 07:57 AM |
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thanks for all the great ideas!! I will have to take her to the beach today for a swim! Hide and seek is a great idea but we live in a 2bed bsmt suite lol. And yes I def wanna do tracking with her, our old dutch shep exceled at it and was tons of fun!
In all honesty I wanted an older dog so I could go running right away, our dutch shep was 9 and running daily with me then went in for a minor problem and found out she had incurable cancer all throughout her body and she was gone 3wks later....3 mon prior we had to put our 17yr old dog down that I had had since I was 10.....We haven't had a puppy in 7yrs since our cane corso. So I think I blocked out all the bad parts of puppyhood given what nice dogs all of mine ended up being. But a malinois and dutch shep are hard to find locally and we had been searching rescues etc but needed a dog/cat friendly one which are harder to comeby, then she popped up locally so we went to see her and ended up getting a puppy!
old age means realizing you will never own all the dogs you wanted to- unknown |
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Re: puppy energy needs draining!!!
[Re: Cat Richter ]
#383048 - 09/17/2013 07:59 AM |
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we named her havoc
old age means realizing you will never own all the dogs you wanted to- unknown |
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Re: puppy energy needs draining!!!
[Re: Cat Richter ]
#383052 - 09/17/2013 09:41 AM |
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Havoc is a great name for a Mal puppy, very fitting. Boy, does your situation bring back a wash of memories we had with our Mal, Bailey. With all the walks, the games of fetch and play with toys, the two things that seemed to wear her down the most was the obedience/marker training classes and the nose work (hide and seek) games we played with her. Eventually, when she got to be about 1 year old, the agility training we did with her also wore her out pretty good. The training classes were effective because she had to use her brain as well has just exercise her body, even if it was just to learn to behave around other people and dogs. Good luck and enjoy the ride!
 Bailey
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Re: puppy energy needs draining!!!
[Re: Cat Richter ]
#383057 - 09/17/2013 12:01 PM |
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Perfect name!
A tired dog is a good dog, a trained dog is a better dog. |
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