How much exercise does 7 month pup need?

[rainstorm]

Hi, I'm a new to this forum and have a 7 month old Rottie puppy, Raven, and I have some questions I hope you can answer. We have been having really high temps lately so I'm wondering how much exercise does my 7 month old puppy Raven need now and when it gets cooler?

This is our schedule now is this too much or too little?

a.m. Quick walk for about 10 minutes. I'm disabled so this is only as long as I can go.
Then she is put on a long tether and allowed to play outside with my other two dogs in the shaded backyard. We stay out about an hour and I play fetch with her and she runs with the other two. Of course this is not a continual play time as she rests when she gets tired or hot. She is on a long tether because my yard is not fenced in. We do have a fenced in dog run but I think she needs more exercise than it.

Several hours later I take her for a short walk again. I walk her about 3 times a day and then my dd walks her for about 20 minutes in the evening which includes walking a steep hillside.

In between for short periods of time one of us works with her in obedience training.

I was taking her to the dog park in the evenings but it is now closed at 6 o'clock.

Is this too much or too little in this heat and for her age?

Can someone give me an idea about how many miles we should be walking her now and when it cools off?

Thank you so much.

[Shelby427]

it sounds like you have a good schedule going on here. For a pup who is 7months, walking is the best - which you are doing! Running is not recommended until the growth plates have fully developed (18mos?) The only concern I see is the walking a steep hillside - this may not be great on joints on a young pup. Playing fetch is also great. I am one of those people who do not agree with tying a dog up outside - BUT since you are out there with her, I see no harm with that. I don't like dog parks either since you have no control over other peoples' pets who are off leash. It sounds like a good thing you have going on here...10 minute walks 3 times a day, plus ob training in between. Plus playing in the yard. It all sounds good to me! More experienced members will chime in I'm sure as I'm no expert, but it really sounds pretty good to me.

[rainstorm]

Actually she is not tied up. I guess I should have used the word long line instead of a tether. I have taken a clothes line and made a 20 ft. lead out of it and that is what she drags around while she plays. This way if she decides to leave I can at least step on the lead and stop her.

I can have my dd turn around where the hill stops then and bring her back.

I can relate to not going to dog parks. I went off on someone at the dog park before they started closing early because their dog got too aggressive with Raven. My dd ran and picked her up so the dog couldn't hurt her and as my dd said I went into Mommy mode. We left and then the next time we went we made sure no other dogs were there besides ours. Its a shame that she lost her play time with other dogs though IMO because of someone bringing in an aggressive dog. Raven wasn't the only dog the other dog went after either but I was the only one who went into Mommy mode.

Our park is not used much during the day either right before or after schools let out so when its cooler we'll start going there again for her to have some free time.

Thank you so much for answering my post.

[Gr3mlin]

Shelby, you said running is not recommended until roughly 18 months. What are you calling running? For example, a standard jog from me, and the puppies are doing little more than a "show trot" is that ok, or should I stick with walking you think?

[Shelby427]

I mean forced running - play running is ok, they run around like crazy, then their out! But by force running I mean going for a run with you, or running the dog next to a bike, stuff like that or on a treadmill (not recommended). Not really meaning romping around the yard playing fetch. Know what I mean? My new pup runs around like a mad man, then collapses almost then gets up and does it again! But I don't "take him running"

[rainstorm]

Thanks for clarifying that.

We got lucky yesterday and it was cooler and lower in humidity so she got to go out to play more and on walks more.

Another question on weekends we got to our local college that has steps on the outside going for the excess parking lot to the school and I'd say roughly its about 50 feet of steps and Aimee sometimes walks her up the steps and back down. Is this hard for her joints?

[Shelby427]

Originally Posted by rainstorm

Thanks for clarifying that.

We got lucky yesterday and it was cooler and lower in humidity so she got to go out to play more and on walks more.

Another question on weekends we got to our local college that has steps on the outside going for the excess parking lot to the school and I'd say roughly its about 50 feet of steps and Aimee sometimes walks her up the steps and back down. Is this hard for her joints?

I would say yes, it's too much stress on the joints right now. You should ideally wait until her growth plates have fully developed before doing any type of exercise like this. Same goes for rough terrain, any uphill walking...stuff like that. I'm by no means an expert, but I wouldn't do it to my pup or my 4 year old (she is dysplastic)

[carrieanne]

So, you said no running with me, but what if when I walk my 3 1/2 month old puppy and we run for a little bit down a street. How much is too much running? Do you mean excessive jogging for a mile or so? I know Rotties have problems with their hips and I don't want to cause any problems early in his growing stage.