How much exercise is too much?
I am starting to go on longer walks and short hikes in an effort to lose weight and get fit. I would love to take Ein with me every time, but she's still so young (just over 4 months). I took her on a short hike today, about 1.5 miles on rocky desert terrain with very little incline. We went slow cause I'm out of shape and I let her take time to smell the plants, so it wasn't all go go go. She absolutely loved it, and I loved having her with me, but I worried the whole time. I know that just because she can do it doesn't mean it's good for her. How much is good her? What distance or amount of time could she spend walking with me each day/week without causing problems to her growing little body? Any insight into this would be much appreciated.
Heather
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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It sounds to me like she tolerated the distance fine:) Maybe stick with this for a bit just as you did and then slowly work into faster or longer. It is much better for our dogs to get exercise than to not. I let my young ones go with us and run like crazy with the others but many times this is just on our 4 acres or trips up and down our block long driveway. The flat terrain was a good idea and they should not be jumping. Enjoy!!!!! You may have to increase her food intake for the increased activity also?
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Permalink Reply by Priscilla, CARLY, and Frankie on
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how fun for Ein, she will tell you when shes tired , Carly use to sit down and not budge hahaha~
good for you getting outside enjoying the outdoors and getting fit!!
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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As long as the pace is modest and there is not much jumping, it should be fine. Just trotting along at her own pace shouldn't be too much impact on her joints, but if you are concerned you can double-check with your vet.
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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Our breeder (serious corgi breeder) was quite firm with me: no long hikes or big challenges until 1 year old. Joanna Kimball's blog discusses growth plate injuries somewhere; hurt the growth plate on a wrist, one bone stops growing, and the wrist bends as the other continues to grow. That may not be the only concern. So I'd not encourage a pup to jump off furniture or down stairs or off any heights. I'd be concerned about landings on slippery floors (we have nonskid throw rugs on the takeoff/landing zones).
But if you're not in such great shape yourself, I don't think just walking on flat terrain is going to hurt the puppy. You'll poop out first. But do remember that puppy will follow you everywhere, forever, and may conceal hurt/fatigue, so maybe let the puppy set the pace? Be observant. I was doing 1.5 mile walks on flat streets with Al puppy (we got him at 3 months).
I'd worry more about quick stopping/turning games like the soccer that I do with Al & Gwynn; that's how us humans sprain ankles and tear ACLs. But regular moderate walks should help puppy develop the strength that may prevent those ACL-type injuries. It's the weekend warriors who get hurt; we couch potato 5 days and then try to play the Super Bowl on weekends.
Remember to add challenge GRADUALLY. Give the body time to get used to it. I think physical trainers have a 10% Rule or something, never add more than 10% at a time, or every X months...? Give puppy recovery time; space out challenges.
I don't think you can overfeed a puppy, but once puppy stops growing, ruthlessly refuse to overfeed. Excess weight is excess strain on the skeleton.
Gwynnie, as a young adult, once went 23 miles in 14 hours with 8-9000' of elevation gain, with 2 strenuous days following. Dogs don't have the endurance of humans (neither do horses), but they are amazing.
HAVE FUN. Once she's a year old...maybe sooner... I have this rule: they get to go as fast as they want.
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on
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I love how John tries to sound like he makes the rules, like Gwynn and Al didn't say, "We will go as fast as we want."
It's so cute when people owned by corgis try to act like corgi owners - I've been guilty of it a time or two - but Bear and Goldy were quick to put me in my place.
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Permalink Reply by Lisa && Yoshi on
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I was reading the responses and a couple people posted about not having her jump too much. Can you tell me why? I got a little concerned because Yoshi is a little over three months now and though I haven't taken him on any hikes or anything, he does get pretty active when we play with him in the house. He runs around the living room full speed, bumping into table legs here and there, jumps up a LOT, jumps off chairs and is starting to jump off the bed, and my boyfriend plays petty rough with him because Yoshi is just SO hyper it seems to be the only way to play with him. Is this too much for Yoshi?
