# EXERCISE LIMIT/5 minute rule ?



## BrianO (Apr 7, 2016)

First, you may wish to check in with your very reputable breeder. A very reputable breeder offers support to new owners and knows the pup better than anyone. I am sure they would clarify what direction they had given. A very reputable breeder will offer this support for the entire life of the dog.

Second, while walking is good activity, it is not great exercise for your pup. Consider tossing a ball, tossing a ball on a hill, using a lure, swimming... but avoiding jumps and impacts for the present time; keep it gentle, yet something that leaves your dog panting and ready for a nap. This is the kind of exercise that your pup might overdo. Also consider exercising your pup’s brain. Obedience training, new tricks and games, and nosework will also make good use of puppy energy.

You may have better results by breaking exercise and training into shorter blocks that match your pup’s attention span.

More important to me would be delaying long runs or running along a bike, avoiding lengthy exercise on hard surfaces like concrete or asphalt, avoiding jumps, keeping your pup off of staircases, and keeping your pup from jumping down from height until puppy joints have matured.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Your puppy will not show signs of being tired from a leash walk at this age. There is a difference between aerobic capacity and joint stress. He is on a forced march at your pace when he is leash walking. It's not normal for them to move at such a slow pace for such a long length of time. The way a dog would take that course off leash is very different than he does with you. He would sprint, stop, sniff, circle, walk, trot, spring etc. It is different.

You don't say where you are walking him, if it's mostly level I'm going to guess that it's over paved surfaces. This is the other part of the problem I would see. Paved surfaces, day after day after day, are not good for him. It ought to be switched up with a different kind of exercise. If you said you were walking off leash hikes in the woods for 45 minutes a day, I'd say good for both of you. If it's on leash, over pavement, I say that he definitely needs to have a different form of exercise sprinkled in there.

Also, you addressed the fact that he shows no signs of being tired with these walks. You're discovering the hard truth about sporting dogs - leash walks are not aerobic exercise for healthy, growing young Goldens. They need hard work that leaves them tired and panting - a good 20 or 30 minutes every day. This is best done with swimming, retrieving, wrestling and playing with another young dog. You could also put him on a long line and take him to a safe place to throw a frisbee, kick a soccer ball around with him etc. It is just very difficult for the average adult person to tire out a Golden without getting creative on methods. Jackie Mertens Sound Beginnings DVD is the perfect tool for teaching a formal retrieve to heel, the most perfect way of exercising these dogs for life. Work hard on a solid recall so that when the weather improves you can find a place that is safe to take him swimming. As he grows over the next 6-12 months you will find that these leash walks are simply a warm up for him. Remember that another piece of the puzzle for healthy joints is keeping him at a lean weight. A hair too thin is better than a hair too heavy.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

First, there is no such thing as a five-minute rule. IMHO it's nonsense.


Second, walks on leash aren't exercise.



Contrary to what you've been told, puppies and young dogs _need _exercise. It's important for them to develop good joints and avoid problems later. I invite you to read the Avidog page on "How much exercise do puppies need?":


https://www.avidog.com/how-much-exercise-do-puppies-need/
And their exercise chart:
https://www.avidog.com/wp-content/pdf/puppy_exercise_guidelines_poster.pdf


The Avidog pages recommend a lot of exercise for puppies and young dogs, and explain why this is necessary. However, you have to be careful about the type of exercise you give: no forced running until the growth plates have closed, for example. In the early stages (from 8 weeks to 6 months) the exercise should be at the pup's own pace. The "walk in the woods" exercise they propose is wonderful if you can do it. It involves walking at the pup's pace in nature, so the pup can run, explore, climb on stuff, etc. From 17 weeks to 6 months of age, they recommend that these walks should be 45 to 60 minutes in duration. And this is not the only exercise the dog should be getting. Avidog also recommends obedience and trick training, swimming, retrieving and so on. From 6 months of age onwards you can introduce other types of exercise (see their chart), but no jogging or endurance training until the growth plates have closed (around 14 months for a dog that hasn't been spayed or neutered).


I would say that, far from being over-exercised, your pup is _under_-exercised and needs activities that will allow him to develop muscles, bones, tendons and joints.


By the time my guy was 6 months of age, he was getting almost daily one-hour off-leash walks where he could run freely and explore. He was also getting two one-hour training classes a week (one in obedience, one in basic agility), plus daily practice sessions at home and daily walks on leash around the neighbourhood of about half an hour a time. In addition, a few times a week we would have retrieving sessions in our wooded yard, and he had weekly (at least) opportunities to swim. About once a week he would get to play with a friend's dog.


Since your pup doesn't seem to have had much exercise, I'd suggest building up gradually so he doesn't strain anything. But he definitely needs a lot more than he's getting now. Nolefan's suggestions are all good.


Best of luck.


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## farouche (Jul 26, 2018)

You've got me wondering how we'll exercise the puppy we're expecting to get in early to mid-February. I live in Boulder, so there are not long stretches of super cold weather but it can still be a factor.

