# large breed puppy exercise - too much? too little?



## flippedstars (May 22, 2010)

We have a 4.5 month old 50 lb Cane Corso pup. She is crated approximately 2 hours a day (when I can't supervise her inside or outside). Approximately 1 hour a day she plays fetch, ball, etc. whatever with me, 1/2 hour in the AM, 1/2 in the afternoon. More than that she seems pooped out. She just wants to come in and sleep after that, or sleeps out by her favorite tree. When my hubby comes home he takes her for a 1/2 mile walk and plays with her some more. The rest of the time she is eating, sleeping in the house, or out playing on a safely fenced acre (she comes and goes as she pleases). She is happy and alert and in no way seems lethargic.

I work on training with her 10 minutes 2-3 times a day. Approximately 4 times a week she goes on 'outings', puppy social hour, Home Depot, the park, short walks around the school blocks so she can say hi to kids, etc. One day a week she goes to doggy day care. I work from home, and she's fine at home, but we don't have any other big dog and she LOVES to play. So she LOVES it and its also good for socialization. I have to say she is the EASIEST puppy I have ever had and absolutely wonderful. 

She really just sleeps most of the rest of the time. LOL. She's a pretty easy puppy. Very good with our little dogs (even though they are kinda bullies to her), very obedient, very quick to learn. Great with new people, dogs, etc. *but what exactly do dogs this size 'need' for exercise?* Sometimes she'll go to the door to ask to get let out to her yard, and just go out, wander around a bit, then take a nap by her favorite tree. She comes in if she gets cold or bored and she knows when meal times are (ha ha). But if I go out to play w/ her more than the bit in the AM & PM she's like doh, no thanks.

I have heard that large/giant breed dogs really aren't supposed to be 'exercised' as puppies. I know a lot of you guys have large/giant breeds, what is your take on this? Are we doing too much? Too little? When she seems tired from playing we don't push the issue but she also does not want to play too much. But then when she goes to puppy day care she plays ALL day, so why doesn't she want to at home? She likes to just hang out, here. Sometimes she wants to lay inside, sometimes she wants out in her yard. Is this pretty normal for a mastiff puppy? The breeder did select her for us based on an extremely low prey drive and mild temperament. Growth plates and everything are normal and good, she is lean and growing well and like I said alert, happy, learning, all of that. 

What do I need to do for her as she grows to be sure she gets enough exercise? I just seem to read puppies will exercise themselves just the right amount but this one would lay around all day if we let her I think? 

Also on a random note - bedding - if we put anything more in her crate at night than a fleece blanket (like a nice bed or ortho cushion) she pees on it?? even though she NEVER does when it's a little blanket. Is it bad for her to be basically sleeping on a hard surface? and if so, how do we deal w/ the peeing thing?


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

we have multiple giant breed puppies in the house, and I let them play as they wish with each other. I take them for short brisk walks through the park by my house, and we generally stay on the grass with them.... but I do that for my adults, too.


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## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

> Also on a random note - bedding - if we put anything more in her crate at night than a fleece blanket (like a nice bed or ortho cushion) she pees on it?? even though she NEVER does when it's a little blanket. Is it bad for her to be basically sleeping on a hard surface? and if so, how do we deal w/ the peeing thing?


She is still quite young, so I would leave her the thin bedding only until she can be trusted 100%. Sometimes that won't happen until they're at least six months old. Does she always pee on a soft bed? If so, I would wait until she absolutely understands that pottying is for outside only. When you do reintroduce a soft bed let her have it outside the crate first, and only for short periods of time. Definitely start with one that has not been peed on ( but I'm sure you know this ). When you do transfer the bed to the crate, try covering it with the blanket she normally uses.

Other than that, I don't have any experience with raising giant breeds, but there are lots of people hear that do. I think, though as long as the pup is content to lounge around, why push her? Maybe she would be fine with just one walk and some really fun mental excercises? 

She sounds like a real doll


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

From my experience raising giant breed puppies, you just shouldn't take them jogging on hard surfaces or any type of exercise of that nature. Repetitive motion and high impact movement like this isn't really good for any dog, let alone a growing puppy! 

She's probably just wiped out from playing all day at doggie daycare that she's just not motivated to play at home. How often is she going to day care? 

As far as the peeing thing...I also wouldn't leave any bedding in there until she's 100% trustworthy with it. It might just take time for her to grow up a bit since she's not spending excessive amounts of time in there to justify her peeing while in there. 

All in all, she sounds like a typical mastiff puppy to me....lazy, squishy, awkward and cute beyond belief! You should definitely post up more pictures of her!