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Permalink Reply by The Geek's Wife & her Corgi Ein on
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It can damage his joints. The reason that it can be a problem is because he is still growing. That means his growth plates are still open. Growth plates are those soft areas at the ends of all his long bones that allow for growth. Being soft, they're very vulnerable to injury, and the sorts of things that injure are repetitive stresses, impacts, and extreme exertion. You may want your boyfriend to play a little less rough with him. My Ein is really hyper and active too, and I like to take her on 2 walks a day, or 1 nice long (flat) hike. You can also buy him stimulating kibble releasing toys, and/or start some basic training at home. Being mentally stimulated can be just as exhausting as being physically exercised. Doing both mental and physical activities should wear him out and make him one happy puppy. Good luck.
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Thanks for all the responses. If I let her, Ein would go and go and go. She's not happy if she's not moving or fast asleep. There is no in between for her. She only walked by my side for a short while on yesterday's hike, the rest of the time she was in the lead trying to get me to go faster. I couldn't go as fast as her, but I could have gone longer. I think I'll stick to 1.5 miles or shorter on moderately flat terrain. That seemed like the perfect walk for her. She was happy, kept a good pace the whole time, and was sufficiently tired when we were done. Anything above and beyond that I'll just have to do on my own. Unfortunately neither of us has gotten out of the house today. I've been dealing with a migraine all day. Ugh. At least I don't feel guilty, cause we got a good walk in yesterday. I can't wait til she's a year old and she can be my permanent hiking parter. Until then, I'll just have to enjoy her being a puppy. Oh darn! ;)
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Permalink Reply by Ginny and Diggory on
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A tired puppy is a good puppy! If they're worn out they're not annoying you and getting into trouble at home. Plus, exposing puppies to lots of different sights and sounds when they're little makes them easy-going dogs when they get older. When my were little, I used to take them walking at an outdoor mall so they could get petted by lots of different people... big people, little people, people of different colors, etc. I think nice long walks are good this way too - they see and smell and hear all sorts of things that they don't at home, and that helps with their confidence.
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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Walking will not hurt your puppy. My daughter in law and I used to go on 40 mile hikes with Malamutes on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, camping out over a 5 day period. We took pups as young as three and a half months, at that age they can outwalk you.
I would be more concerned about temperature than distance. Hot weather can be problematic for adult dogs, but more so for young pups. Here in Colorado, my miniature dachshund, at six months, would walk 2 miles with us pulling all the way....
Offer water and brief rest periods, good for you both! You'll both be fit as a fiddle :-)
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Luckily the weather here in Phoenix is gorgeous right now. Perfect weather to get in some nice hikes. Tomorrow's high is predicted to be 75 degrees fahrenheit and sunny. We have a doggy door that Ein loves going in and out all day. I leave the back door open sometimes too. She loves being outside right now. We play frisbee in the backyard a lot too. Trying to pack it all in before the heat of summer rolls into this desert valley.
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Permalink Reply by Donald Till on
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Our 3 oldest dogs do two walks a day between 1 and 2.5 miles each. The most I ever did with them was 4.5 miles in a day and usually get in between 2.5 and 3.5 miles total in a day. My pace is about 3 mph. Terrain is flat on sidewalks, alleys and parks. Our youngest dog will be somewhat limited with her walks as she has some elbow problems and the arthritis is something she has been and will be dealing with throughout her life. We started walking all of them at 6 months and got to be honest it is what they live for. These dogs run and play stronger after a walk than they do without one - don't think we are any where close to giving them too much exercise.
Everything is relative. Our previous two Corgi's got far fewer walks and if asked to walk a mile (or after a thunderstorm barkfest) it would take them a day to recover.
BTW - We are in Tempe and yes the weather has been great. Our dogs seem to really like the cold stuff we've had recently.
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