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My dog is around 60lbs, active & healthy, and almost 3 years old. Every day she gets approx an hour of exercise. 15 min walk/30min fetch/15 min walk. Some days a little more, some days a little less. She NEVER wants to stop with the fetch... she lives and breathes for that tennis ball. She would play fetch for hours on end if I would allow it. That's where she gets in most of her exercise... tearing after the ball. Since we began this exercise routine, she's slimmed down quite a bit and seems to have gained muscle definition.
I worry sometimes that it's too much. I know that when people exercise, they are supposed alternate days to avoid overdoing it. Is it the same for dogs? When I don't take her out a day I can tell she's frustrated. However, some days I can tell she has sore muscles from her workout... when this happens I give her a gentle massage which she LOVES. I do always check her over for any joint pain/swelling/heat & I make sure to check her feet & pads as well.
I think I am going to tone down Riley's exercise, but I would like to hear from everyone- what is your exercise routine for your dog? Do you exercise your dogs every single day? Or do you do an every other day thing, or four days/rest, ect? Has anyone ever had a dog become injured from overdoing it? Please give me some insight... I want to do what's best for my doggo!
I have a very unlikely active breed, but my Bulldog would chase the ball or frisbee for hours if I let him. He has amazing muscle definition and is extremely quick. We usually let him run for 30 minutes, then let him rest, then 30 minutes again. When he gets exhausted before the 30 minutes is up, he will bring the frisbee or ball back, and lay down on top of it, as if to say he's had enough. I think as long as your dog is willing to play, there is no reason to stop! Oh, and we take him to the park to play every day!
We have a pretty active dog that we have to exercise vigorously in order to wear him out enough that he won't act out too much due to his rather substantial crate anxiety. We generally do three 45-minute walks a day, weather permitting. He's not much for catch, but he does like to run around off leash (only place we can do that is the dogpark, though, as he learned how to get over our backyard fence). We did find that that much exercise did make him underweight when eating the prescribed amount of food for his size, so we had to start feeding him more, at the vet's recommendation.
While it does depend on what breed to some extent. I do think it is difficult to over exercise a dog. There are some dogs that do have to put limits on especially on hot days as they will keep going until they drop but you have to consider that breeds like herding breeds , sledding breeds and even many hunting breeds were bred to run very long distances. It would take alot for the averange pet owner to over execise them.
My soon to be 14 yr old Jazz still does two walks a day that are 30-60 minutes each then countless hours of fetch when I have the time. When she was 3 it was impossible to tire her out as God knows I tried. Even my sighthound who is somewhat of a couch potatoe goes on the 2 walks a day and a good run at the dog park and will play fetch off and on during the day. My dogs do agility so keeping them lean and in top form is important.
Thanks everyone for the input. Maybe I'm just being too much of a worrier. Riley's pretty mellow around the house, but runs her heart out when we go for our walk/fetch. She has never once stopped playing as if to say "Ok, I'm tired." If I try to make her take a break she sits there and tries to push the ball into my hand, even if she's panting heavily. I do bring plenty of water for her.
With a high energy dog, all you really need to worry about is making sure that you're feeding her enough to support for all the energy she's expending. Monitor her and make any adjustments you need in her feeding.
bailey loves nothing better than to go tearing through the woods at top speed..... and will go and go for over an hour if its cool enough..... one of these days, i am going to plan a half day or more for her to be out there and see how long she actually does go before she gives up.... unfortunately, we are limited to an hour or so for our morning walks..... when it gets warm, she will stop and lay down for a couple of minutes until she cools off enough to go again..... she does come out and check on my location at fairly short intervals.... but once she is assured of where i am, she is off again like she was shot out of a cannon..... she is a 5 y/o cattle dog mix and her stamina amazes me...... when it involves activities she enjoys......
dave loves to play chase (as the chasee) when we go to the dog park.... but he only lasts about 30-45 minutes or so and is ready for a good long break..... which i guess is not too shabby considering he is usually going at top speed for the majority of that time.....
i think most dogs will let you know when they have had enough and it is time for a break.....
..... she is a 5 y/o cattle dog mix and her stamina amazes me...... when it involves activities she enjoys......
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if Bailey takes after Jazz with that Cattle dog blood 5 is nothing wait until she is an old lady like Jazz then that stamina will really amaze you and you will be wondering where can I get that for myself?
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Originally Posted by SheridanPDC
My dog is around 60lbs, active & healthy, and almost 3 years old. Every day she gets approx an hour of exercise. 15 min walk/30min fetch/15 min walk. Some days a little more, some days a little less. She NEVER wants to stop with the fetch... she lives and breathes for that tennis ball. She would play fetch for hours on end if I would allow it. That's where she gets in most of her exercise... tearing after the ball. Since we began this exercise routine, she's slimmed down quite a bit and seems to have gained muscle definition.
I worry sometimes that it's too much. I know that when people exercise, they are supposed alternate days to avoid overdoing it. Is it the same for dogs? When I don't take her out a day I can tell she's frustrated. However, some days I can tell she has sore muscles from her workout... when this happens I give her a gentle massage which she LOVES. I do always check her over for any joint pain/swelling/heat & I make sure to check her feet & pads as well.
I think I am going to tone down Riley's exercise, but I would like to hear from everyone- what is your exercise routine for your dog? Do you exercise your dogs every single day? Or do you do an every other day thing, or four days/rest, ect? Has anyone ever had a dog become injured from overdoing it? Please give me some insight... I want to do what's best for my doggo!
That really sounds pretty reasonable to me and is very similar to the routine I have fallen into with my dog. He lives for the exercise and is more than willing to chase a ball for a lot longer than I am willing to throw it. On a training day (2-3 days per week) we will usually do 15-25 minutes of drills depending on the dog's level of enthusiasm and then 20-30 minutes of fun exercise. He usually makes it pretty clear when he's had enough even though he always wants to keep going. On non-training days (3-5 days per week) we will do ten minutes of obedience/tricks and then 30-45 minutes of fun exercise. If he doesn't get a good workout to take the edge off almost daily he gets bored and becomes a real trouble maker. Hopefully he'll mellow a bit as he gets older.
I will say that dogs that run HARD like that everyday may be more prone to arthritis in their golden years and they can and do suffer some injuries, sometimes serious ones, but I think that the benefits of some form of daily strenuous exertion for a dog with a degree of natural athleticism, both mentally and physically, outweigh the risks.
Personally, I think that dogs are built to run and to run often and that a fit, well-exercised dog is a proud, well-adjusted animal. If the dog is staying happy, getting some reasonable rest & recovery days and you aren't seeing any sign of deterioration I don't think you necessarily need to lighten up.
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