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## flippedstars (May 22, 2010)

She goes to doggie daycare 1x a week...then we do a puppy class another day and a puppy social hour on the weekend. So, that way she gets to play with other dogs. The doggie daycare puts them down for 'naps' from 12-2 every day and I have been told she sleeps hard and is right back at playing when she comes out. She seems to understand appropriate vs. non-appropriate play so that is good. 

On the bedding - okay, I feel a little better, I was feeling SO mean. I don't want her to be uncomfortable but TBH squishy beds for big dogs are not cheap! so for her to pee on them every night, me have to attempt to wash them so they no longer smell like pee (which I am sure they still do to a dog lol), wasn't working. We are doing pretty well w/ house training over all but that's because we are house trained not her ha ha, she still is too young to seem to get the concept of 'waiting'. She seems to know 'oh, I shouldn't pee inside' but also seems to think we have magic brains and know when she needs to go. She is in the crate maybe 6 hours at night, because I put her to bed and my hubby gets her up. Then she usually has a nap during the day in there while I clean and whatnot but she definitely is not 'living' in her crate or spending too much time in there. I feel bad that it isn't cozier, though.

When we play it's out on the grass and stuff. I just don't want her to be lonely... I am used to little dogs where they are pretty obsessive about being with you, following you around, etc. but Kimber seems pretty happy to just watch the world. She does sometimes get puppyish but its moderate. I guess all the growing she is doing must be pretty exhausting too. 

Puppypaws - we only have the one large dog and she isn't allowed to play w/ the chihuahuas for all the obvious reasons, so there isn't another dog to play with her. I am always amazed by her stamina when playing w/ other puppies and dogs...but for now one large breed pup is enough for us. So we have to fulfill the role of play/exercise I guess? She seems happy though, not bored, destructive, etc. but she doesn't even think fetch is fun so its hard to keep her playing that game. Ha ha she watches me throw whatever it is...then waits...the looks at me like 'you aren't going to go get that?' then she will run over, walk around it for awhile, eventually pick it up, drag it 1/2 way back, and I have to go to it to throw it again.


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> From my experience raising giant breed puppies, you just shouldn't take them jogging on hard surfaces or any type of exercise of that nature. Repetitive motion and high impact movement like this isn't really good for any dog, let alone a growing puppy!
> 
> All in all, she sounds like a typical mastiff puppy to me....lazy, squishy, awkward and cute beyond belief! You should definitely post up more pictures of her!


Yes, basically this^. Really, I don't think you should "over-think" this; your puppy will give you an idea of what she needs in terms of activity as well as rest. 

In general, my Mastiff pup has a good amount of stamina, but when I take him up to Central Park for some off-leash time, he comes back exhausted-- this after maybe an hour or so of hiking and running around with other dogs (including the walk up there and back- another 25 minutes or so.) He's 7 1/2 months now-- but when he was your pup's age, he was not as active; or, rather, had more shorter spurts of activity. 

In general, I give him a dog park (off-leash) times twice a day, at my local dog run. Maybe a short walk in between, depending on my schedule. Training happens usually on the walks to and from dog parks. 

Remember that they sleep a lot, because they are growing LOTS. (Mateo adds about 3-4 pounds per week of growth, and this happens when they sleep, for the most part.)

Again, I would just take your cues from your own puppy; she will let you know by her behavior and health/body condition whether what you are providing for her is the most beneficial for her well-being.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

It sounds like she is "trained" to play at doggie daycare because there are other big dogs for her to play with. She may simply not know HOW to play without the presence of other big dogs. It is easy to teach a dog to play with humans appropriately. 

What kind of games do you play with her at home?


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## flippedstars (May 22, 2010)

I got her a Jolly Ball - she likes that, we go out in the yard and I kick it around for her and she chases it and plays w/ me. She won't really play fetch without a lot of encouragement? I also have a few frisbees I'll toss around for her. I guess I'm not really sure what other games I can play with her? I'd love ideas.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Tug of war is a great game to play with your pup, just you have to train it right. You have to be careful that it doesn't become a source for too much arousal. I teach a "get it" and "drop it" with this game which is super easy. When the puppy gets it...say get it, and when they drop it (on purpose or accident) say drop it. If you notice arousal level increasing...stop the game and ask for a sit, down, etc to bring them back to an appropriate level.

You can also try "find it" games...hide treats all over the house/room/yard/etc and the rest is pretty easy. Try not to help too much or your pup will learn to become too dependent on you to play this game without help. You want the purpose to be for her to learn to use her nose!


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