5 month puppy...how far?

[RichT]

how far can our 5 month puppy go?

Attachment 1725

This is Misty at just under 6 months on Boxing Day on our way from Hayfield up via Edale Cross to the Woolpacks and Crowden Tower, over Kinder to the Downfall and back down Sandy Heys. That's about 8 miles but walking with the kids whose main aim was to get very dirty so it took quite a few hours!

He's been walking this sort of distance since about 5 months old about once per week but only occasional days with as much climb. He gets about an hours walk most days and often about 20 minutes chasing a ball and training.

He came out on Pennine training last night for the first time - about 6 miles out of Hayfield.

Nothing seems to tire him out so it is tempting to do too much - he's quieter around the house if he's been out plenty.

He never goes more than about 200yds on the road or other hard surface.

We have been told things like not more than 15 minutes until they're 6 months old then build it up gradually but I think that applies more to some of the more pet type breeds. Our older collie Gem is 11 yrs old and is happy running 14 miles still, although she does lag behind on the downhills if I'm running quickly. She'll go all day at walking pace and would chase balls/sticks all day. We did similar amounts of walking and running with her from about 8 months.

Two different shepherds that I've spoken to have said that between 6 and 10 months old they will increase from an hour, twice a day walking to going out with them for a full days work. One of them said that she took them round the perimeter of their farm's intake fields in the Lakes following the quad bike most days from around 8 months to get them ready for work. They both expected their dogs to retire from working at about 12 to 13 yrs old.

Iain's advice re-sheep seems to be working for us; it worked with Gem.

[Longdogs]

Re: sheep it's worth remembering that a beddie x whippet has a different motivation to a collie or lab etc. All dogs have a repertoire of eye-point-stalk-chase-kill-retrieve, but in different breeds there is more or less of these different steps bred in or out. Your dog is a sighthound and has alot of 'chase-kill'. I'm a vet and dog behaviourist and suffer from an incurable obsession with sighthounds, and i have found it really difficult to get one anywhere near reliable around sheep, even with quite radical aversive therapy that would be very effective on my collie. As Iain says it can be an impediment to a fun day out!! I just take no chances and get them on lead which is a pain but better than the constant anxiety. I make sure they get plenty of chances to run loose where they are safe. That said, this is with adults with pre-existing issues- you have much better success with a pup if you do something similar to what Iain was saying.

I don't agree with the mentioned comment re: stiles and HD- hip dysplasia is mainly genetic and that is significantly more important than environmental factors. In a early maturing dog like bed x whip with low incidence of orthopaedic problems you can take more risks- i would do quite alot with it from 6m plus and no holds barred after 9m, wheres this would be insanity with a Lab for example.

Sorry to butt in but can't help myself when dogs come up on the forum

[Graeme]

don't you have to look after the baby then?

I do, but I'm not very good at it. I've even managed the unthinkable and got worse with practice
He seems very comfortable round his mum, but she's still on maternity so it'll all change when she goes back to work.
On the plus side the dog thinks I'm brilliant!

[RichT]

Sorry to butt in but can't help myself when dogs come up on the forum

You're definitely not butting in - you actually know what you're talking about!! Having now read your reply I can't get the Show of Hands track Longdog out of my head!

Do you think collies from working stock can be damaged by punters like me from 6 months onwards by doing too much with them?

Thanks

[IanFitz]

she is only little - she might break - looks like i need to actively seek sheep fields so she gets to know what they are and that they're out of bounds



you might only see this if you've got facebook

Wow. Your dog looks exactly like ours. We had him from a similar age when he came into our lives by jumping in through a friends car window! I'll see if I can track down a picture.

He is good with sheep these days , but is mad for rabbits etc. therefore we don't trust him with lambs.

In terms of how far he can run, we didn't run when we first had him, but as an adult dog he's done lots of very long days out - BG recces and similar and also the Kinder Dozen.

I'm just remembering how utterly mad he was when he was a pup...

[scott baistow 93]

i have a 14 month patterdale terrier and she was fine but when we took her on the fells for the first few times she ran off with other runners mistaking them for me she did come back tho so if on the fell just keep an eye on her/he

[Longdogs]

Do you think collies from working stock can be damaged by punters like me from 6 months onwards by doing too much with them?

Anything has the potential to be affected until it's skeletally mature, but cos collies are usually bred for an athletic job they don't suffer so much from genetic predisposition to the various developmental diseases that dogs can get. They're so well designed to be very active you'd have to be really going some to do alot of damage. Unless you're doing a BGR daily i wouldn't worry!

I reckon it's worth bearing in mind that most dogs will follow their pack beyond the point where it hurts them if they're asked, so we have to remember it. Shame that for most dogs it's the opposite problem- they're fat, bored and understimulated by owners who think a 20 minute stroll is alot of exercise. Oh well...

By the way do any dog lovers out there want a 9 stone deerhound x greyhound?

[daz h]

1/2 hour maximum
build up steady and you will soon have a very very healthy and fit dog

be careful on warm days

[jackie]

Sorry to disagree with Longdogs but I think to say hip dysplasia is mainly genetic is misleading and might lead people to think that if they've got a pup from parents with good hip scores they don't need to worry - have seen it happen. "While selective breeding can alter an animal's genes, factors such as diet, bodyweight and exercise have a major influence on the phenotypic expression of an individual's genotype" In Practice 2007 (not sure of issue number). Basically if you have a dog which has the genetic risk of developing HD you can reduce the risk of it actually having problems by the way you look after it in the first 12mnths or so, similarly you can take a dog with genetically good hips and still ruin it by overfeeding, over supplementation or overexercise. I don't think stiles are a problem either. Nor is sensible consistent exercise as it builds up muscle support for the joints - swimming is also good - (so don't listen to breeders who say not to walk the dog or let it go up stairs for 12mnths), but if the dog is stiff or sore after a run you're overdoing it. I'd also try and avoid very rocky routes or tussocks as the which will put abnormal stresses on the joints

[ratfink]

wow thanks for all the responses!

longdogs - molly is from my mum who does volunteering for tia greyhound rescue (they end up with lurchers, whippets and any vaguely thin dogs) - i know what you mean about sight hounds, fine with most things - until it moves!!