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Walkies!
How much is too little/too much/enough for a 3 month old puppy?
Wednesday was W-day as in WALK day. His 2 week period post-vaccinations was over and we could finally take Shea out into the big world. Never mind St Paddy's Day...it was Irish Setter Day! :) We took him out for the day in our local historic town (Chester), which included a 15 minute train journey in (much better on train than in car!), lots of people and traffic for the first time, lots of attention, 3 of our favourite pubs, a few little walks between drink stops and then a taxi-ride home in the evening (both me and Shea slept the whole way back!). As far as first days out go, Shea was absolutely BRILLIANT! He walked really well, ate his lunch by the river and his dinner in a beer garden, curled up and slept when he was tired and was just great around other people and dogs. We were sooo proud of him! :)
Until W-day, we would just take him out around where we live for about 10 mins pre-breakfast and 10 mins pre-evening meal, with short play sessions throughout the day, whenever he felt like it. Since W-day, we're still doing the 10 mins pre-breakfast amble but we're also taking him out with us once or twice during the day, say down to the farm shop or into the local village for 10-15 mins.
As far as day to day walking goes, how much is okay at this age? Could we be doing more with him?
Debra
Wednesday was W-day as in WALK day. His 2 week period post-vaccinations was over and we could finally take Shea out into the big world. Never mind St Paddy's Day...it was Irish Setter Day! :) We took him out for the day in our local historic town (Chester), which included a 15 minute train journey in (much better on train than in car!), lots of people and traffic for the first time, lots of attention, 3 of our favourite pubs, a few little walks between drink stops and then a taxi-ride home in the evening (both me and Shea slept the whole way back!). As far as first days out go, Shea was absolutely BRILLIANT! He walked really well, ate his lunch by the river and his dinner in a beer garden, curled up and slept when he was tired and was just great around other people and dogs. We were sooo proud of him! :)
Until W-day, we would just take him out around where we live for about 10 mins pre-breakfast and 10 mins pre-evening meal, with short play sessions throughout the day, whenever he felt like it. Since W-day, we're still doing the 10 mins pre-breakfast amble but we're also taking him out with us once or twice during the day, say down to the farm shop or into the local village for 10-15 mins.
As far as day to day walking goes, how much is okay at this age? Could we be doing more with him?
Debra
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ilona & Gina on
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As a rule of thumb, 5 minutes for each months of age are fine per walk. In Shea's case that would be about 15 minutes. Too much is not good for their growing joints. However, you and your puppy seem to have a lot of fun, and sometimes, that's more important than crunching minutes. (I can't count the times we forgot the time because we had so much fun...)
Can you really take your dog in a public train? How good is that - in Western Australia dogs are pretty much banned from public venues, including , cafes, trains, buses, which makes it hard to include your dog in activities.
I grew up in Europe (German), and I remember that dogs were everywhere. They were part of the society. Don't know what it is like now, though.
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Permalink Reply by Neil Todd on
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The UK seems to be a bit of a mixture, as far as public places and dogs are concerned. Just yesterday we were phoning around local pubs to see who accepts dogs inside and only 3 do.
Yes, we can take dogs on trains and buses here. I think whether they charge a fee or not depends on the area where you live. Where we are, doggies go for free on the train. Not sure about buses yet...
Today we are faced with the challenge of Shea's first rainy day. He doesn't seem too keen (quel surpris!). He had a lie-in this morning so hasn't been walked yet and he's having his post breakfast lunacy now so we're going to drag him out...oops sorry...encourage him outside for a wee walk shortly, so we'll see...!
Debra
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