Couple of questions again :)

[Melody]

1)

 

I don't know if you remember but I was previously told by the puppy class trainer not to walk your pup more than 20 minutes per day otherwise it will damage their growing bones and may give them problems with hips or arthritis when they are older.

Well again she mentioned it on Wednesday at the class, she said at least until they are 6 months old then she said once they are 1 y/o then fine walk them all day and night!

 

Just wondered what you other BC owners think of this? I had been walking Scamp 2 or 3 times a day, 10/15 by OH in the morning for fetch up the field. Then perhaps a 20 min walk round the woods after lunch on a long lead as I would have my 3 yr old son with me and at the moment I cant trust either incase Scamp didnt recall! and then in the evening for up to half hour on the beach or a roadside walk to help him get used to cars more as he still lunges at them.

 

She reckons thats far too much and should just be a 20 min per day off the lead somewhere safe. and he would get enough exercise with the garden and training at home.

 

What did you all do bringing your pups up?

 

2) At what age did your dog start to play frisbee, its right that they cant jump yet isnt it, because of their growing bones? He hasnt played it before and wondered if he would be ok with it being thrown low?

 

3) I have recently bought a cycle, to go out with my son, but also I thought when Scamp is older I could take him longer distances as we live by a lovely cycle path through the country and he could get alot of exercise coming along. Should I wait until he is completely trained to walk unaided from a lead when he is older, as I'd imagine it to be dangerous to be attached to me whilst cycling lol

 

Did any of you train your dog to trot beside you or did you have to overcome the fear of a cycle first? and at what age did the dog go with you.

 

Sorry if I sound thick lol, I've just never done any cycling before since I was a child haha!!!

 

 

Thanks for your tips I love this site

[Tassie]

Hi Melody

 

To a large extent, be guided by your pup in terms of how far you walk him. My preference would be for some walking and off leash stuff where safe, rather than lots of playing fetch - but that's just me. Depending on how you play it, fetch can put lots of strain on growing pups.

 

As far as frisbee goes, I would stick to rollers - rolling the frisbee along the ground), at least until he is over 12 months old. You really want to avoid twisting jumping moves at least until the growth plates are well closed.

 

The cycling question is interesting - again I would wait till he was a little older before doing much. I have just this past week introduced my two to working with me on a bike - we are starting to build up for an Endurance Test (20km in 2 hours in 8, 6 and 6 segments, with vet checks in between.) Dogs have to be over 2 to do this - mine are 4.5 years old - and I was happy to wait till this age. The dogs have to be held on a lead for this test, and they're not supposed to pull you.

 

First I had to get used to riding a bike again for only the second time in about 20 years. Then I rode (on a friend's couple of hundred metre driveway) with the dogs free. Then I worked one dog at a time on the lead. It seemed to go quite well.

 

Neither dog has had very much to do with bikes, but when they have seen one, they've not been very interested.

 

Overall, I tend to be somewhat conservative with what I do with the dogs when they are growing - I want them still to be able to run and jump when they're 12 or so (like my previous boy). You can do lots of foundation stuff though, getting your dog to pay attention to you, and building up the bond and the relationship which is the foundation of training and living with the dog.

[JackoDog]

We use a WalkyDog for the bike and couldn't be happier. you can get it from sitstay.com. He loves it because he gets to run right next to me, and I love it because he is attached but it does not allow him to lunge or pull away. Not to mention that we don't have to worry about recall. I very highly recommend it - he is a huge puller on leash but does great with the bike. It only took a few minutes for him to adjust to it. Our friends' 84 pound doberman mix works well with the WalkyDog too, and he is super intense and way into squirrel hunting :-P

[Melody]

great thanks the walkydog looks very ideal! will get this when he is over a year old then gives me plenty of practice to cycle further and get fit lol