What can I do with my Labrador Retriever puppy so she is well exercised?
She is about 11 weeks old. I am training her, so she is getting mental exercise but I never know how long of a walk to take her on. Anything will help!
I am a new puppy owner, so I need all the help I can get.
Tagged with: mental exercise • puppy owner
Filed under: Training A Labrador Puppy
You are right, mental exercise and stimulation is vital. I gather that you are home all day with your little girl however she does need walks. At present I think that you should restrict her to about four twenty minute walks a day.
Socialisation is vital. Your walks should consist of walking around the perimeter of Supermarkets and you should have a pocket full of treats. People will stop to admire your puppy and you should give them a treat to give to your puppy.
You should also take your puppy to the school gates when the kids are coming out and give the kids a treat to give to your little girl. It would be great if she could get used to men in uniforms and people in wheelchairs.
I know that I am often over the top, because I am almost obsessed with dog training and dog sports. Nevertheless it is vital that your dog is friendly and socialised. I have always allowed my dogs to play with other dogs. If push comes to shove and you don’t want to train your puppy, you must socialise her.
Enjoy your new puppy, you will make mistakes and learn from this. We all make mistakes and even knowledgeable dog owners continue to learn. I am jealous because you have a new baby, enjoy this experience.
With puppies, you don’t want them to run too much because it stunts their growth. So you should take your puppy on about a 15 minute WALK, not run. You can start running with her when she is around 8 months-1 year, in my opinion. That will keep her in good shape.
take it on walks.
I’d recommend taking her for a 45 minute walk twice a day. If she’s still rowdy or you think she needs more exercise you can increase the length of the walk. If you have any hiking trails in your area that’s a great source of exercise also, especially if there’s a lot of hills/upward climbing to do. You can play ball or frisbee also if you’re too tired for a walk. Or invest in a treadmill if you don’t already have one. Good for her and for you.
You mustn’t walk a large breed dog much.
The rule is 5 mins per day per month of life while actually out walking. So not even 15 mins a day yet.
What you can do to socialise her is walk about 5 mins away or so - then sit on a bench near a road or near a school or in a park and do that for half an hour before she comes back.
This routine is crucial for the tender joints otherwise you could contribute towards any problems such as HD or ED, pano or OCD. Best keep it short.
Lots of short bursts of training will also wear her out.
Also allow her free-play which is totally different to an enforced walk. With free play they will usually not move all the time but lay down and chew a toy and then move about again etc, but it is always in their time.
Gees Jenn - the puppy is 11 weeks old…!!!! What you are suggesting is fine for a 1 yr plus.
The rule of thumb is to walk a puppy for around 5 minutes per 4 weeks of its age.
So a 10-15 minute walk twice a day should do the trick! Other than that, just a lot of play time
enjoy your puppy!
well puppies like to play all the time lol i had a labrador puppy before to.
take it to a dog park let it run around and meet other dogs that way in the future he will be social with other dogs and not aggressive. or take it for a 45 min walk or 30.
The best way to judge on how long to take a puppy on a walk for is do it by months. So 5 minutes for every month of the pup. Your Retriever is 11 weeks so 2 months is going to equal 10 minutes (3 months = 15 minutes 4=20 and so on). Your going to be looking to take her for a 10 minute walk once a day, everyday.
You don’t want to take her too long because it can do severe damage to her bones and legs. 45 minutes is WAY too long for an 11 week old pup! NEVER take her out for that long until she is 12 months +.
Now, your going to have to socialise your pup so i think the best way for you to do this on your short walk is take her up to a nearby school or park or somewhere where people go (not too many people, you don’t want to scare her) that’s around 5 minutes away from where you are. Sit on a bench with her and just watch the kids/dogs/people walk by and let her see them for 15-30 minutes then walk back. There’s your 10 minute walk and a bit of socialisation too!
Have fun with your new pup!