Amount of exercise - please help!

[Mathilde's]

It has now been three weeks since my boyfriend and me bought our beautiful Mathilde, almost 15 months old. She is absolutely wonderful in every possible way, and we have fallen completely in love with her! :D I am very happy because she seems to take this change in her life very well so far!

Having said that, here's my question: How much exercise are we supposed to give her at this age?

Her previous owner walked her about 1 hour daily off leash, and we have kept this up so far. She gets out in the morning for about 15 - 20 minutes (walking on leash), and in the evening she gets her "proper" walk. By this I mean we walk her off leash for 1 - 1.5 hours in varied terrain. This is in my opinion a good way of exercising my dog, because she has to use her whole body and also her mind. After her walk she gets a bit tired, but I don't think she's too tired? She is still in "playmode" when we come back home. I also think that she gets tired because her previous owner only walked her in flat terrain, and she now has to work a little more.

We also do short obedience exercises during the day, and play a little tug and/or find. :) We are also starting obedience class in two weeks (she's already been through the basics, and is very obedient but we want to keep doing this with her).

I am aware that rotties develop slowly, and that she should not jump, go with a bicycle, or run on leash for yet another half year or more. I have also read all the previous threads I could find about this issue in this forum, but most of them are about younger puppies.

It would be great to have some advice on this, because I really don't want to do anything to hurt my sweetheart, but still want her to have enough exercise.






BTW thanks for the tips I got in another thread about helping her swim, she made it last sunday and she really enjoyed it! I think she was a bit puzzled that it was not hard at all! :D

[brunie's mom]

If she is still in play mode after you get home from your long walk I don't think you are overdoing it.
The swimming is great excersize too.
Generally the rule is to wait till the dog is 18 months for more heavy workouts.
Just build up gradually and mind the outdoor temperature... Rottweilers don't do well in the heat.

Sounds like you have a great dog:)

Gina

[Judi W]

Off leash the dog is spending much time sniffing and wandering. This is not at all like an hour of trotting beside a bike or running beside a jogger which takes conditioning and a bit more maturity. Off lead is not structured or exercise particularly, it is simply an outing so of course she's not tired. I certainly don't wait until they're three to start biking with my dogs. I start with short ones about 18 months and expand from there. I do delay higher jumping until after two although I doubt with a healthy well-structured dog that is necessary, it is just a precaution. Normal activity should not be difficult for a dog. Structured exercise should be approached for a dog just like any athletic activity, starting slow and building up with training. Don't do this with a pup who is still growing his framework.

[Mathilde's]

Thank you both so much for answering! I am really glad to hear that this is not too much for my baby! :D

She will turn 18 months in the autumn, so I guess we'll keep it up like this until she's two - winter time here is not really good for biking or jogging. ;) I will let her swim as much as possible during these short summer months!

And yes, Gina, she's great! :D