# Too much exercise for a puppy? Worried



## buiscuitsm0m (Jan 28, 2014)

Hi! I have a basic question that I can't find the answer to. I have a 13 week old cocker spaniel puppy and we have been going on several short walks a day, usually around the time she needs her potty breaks. (I live in an apartment building in the city.) Today, because the weather was finally nice, we went on a longer walk (about an hour in the morning) and then another longer walk (35 minutes) in the afternoon. She was running around energetically on the first walk. After we came home, she was tired and slept (as usual) during the morning, but I now think I unintentionally overexercised her on both walks. During her second walk, she just sat down on my feet and I realized we needed to stop. Unfortunately, she growls at me if I try to pick her up, so we just took the "short" route home and I let her take her time. She is now passed out and resting.

I just googled "how much exercise for a puppy" and saw the 5 minutes per month of age recommendation for puppies. I feel terrible for potentially having over-walked my sweet puppy. Will one day of being exhausted and having this much exercise cause her permanent joint problems? I can't seem to find the answer to this anywhere. I obviously won't be exercising her this much in the future, but I'm really worried about whether today's walks were too much? Did I mess her up by this one day?

Does anyone have any information about this? Thanks so much in advance.


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## Kyle071785 (Nov 28, 2013)

Your pup will be fine. Don't worry. 
Most pups exercise themselves silly normally so the extended walk didn't impact your pup much. The reason the walks may tire them out quicker than normal play is that during a walk they're using both physical energy and mental energy (focusing on you) that its more tiring. 

I remember on Christmas, our pup was 13 weeks old. He was playing so much that day, he basically didn't resume regular activities until the 27th.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

She'll be okay with that exercise, but you should be careful about walking her before she's finished her vaccinations.


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## NicoleIsStoked (Aug 31, 2012)

Also, do not let a 13 week old puppy tell you not to pick her up. Do it anyways. The amount of damage she can cause to you from a bite now is minimal compared to when she's full grown and agressive.


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## dogsule (Nov 6, 2013)

While I wouldn't walk that long with her right now yet, I am sure she is fine. I second what others have said though, you cannot go walking the neighborhood until your puppy has the whole series of shots. You don't want her to come down with some preventable disease. AND you need to be able to pick your puppy up. Do you know why she growls? I have cockers and they are love bugs, I can't imagine one not wanting to be picked up and loved. Maybe there is something that hurts when you pick her up?? Just a thought.


Is her name Biscuit?? We were going to name one of our cockers that but my dh didn't like it and we named her Angel instead. This is her now all grow up...

IMG_6295a by rzyg, on Flickr


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

NicoleIsStoked said:


> Also, do not let a 13 week old puppy tell you not to pick her up. Do it anyways. The amount of damage she can cause to you from a bite now is minimal compared to when she's full grown and agressive.


Lol.
And when she's grown, she will hate being picked up because nobody respected her at a 13 week old. Best way to make a dog worse is to force them into something.

There could be any number of reasons this dog is growling when she's being picked up. She could be in pain, she could be afraid, or she could flat out not like it.


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## redranger (Sep 30, 2013)

I wouldn't worry too, pups at that age usually have overflowing energy. But still you need to be sensitive if you know he's not being ok sometimes, you can see and feel it yourself to him.


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

For growling when being picked up, first make sure there are no physical issues. If she's healthy, check out Sophia Yin's videos on desensitization and counter-conditioning (she has one on nail clipping and one for blowing in a dog's face). Really, though, many dogs don't like to be picked up or physically moved, so you might want to avoid having to do so. For the walk issue, figure out how long she can walk and time your outings appropriately (that may take some trial and error  ). For other times you may need to physically move her, teach her verbal cues like "off" or "over" so you can cue her to move.

If you ignore her telling you that she's uncomfortable, you risk her becoming more forceful in showing her displeasure. You can also end up with a dog who doesn't trust you which can make training and general living far more difficult.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Your pup will be fine. Personally, I think hour long walks are too much at that age, but 20-40min walks at a slow pace are probably fine. I wouldn't do more than one longer walk in a day and a few shorter ones are best. Is this all on concrete? I would also try to keep longer walks on grass or dirt if possible.


