# Exercise length of time



## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

Hi All,

I am having trouble trying to get the right balance of exercise to ware him out and not damage his joints/bones.
What would you recommend as I have attached a pic from a website but think that 40mins twice a day until he is 1 year old wont be enough. He's 11 weeks now and two lots of 15mins a day doesn't tire him 

What say you lot ??

Thanks


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

I am pretty sure who ever came up with those suggestions didn't own a Vizsla puppy! Hah. Ruby is 5 months old and yesterday we walked about a mile on leash (half mile there, half mile back) to an off leash area where she ran around like a maniac with 2 other Vizsla puppies for about 40 minutes. She was tired the rest of the day but I didn't feel like we over did it at all. 

From what I have gathered, off leash exercise is best for young pups. Play with him a lot by tossing a ball around or chasing him around, etc. That way he sets the pace and can plop down for a few seconds if he gets tired, rather than being on a leash and having the repetitive motion of walking and feeling like he needs to continue walking until you stop. 

Also, don't underestimate the power of brain exercise! Do 5 or 10 minute training sessions (learning to sit, stay, come, leave it, etc.) a few times a day and you'll be amazed how much this tires them out. 

Hope this helps.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

We could easily double or triple the amount of "recommended" exercise time for Riley when she was a puppy. It's important to do exercise off-lead and let them decide when they are done. It also depends on how driven your pup is. Riley kept running to the point of exhaustion (2 + hours) on the beach when she was a few months old. I would limit off-leash running to 1 or 1.5 hours when they are tiny. 

On leash we were easily going for 30 minute walks 2 times a day when Riley was about 12 weeks old, plus plenty of off-leash play in the house and yard.


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

Lilyloo,

Thanks for that. I got that pic straight from the puppy owners handbook from the Gunfield Vizsla website, they are reported to be the best Vizsla breeder in the UK ???
I have been doing loads of playing etc and training and take him out a couple of times a day on lead ( to get him used to walking on lead) for about 20/25mins at a time and a run off lead a few times but but want to over do it and damage him !


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

threefsh

What age were you letting her run for 1.5/2 hours ?


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Riley would go for up to 2 hours running full speed off-leash on the beach when she was a little over 4 months old. We had to stop her at about 2 hours or she would completely exhaust herself.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

You can also try training to tire him out. A focused 20 minute session with Miles used to calm him down a lot when he was a baby. We noticed that a few 20 minute walks and a few training sessions a day was enough until he hit 4 1/2 months, and since then he's been needing a lot more from increasing energy levels.


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## johnnywiggla (Sep 30, 2012)

Weren't you worried about her joints/bones ?


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## adrino (Mar 31, 2012)

We did 30-40 minutes for a few months, by the time she was 6 months old we walked her for an hour usually. Twice a day! 
Now that she's 11 months she still only gets an hour twice a day. But on our days off we do longer walks, sometimes 2-3 hours. She will sleep in the car like a baby after that and we don't give her another big walk on that day. 
We do play with her inside as well, do training twice a day plus she gets chews too. 

We will not run with her until she's 18 months old nor cycle.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

johnnywiggla said:


> Weren't you worried about her joints/bones ?


I'm not sure how running on soft sand would be dangerous for a puppy's joints/bones... ??? We've didn't let her run/jump off-leash on concrete surfaces when she was a small pup. Her jumping was restricted as much as possible... that is more dangerous for their development. 

We have to limit her on-leash walks on concrete now due to her knee injury. She can run for 2+ hours straight off-leash in dirt/grass/sand with no issues, but will have a terrible limp if we _walk_ her for over 2 hours on concrete (at a slow pace).


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Agree with above. Miles is 9 months so we are still waiting for pavement running for his bones, but we do off leash trail run him and he doesn't stop himself ever. He can zip around for hours and we always have to call him when it's time to go. If we on leash run him it's on the beach or trail and he sets the pace. I figure as long as he's dictating his own exercise, he's fine.


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