Assessing Your Puppy's Energy Needs
When your puppy is still a baby, be careful not to overdo the exercise you give him. For very young puppies — ages ten to twenty weeks or so — sufficient exercise could be having plenty of time to play, wrestle, scamper, and bounce around the way puppies like to do. Any sustained or more intense forms of exercise could damage growing bones and muscles and possibly do more harm than good.
After a nap and the opportunity to relieve himself, a puppy is most energetic. Like small children, they move erratically and their attention spans are very short. You need to be engaging and spontaneous. Try getting down on the floor with your puppy and playing with one of his favorite toys. You can shake it at him gently so that he grabs on and plays a gentle game of tug. (If the game starts getting rough, completely stop playing on your end and, when he drops the tug toy, quietly and calmly take it away and remove it from his reach.) You can roll a ball or a stuffed sock along the floor so he can grab and carry it around. You can imitate the play of another dog and bring your hands down in front of you in a mock play bow, signaling to your puppy that you want to play and wrestle. Always, if the play gets too rough, simply stop all movements and end the game.
Playing is a good way to teach your pup some of the basic manners that are explained in Chapter 15. These include Drop it, Off, and Wait. Puppies tend to learn more when their reward comes in the form of play or food, so take advantage of your receptive audience to reinforce manners.
Outdoor exercise and play are some of the best things for your pup – and the stuff that memories (and great photo opportunities) are made of. This is a Bernese Mountain Dog.
Another regular part of an exercise program will be walks with your puppy. These essential outings provide your pup with the opportunity to relieve himself and stretch his legs and to explore his world. With their incredible sense of smell, dogs pick up all kinds of information in the scents they encounter on their walks. A particular post in your neighborhood may be the favorite “pee-mail” spot on the block, where all the dogs squat or lift their leg. Your pup will soon figure out where that place is on your walks and be eager to sniff it every day. Allow him that indulgence.
The Parsons Russell Terrier, the Border Collie, the Doberman Pinscher, and the Golden Retriever are known to be high-energy breeds. The intensity of their playtime is greater and it takes longer to wear them out.
As your pup grows, getting bigger and stronger, you can begin to take longer walks or spend more time outside exercising. Try to find a park near you that includes a dog run — a special area where dogs are allowed to play off leash (more on that later in the chapter). This is a great time to start expanding your puppy's world — and seeing more of your neighborhood yourself. If you live in or near a town that has a nice downtown area, take your pup for a walk there. It's a great place to socialize him to all kinds of people. Even without a downtown, you can learn more about your neighbors and your neighborhood by taking longer and longer walks. You'll be amazed by what you discover.
Don't judge your puppy's capacity by what any other puppy does. A littermate of his may be more energetic and need and/or be able to take a longer walk than your friend. Watch your pup's body language to determine when he's reached his limits. On the other hand, don't let your pup get lazy and shortchange your walks. If he seems lethargic, you may want to ask your veterinarian to evaluate him.
Ask your breeder about your pup's potential energy needs, or be sure to ask the previous owners of an older puppy you adopt how energetic that puppy was. At least this knowledge will help prepare you for making the adequate exercise needs of your puppy a priority. Whatever those may be, it is critical that you take your puppy out for walks at least twice a day. The walks may be short or long, but they are necessary. If you are fortunate enough to be around the house during the day, your puppy will benefit from a short walk or some outdoor play time at midday.
If you have a fenced yard and let your pup out in the morning and evening to do his business, it's very tempting to relegate that to exercise time. If you get lazy and do this, though, you'll start to get the ramifications of it pretty quickly. Boredom will set in for your pup, and with it, naughty and even nasty behaviors.
As you learned in Chapter 10, it's important to teach your puppy to eliminate at the start of the walk so the exercise becomes the reward. If your puppy figures out that you bring her in immediately after she goes even when she wants to stay out, she may hold it so that she gets to walk a while first.