More important, it's difficult to walk a dog around here off leash. I live adjacent to open space with loads of non-paved trails. But dogs are required to be leashed on most of those trails. The off-leash trails require special tags and I'm not sure (although I'll check) that a puppy is eligible for those. I'm also concerned about encounters with loose dogs and wildlife. There are large off leash dog parks, but I don't think those are ideal for a puppy either.

We have a fenced yard. It's not huge, but large enough for throwing a ball etc. My daughter's six year old golden loves puppies and that could provide some (supervised) play with a dog I know and trust. 

Other suggestions welcome!


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

farouche said:


> You've got me wondering how we'll exercise the puppy we're expecting to get in early to mid-February. I live in Boulder, so there are not long stretches of super cold weather but it can still be a factor.
> 
> More important, it's difficult to walk a dog around here off leash. I live adjacent to open space with loads of non-paved trails. But dogs are required to be leashed on most of those trails. The off-leash trails require special tags and I'm not sure (although I'll check) that a puppy is eligible for those. I'm also concerned about encounters with loose dogs and wildlife. There are large off leash dog parks, but I don't think those are ideal for a puppy either.
> 
> ...


Congratulations on adding a puppy this winter. I Think that you will find that if you can bundle up and get out and enjoy the outdoors that your puppy will love it too. While they are smaller you can typically enjoy hiking off leash with your puppy because he will explore but the minute you start walking in the opposite direction he will want to catch up with you. There is a book called "Total REcall for Puppies" that you can easily find used and also "Control Unleashed for Puppies" that you might enjoy reading BEFORE bringing your puppy home - now is the time to get all the books that people recommend here on this forum and use your free time to read. That way you'll have already a plan in place when puppy comes home.

Please follow your good instincts, Dog Parks are not safe for puppies, here is an old thread on the subject: https://www.goldenretrieverforum.co...r/458906-puppies-do-not-belong-dog-parks.html

Also, if you haven't found a good place to go for obedience classes, it's not too soon to start your research. Good places have classes fill up fast.

If your daughter has a Golden who likes puppies (you will still need to supervise very closely, especially at first) this is your DREAM scenario. Puppy playdates with a nice dog are ideal for tiring out a puppy and keeping him up to date on 'bite inhibition' where he is taught manners and they are reinforced about not biting too hard. I would do anything necessary to get your daughter to let you come over for playdates, bring dinner, bring wine  It's the perfect exercise.

Also, keep an eye out in your neighborhood for people walking nice young dogs who could be a potential play date. I've made friends with a few people over the years in my neighborhood who I didn't know except that they were walking a young Golden. Playdates are a dream.

The next best exercise is swimming when the weather is nice, off leash hikes are terrific if you can work it out, but so are outings in fields where your dog drags a 30 foot line (always wear boots to protect your ankles) and you maintain some control but he has freedom to move and play. Working from day 1 on reinforcing recall (cross your fingers that your puppy is food motivated) will speed that day that you might be able to have off leash hikes somewhere. 

You can also have a lot of fun with agility toys in the house in February, search amazon for heavy duty nylon tunnel, a wobble board, an upside down giant waterdish, anything that you can use to play with while he's small will be loads of fun and keep him moving. Get creative.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GWS1SC...&pd_rd_r=c407215b-0e1e-11e9-8589-1d2b1f88d95b
You can easily build your own: https://www.amazon.com/Agility-Gear...8&qid=1546386304&sr=1-2&keywords=wobble+board


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## David Pearson (Aug 30, 2018)

I am finding walks on leash does not tire my puppy. Stuart likes to engage in thinking/training games or exploring new areas in the valley.. 

Chasing the ball does exercise him more then a leash, he caught his first ball at 12 weeks. His aim is improving. I have always question the 5 min rule. I like the guidelines from Avidog.


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

I've never gone by a time limit. I watch my pups. You can usually tell when they are tiring and at that point I put them in a down and stay to recover a little when they are out with kids or other dogs. Once they start showing down that when play time is over. 
You try and tell me that when running around with littermates that 5 min is all they run on their own lol. The point is not to force the exercise. When on walks that is when you should keep it short for young pups because that is forced exercise, and things like fetch too.


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## Edward Prenga (Jul 5, 2018)

I do give him a couple of short 5 or 10 fetchs inside and out as well in which he is panting at the end. Also puppy pong during his training exercise.


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

I had never heard the 5 min. rule until I joined the forum. I think this may be a good guide to remind people their new puppy is a baby and physically growing and maturing.

Honestly, I have never done any walking with my dogs until they are through growing. My pups were always a part of whatever I was doing and never gave much thought about over exercising them. They played in the yard when I was outside, they played in the house while I did the household chores. Sort of like my kids, they played when they wanted and slept when they were tired. We played learning games, spent lots of time in the floor with them and loved to have them with me and enjoyed watching them learn about the world they were living in. After 50 yrs of puppies/dogs, they all survived without problems.

Enjoy your puppy, let them be a puppy. Help them navigate the process of growing up and guide them to be a wonderful adult. Keep them safe and watch them discover their new world.


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## farouche (Jul 26, 2018)

Thanks for all of the great puppy exercise, books, and game recommendations.


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