Can You Over Exercise A Labrador Puppy

In this article, we will cover the main reasons why it is important not to over-exercise puppies, and how to tell when enough is enough. Read on to learn more. Healthy growth plate development. First of all, too much exercise can affect the development of the pup’s growth plates, something that is covered in more detail here. Growth plates.

Can you over exercise a labrador puppy. OCD is basically growth abnormalities in the cartilage that can cause lameness. Forced exercise is defined as "anything beyond what the dog would engage in with dogs of the same age." Gentle play time with other like aged puppies? A-OK. Running around with adult dogs, meanwhile, is bad (the puppy will overdo it trying to keep up with the big guys). How Much Exercise Does Your Puppy Need? We may not have exact measurements, but there are a few common sense considerations that can help you come up with a plan to keep your puppy active and healthy. Don’t over-exercise a puppy, and be observant of and mindful to an elderly Labradors ailments and needs. Over-exercising very young and elderly Labradors can do more harm than good. For your adolescent and adult Labrador, exercise them well. They’ll be able to out-perform you so it’s unlikely you’ll exercise them too much, they can go. So it can come as quite a surprise to new puppy owners to be told the they are giving their puppy too much exercise, or walking the puppy too far. You may even have heard people say that a puppy should only walk for five minutes for every month of his age. That means just ten minutes a day, for an eight week old puppy.

Some new puppy owners are aware that they should not over-exercise their puppy. But are not at all sure what ‘over-exercise’ looks like. Others already take quite small puppies for quite long walks and are surprised to discover that many experts believe this to be a bad thing. Over exercise, jumping too high, and running too hard before a puppy’s bones and joints are mature can injure the joints so supervise your young dog’s exercise routine. Breeders–please inform your new puppy owners of this…feel free to copy this article and put it in your puppy kit that goes home with your pups. You can find more guidance on exercising your puppy, including games to play with your puppy at home, in our Puppy Parenting course. The Five Minute Rule Of Puppy Exercise This would mean no more than 35 minutes of walking a day for a seven month old dog. The dangers of over-exercising your puppy It might seem as though your puppy’s fitted with long-life batteries, but they also need plenty of rest to grow. The bigger your puppy, the more prone they are to joint disorders and young dogs can develop serious health problems if they’re over-exercised.

A common rule is five minutes of exercise per month of age, up to twice a day. For example, if your puppy is three months old you can exercise her for 15 minutes up to twice a day. Follow this rule until your puppy is fully grown. Once your dog is fully grown, she can exercise for longer. If you over-exercise a growing puppy you can overtire it and damage its developing joints, causing early arthritis. A good rule of thumb is a ratio of five minutes exercise per month of age (up to twice a day) until the puppy is fully grown, i.e. 15 minutes (up to twice a day) when three months old, 20 minutes when four months old etc. Labrador puppies exercise routine. A Labrador puppy after it reaches the age of 3 months require minimal exercise. They can tire easily from normal playing as well. So, do not over-exercise your puppy in the first 3 months. Too much of playing and less rest can harm the development of their joints. So, monitor the duration. You should also teach your Lab to "come," "drop it," and "fetch," so you can take advantage of its natural tendency for retrieving. Use Positive Reinforcement Training Their eagerness to learn, playfulness, affectionate natures, and their love of treats make Labrador retrievers fantastic candidates for positive reinforcement dog training .

Large-breed dogs can actually have more problems associated with over-exercise as puppies than small breed dogs can. Look at your dog's mental agility. High-drive breeds, like shepherding dogs, need more stimulation than some other breeds. Exercise can be great for this, but training can also be a useful way to keep them entertained. The best exercise for a young puppy is free play with age-appropriate toys. Socializing with other puppies or friendly adult dogs is a great way to burn some of that puppy energy along with teaching them the social skills they need. As your Labrador puppy gets older you can take them for short informal walks allowing them to sniff and explore. Over exercising a growing puppy can result in joint problems, particularly with Giant Breeds like the Scottish Deerhound or the Great Dane. The Kennel Club suggests that a puppy should receive five minutes of exercise for every month of it’s age. For example, 10 minutes per day for a dog of 2 month, and 15 minutes a day for a dog of 3 months. Over-exercise in puppies can damage their muscles and harm than to provide benefits. There is a general rule for adult lab’s exercise. For every one month increase in age, add 5 minutes of exercise, if your puppy is 1 month old, then the duration of exercise will be 5 minutes. This rule applies until your Puppy reaches one year of age.