MYTHBUSTING: is it safe to exercise my puppy and how much?

How much exercise does my puppy need? 

There is no set amount of exercise an individual puppy needs! Every puppy is different - one of the best things about them! A good general guide is to let them move around freely as much as they want, but not force them to do long periods of exercise!

Whether out and about on a nice hike, or doing puppy friendly strength and conditioning activities. This means you should watch your puppy closely and not push them when they show signs of fatigue. If you're on a hike, make sure you can carry puppy home. 

The main thing is to watch out for both physical and mental fatigue - and listen (STOP) when you see it! 

MYTH: BUSTED 

While puppy culture has a lot to offer, the exercise charts that are perpetuated by that program, and the insane idea that puppies should only have 5 mins of exercise per month have AB-SO-FREAKING-LOUTELY no basis in evidence. They are entirely made up (I imagine out of an attempt to avoid overexercising puppies and damaging joints - see below for more information) and in my view, incredibly detrimental. There is no evidence that normal exercise is in any way detrimental to puppies, and in fact, there is mounting evidence that suggests that up to an hour of jogging helps bones and ligaments grow to load, buffering against long term pain! 

But... how do do i know when my puppy is fatigued? 

Fatigue looks different in every dog, but the best indicator is a change in behaviour.

Big ones in puppies are lying down, wandering off, or avoiding you or objects/equipment. It can manifest as refusing to eat, head shaking, fidgeting, mad zooming, disengaging, and increased nipping or jumping. It turns out that your puppy is often NOT in fact a velociraptor that hates you - they are just tired! 

A decrease in the speed of response to cues, degradation of form, or more errors is also indicative. Even going for a drink of water can be a way of taking a break. 

One example of a super subtle behaviour is my sassy Aussie Shepherd Lilu who starts gently flicking her ears. 

Any sign of stress can also indicate fatigue - like yawning, lip licking, tail between legs or low, looking away, whale eyes, stiffness, foot chewing and more. 

What are the actual risks? 

There are some big risks, and activities that should be avoided that ARE based in evidence. Namely high impact exercise such as jumping from heights and sharp turns (including in rough play) until your puppy grows into their body, and you have been able to implement appropriate strength and conditioning. 

Other risks are you puppy being overweight, and the long term impact on joints, and undertaking exercise without knowing that your puppy has hip displasia or osteoarthritis.

What should i do then? 

In my house this looks like supervised playtime, gates on the stairs, not allowing puppies to run up or down stairs or jump of platforms (lifting them down when they go full explorer), and ensuring they aren't exposed to slippery surfaces to prevent injuries!  

Did you know? 

Something I wish that someone had told me is that you can get hip scans from a PennHip certified practitioner from as young as 16 weeks.

Not only will this help you identify appropriate exercises, but if your pup does have issues there are some incredible techniques that can be performed while your pup is still this young that mean they might still be able to have a pain free life which are off the table once their growth plates close. 

Lets do this!

Armed with all of this amazing evidence (the primary literature is listed below for the nerds among you) you can go forth and get exercising with your puppy!

Here are some of my fave exercises for getting started with your puppy: 

1. Get out for an unstructured walk and explore with your puppy - book a sniffspot if you want some peace, or choose a space where you can see what's happening and advocate with your puppy. 

2. Body awareness exercises like climbing on low items, moving on different surfaces, and going over and under objects (without jumping off), are great options, and teach your dog proprioreception, and how to sue their limbs - great for long term function in sports and life, as well as building confidence and socialisation! 

3. I love me a good paws up - on the couch, on a log, on a platform (maybe not on a dog). Helloooo handy technique for building confidence and your relationship at the same time (WIN WIN!!)

4. Turning on a plank - get yourself a plank around 1.5x the width of your puppy and practice turning without stepping off using a LURE - this help your pup learn where their rear end is and builds both strength and flexibility!

5. Cone wraps - fun, easy to learn at home (you can swap out the cones for buckets, gumboots, or whatever you have lying around) and they build shoulder strength, co-ordination and confidence, as well as being a great foundation for lots of other exercises, fun tricks and sports foundations!

Have a go and let us know how you go! We just LOVE to see puppies growing strong and confident.  

If you want to learn more, you can JOIN THE WAITLIST for our Canine Conditioning FUN-damentals course - it's coming VERY VERY soon!!!

xxMeg  

If you would like to delve into more detail on the science side of things, you can check out this piece by rehab vet Dr Daryl Mills. 

For the nerds among you, here is some relevant research cited in the Responses of Musculoskeletal Tissues to Disuse and Remobilization chapter in the incredible Canine Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy book written by Daryl Mills and David Levine as well as some of the papers mentioned above.