Hi everyone. I am new to the forum. I have read just about the entire forum + all free videos and ebooks, also bought Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months, Basic Dog Obedience, and the first couple of chapters of The Power of Training Dogs with Food and The Power of Playing Tug with Your dog.

I have a 12 week gsd from Czech heritage. I got him at 7 weeks and so far have concentrated on getting him to watch me, he knows sit and down and fetches a ball. But I mostly just bug him to watch me every few minutes around the yard and when walking in the park.

I don't want to mess him up and have loads of questions but will start off with exercise. I gather that it is not good to make him run much until he is at least 1 year old. But that long walks are good.

Would a two or three mile walk every day be too much ?

a

I am going to assume that you are using marker training with your pup.....

There are many ways to work with a puppy:

For a watch me ...just mark & reward each time the pup ramdomly looks at you while you are playing with him.

Then progress to when the pup makes eye contact with you. Over time (usually only a couple of days even with very young pups) they figure out that they make eye contact & they get a treat.

I wouldn't 'badger' the pup continuesly with this. Just mark & reward while interacting with him.

There are many ways to progress I include this into luring into a heel position or formal front position & marking & rewarding when the pup looks up at you in these positions.

Ingrid posted a linc to a great pic of her with one of her pup in a heel position & looking straight up at her when she was teaching a watch me command. I think that it was in the thread started by Will about the pup he just picked up from her.

For exercise...short walks & just playing with your pup outside is a great workout. I would not over exercise pups or young dogs. Having a pup running full speed chasing a ball can be too much. If a shot throw it is fine. But to really throw the ball far will be asking the pup to run too hard chasing it.

3 miles is too far for a young dog. Also too long walks on hard surfaces,especially pavement,or jogging, biking etc with young dogs is over exercise. Too much concusion on a young skelletal system. GSD growth plates don't close until 2 years of age. Over doing it can cause hip desplaysia & other joint issues.

I keep pups on grass as much as possible, a lot easier on their joints..... Beware when a pup is tired they are dead to the world so never walk a pup further then you can carry them back.... ROFL

My pup was about 12 weeks when he came home. I am fortunate to have a large field about 1/2 block down and we did a lot of playing there. We kept our walks to about 1/2 to 1 mile a day, spaced throughout the day. I found that giving him lots of "thinking" work, like starting the basics of obedience training, etc was what tired him out the most.

Ok. so its walks of less than one mile per day until what age approx.?

He is a very soft pup but I hope to put a BH on him if I can. If he is up to it maybe some further schutzhund training. But I want him to be a dog I can have around people without having to stress about it.

a

Let your pup be your guide. If you have a secure area that your pup can run around off leash I love it. They get to explore and really self regulate the exercise.