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#1
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German Shepherd Puppy Orthopedics
I have a 5-month old German Shepherd puppy, and I've heard that it's
not good to exercise him too strenuously as it could be bad for his hips. What I'm wondering is, how strenuous is "too strenuous?" On our 30-minute daily walks, we do run in short spurts---anywhere from 15 seconds to a minute, and no more than 12 such spurts during our walk. Is this too much running for my dog at this age? Also, at what age will it be safe for us to run long distances? Thanks. |
#2
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Wooster wrote:
I have a 5-month old German Shepherd puppy, and I've heard that it's not good to exercise him too strenuously as it could be bad for his hips. What I'm wondering is, how strenuous is "too strenuous?" On our 30-minute daily walks, we do run in short spurts---anywhere from 15 seconds to a minute, and no more than 12 such spurts during our walk. Lower impact exercises are better than high impact ones, so walking is preferable to running, although small spurts won't hurt. One of the best ways to tire a pup out and give him the exercise he needs is to take him swimming. Very low impact, great exercise, and it is good from a behavioral perspective for the pup to be introduced to the water as a fun thing and learn to like it. If at some point later in life he were to develop joint problems or need low impact workouts, the swimming can come in handy. Is this too much running for my dog at this age? Also, at what age will it be safe for us to run long distances? Depends on what you mean by long distances, but as a general guideline, 2 is a good age for the dog to run miles. Always work them up to it by starting at smaller distances, and over time, progressing to longer ones. Suja |
#3
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Wooster wrote:
I have a 5-month old German Shepherd puppy, and I've heard that it's not good to exercise him too strenuously as it could be bad for his hips. What I'm wondering is, how strenuous is "too strenuous?" On our 30-minute daily walks, we do run in short spurts---anywhere from 15 seconds to a minute, and no more than 12 such spurts during our walk. Lower impact exercises are better than high impact ones, so walking is preferable to running, although small spurts won't hurt. One of the best ways to tire a pup out and give him the exercise he needs is to take him swimming. Very low impact, great exercise, and it is good from a behavioral perspective for the pup to be introduced to the water as a fun thing and learn to like it. If at some point later in life he were to develop joint problems or need low impact workouts, the swimming can come in handy. Is this too much running for my dog at this age? Also, at what age will it be safe for us to run long distances? Depends on what you mean by long distances, but as a general guideline, 2 is a good age for the dog to run miles. Always work them up to it by starting at smaller distances, and over time, progressing to longer ones. Suja |
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