# How much should I walk an 11 week old?



## Kristend (Apr 20, 2012)

Hi everyone,

I have an 11 week old puppy and I am currently taking her for two walks a day. In the morning for about 15-20 minutes and again in the afternoon for about 20-30 minutes. Occasionally she will break into a run, so I run behind her but stop as soon as she starts to walk again.

I have read that you shouldn't over exercise your puppies but I am not sure how much exercise is too much! Does anyone know if I am walking my puppy too much/ not enough? Is it okay to run if she starts to run or better to keep her walking?

Thanks!


----------



## datacan (May 15, 2011)

At that age a walk around the block is enough. I let him set the pace and noticed he was more interested in smelling and chewing things rather than sustained running on leash. 

I would consider letting him off lesh in an enclosed yard, instead.


----------



## Kristend (Apr 20, 2012)

Thanks datacan. She does enjoy playing in the yard so perhaps I will do a bit more of that and just a short walk around the block.


----------



## ironman_stittsville (Oct 12, 2011)

i occasionally use a 'horse lunge whip' with a toy attached at the end to play with my 2 yr old Phoebe. just like playing with the cat! 

i can drag it along in the grass and have it take off when she comes in for a nibble. eventually she catches it and has some fun with it until i get it moving again.

prolly be fun for your puppy too though i'd keep it on the ground, otherwise she'll be leaping high in the air to grab it like phoebe does, sigh.

rh.


----------



## ryker (Apr 14, 2012)

When Ryker was 11 weeks, he had the worst time on a 6 ft lead, so we bought a 30 ft and would go to the park and just let him run, sniff, play and do kind of what he wanted while we meandered along with him. (Obviously we were monitoring constantly!) When he got tired, he got nippy and barky, so we'd take him home. He absolutely loved those excursions, and we are slowly introducing him into more of a heel, less of a sniff-and-play kind of walk. 

As far as restrictions, I think every dog is different. If we hadn't done those walks to tire him out and let him explore, I would have gone nuts. He wouldn't burn off enough energy playing outside in the same yard/environment all the time.

My vet told me as long as he's playing/running and making the decision to do so, then he's fine. Running on leash too young, she told me, was the problem with joints. If they want a break, they'll take it.

Hope my .02 helps!


----------



## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Similar to ryker's vet, our vet told us to let our little guy call the shots. If he wants to go for a walk then we let him go as far as he wants- he will actually either sit down or turn around to go home when he's tired. We never push him and we only walk him around the neighborhood. We offer up walks 3 times a day and go around the cul-de-sac that we live on to see if he's interested in walking. Sometimes he'll keep walking through the neighborhood and sometimes he'll turn back for the house. It's all his call and we follow his lead. We refrain from him running now (unless it's around the backyard playing) but intend on having him be a running partner starting next year once his joints develop.

Another thing our vet mentioned to us is that walking him is great to keep him physically fit but we need to make sure he's mentally stimulated as well. We have gotten a few different 'puzzle' toys for him per our vet's recommendation that he plays with every night. One of them releases food/treats if it's spun around the right way so the pup has to keep working with it to get food out. We usually put his dinner in his toy every night to keep him busy and it also helps to make him eat slower since he's a hog! He absolutely loves it! You can vary the difficulty if it seems to be too easy so he won't get bored with it. I think it's a great toy and it's perfect for rainy days when walks just don't sound like fun.


----------



## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

You can let them set the pace, but be aware that Vizslas won't stop unless you make them. We took Riley to the beach when she was a little tiny pup and she RAN for 2 hours... we had to drag her away. She was so exhausted and cranky, but she would not stop playing because she was having so much fun. :

I think we started with 20-30 minute walks and it quickly went to 45 minutes and then 1 hour long walks... and then exercise had to be off-leash in the hills. 8)


----------

