# Puppy Exercise



## Rodeo (Sep 11, 2011)

How much exercise is safe for a pup? Duke is 6 months old, and we have worked up to going 2 miles about 3-4 days a week and one mile one or two. I ride my bike and he jogs along. He certainly never shows any signs of over exertion I just want to make sure I'm not over doing it. So how much is safe for a dog his age? 

And just because no thread is fun without pictures:


----------



## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

He's gorgeous! Dont know the answer to your question though, Im sure someone else will chime in, but I just had to comment on his good looks  It looks like he's smiling lol


----------



## Rodeo (Sep 11, 2011)

Thanks  The smile is a pittie thing haha.


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I know that kind of exercise on a larger/giant breed dog isn't a good idea as it can damage the joints as they grow. I honestly don't know if it would actually do him harm since he's not that large of a dog. 

What kind of ground do you bike on?


----------



## Rodeo (Sep 11, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> I know that kind of exercise on a larger/giant breed dog isn't a good idea as it can damage the joints as they grow. I honestly don't know if it would actually do him harm since he's not that large of a dog.
> 
> What kind of ground do you bike on?


We go back and forth between pavement and grass depending on where we are. What would be bad for a larger breed dog? Maybe I can base it off that?


----------



## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Large breed puppies develop, grow, and mature up until they are 2-3 years old. So, at 6 months old a large breed puppy wouldn't be any where near done growing. During this time you don't want to put any unnecessary strain on their developing joints/bones, if you do it can cause skeletal issues.


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Rodeo said:


> We go back and forth between pavement and grass depending on where we are. What would be bad for a larger breed dog? Maybe I can base it off that?


I don't "run" my girls at all...the only running they do is on soft ground on hikes. Pavement can be tough on joints because its so solid and hard, so I'm never a fan of this type of exercise for dogs. If you were biking trails and things that are soft that would be best IMO.


----------



## Rodeo (Sep 11, 2011)

But at what point would it be considered "unnecessary strain"?

Duke shouldn't grow more than a few more inches, and then just some maturing/filling out. I just don't want to hurt him any. He goes way crazier out in the back yard... speeding up and down the hill and fast stops and tackling Rodeo.


----------



## Rodeo (Sep 11, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> I don't "run" my girls at all...the only running they do is on soft ground on hikes. Pavement can be tough on joints because its so solid and hard, so I'm never a fan of this type of exercise for dogs. If you were biking trails and things that are soft that would be best IMO.


I no longer have access to anything like that :/. All I have is my neighborhood and the city bike trail.. both of which are paved.


----------



## Muttkip (Aug 18, 2011)

Most people on the APBT forums would advise against that much exercise for such a young puppy till he's at least 18 months old if that at the earliest! It does put a lot of strain on growing plates and stress on the joints. So just let him be a puppy and keep it to walks not biking. Most people don't start biking with their APBT's till they're 2 years old when they're fully grown and the growth plates have fused.


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Since he's a smaller dog...I think the worry is lessened. But honestly I can't give you a straight up answer at what is best for him or what will cause him injury. Usually "injury" doesn't show up until later in life when the joints age faster than they should based on exercise. 

Repetitive motion for anything/anyone isn't great....


----------



## Rodeo (Sep 11, 2011)

Thanks for the answers. I'll keep it to a minimum for now.


----------



## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Less structured running, more unstructured play. Things like tug, wrestling are great for muscle development and things like "find it!" are great for mental stimulation, equally important!


----------



## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

The issue is the repetitive motion of running. It's fine to take your 6 mo old puppy on a 2 mile _off-leash_ hike - where he's running, sniffing, turning, jumping, etc. - but more dangerous to take him for a 2 mile _on-leash_ walk or run. A hard surface only exacerbates the problem. While there's no definitive line as to what's appropriate, a very conservative approach is 5 minutes of on-leash walking for every month of age. At 6 months, it's ok to take him for a 30 minute on-leash walk. Don't run with him until he's fully grown (I have no idea when that is for a APBT).

BTW, my dogs would have gone nuts (and chewed up the entire house) with so little exercise. I'm very aware of how lucky I am to live in a dog friendly neighborhood, where arranging a playdate is as easy as sitting on my porch and asking someone to stop by. My dogs are only 18 months and 13 months, so I still rely on playing with other dogs and off-leash hikes to get them their 2-3 hours/day of exercise.


----------



## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

We only take Buck (9 months) on runs when there is no hope of him getting some other form of exercise. He HAS to have some kind of exercise EVERY day or he will do laps around the apartment and he is getting much too big to be successfully doing that (Thank God he has FINALLY stopped including the couch as a lap obstacle! He used to get stuck between the side of the couch and the wall). We get to take him to the dog park at least twice a week and usually more where we spend a MINIMUM of two hours and, if there is enough light, they get to go down to the beach or the tennis courts to play ball (well, Buck plays ball, anyways). For us, a short run is a last resort. Nick or ai will just take him around the block a couple of times. Just to take the edge off of his relentless amount of energy.


----------



## Rodeo (Sep 11, 2011)

I should add he is almost always off lead during runs, so I've never forced him into a pace he isn't comfortable with.  Dog parks simply are not an option. When it's warmer we go to the river a LOT but that will be a couple more months. He spends a lot of time in the back yard playing with rodeo, playing fetch and working on obedience. Running is far from the only thing I do with him. He only thing I DON'T include him on is trail rides. He has zero horse sense so that's my time with rodeo. But upping his exercise seems to have helped his house breaking a LOT so I'll stick to one or two runs a week and go for more walks instead. Thanks for all the input.


----------



## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Rodeo said:


> But upping his exercise seems to have helped his house breaking a LOT so I'll stick to one or two runs a week and go for more walks instead.


I think the only thing I agree with Cesar Milan about is that a tired dog is an obedient dog.


----------



## AveryandAudrey (Sep 20, 2010)

I think that may be too much on his joints right now due to him still growing combined with the impact of running on solid ground. I think alking that much would be great and still good exercise. But that alot of running. I'd probably limit running to playing fetch in the yard. Swimminf is also great, if there is any way you can get into that. Beautiful boy, and my sister and I like his collar.


----------