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## NicoleIsStoked (Aug 31, 2012)

HollowHeaven said:


> Lol.
> And when she's grown, she will hate being picked up because nobody respected her at a 13 week old. Best way to make a dog worse is to force them into something.
> 
> There could be any number of reasons this dog is growling when she's being picked up. She could be in pain, she could be afraid, or she could flat out not like it.


Sorry, but I completely disagree.


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## kelly528 (Feb 13, 2014)

Also, are you being sure to support her whole body when you pick her up? If her bum is not supported properly it puts a lot of stress on her ribs and back, which would make being picked up a pretty unpleasant, painful experience.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

NicoleIsStoked said:


> Sorry, but I completely disagree.


Well, you're entitled to your very misguided opinion.
Forcing the dog into something that makes them uncomfortable isn't desensitizing, it's traumatizing (maybe not that extreme but I can't pass up the word play). A dog not wanting to be picked up does not mean the dog is, or will ever be, aggressive.


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## kelly528 (Feb 13, 2014)

Dominance aside, forcing any human or creature to do anything only breeds resent. Even in the wild, dogs don't make a habit out of arbitrarily hurting, scaring or making their packmates uncomfortable.


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## buiscuitsm0m (Jan 28, 2014)

Thank you all for the input and reassurances on the exercise. I really appreciate it. Our puppy has been sleeping a lot today, probably recovering (!), and I've only taken her on very short walks around the block to help her do her potty business. She has had most of her vaccinations and the breeder recommended taking her out now (even though she still has one more set of shots) for socialization purposes, as she thinks the risk of disease around where we live is small, and we try to be as careful as we can with her.

Unfortunately, we live in a concrete jungle with very little grass or dirt anywhere, so 98% of her walking is on concrete by necessity. I am going to make sure I only take her on short walks until she is much older.

Re the growling, she only does it sometimes when we pick her up and we're not sure why. I am both sensitive to the fact that we shouldn't "give in" to or encourage her growling, but also that we should pay attention when she is telling us that she's uncomfortable or doesn't like something so as to not traumatize her. Still not sure how to deal with it. I spoke to a trainer today who said to continue to pick her up and just tell her "no" when she growls as we are picking her up, but I am also not picking her up as much as before, as she's old enough to walk on her own where we need her to go. I do pick her up supporting her bum first, so I'm not sure why she doesn't like it, if I'm doing something wrong, etc.

Thank you all again for the advice and encouragement. It's so helpful.


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## buiscuitsm0m (Jan 28, 2014)

dogsule said:


> While I wouldn't walk that long with her right now yet, I am sure she is fine. I second what others have said though, you cannot go walking the neighborhood until your puppy has the whole series of shots. You don't want her to come down with some preventable disease. AND you need to be able to pick your puppy up. Do you know why she growls? I have cockers and they are love bugs, I can't imagine one not wanting to be picked up and loved. Maybe there is something that hurts when you pick her up?? Just a thought.
> 
> 
> Is her name Biscuit?? We were going to name one of our cockers that but my dh didn't like it and we named her Angel instead. This is her now all grow up...
> ...


Your Angel is so cute! She has a *beautiful* coat. We do call our little puppy Biscuit and she's a blue roan cocker. I originally wanted to name her Bagel (bread product theme here?), but my husband vetoed that one.


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## NicoleIsStoked (Aug 31, 2012)

Nobody here is talking about any kind of "dominance" or "pack behaviour" or scaring or bullying or otherwise. Though I knew that would come up. 
It's not about trying to force anything on your dog or freak them out. But a growl is a warning. We can all agree on that. A bite can easily follow a growl that it not addressed. A bite is aggression. It's not about disrespecting the dogs wish or "traumatizing" it (LOL) it's about not fearing your own puppy and not allowing your puppy to have a reason to fear you. My concept is that your dog will not always like everything you do to them, but they have to learn to trust that you would never hurt them. 
Just my two cents and everyone here is entitled to their own.


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

buiscuitsm0m said:


> Thank you all for the input and reassurances on the exercise. I really appreciate it. Our puppy has been sleeping a lot today, probably recovering (!), and I've only taken her on very short walks around the block to help her do her potty business. She has had most of her vaccinations and the breeder recommended taking her out now (even though she still has one more set of shots) for socialization purposes, as she thinks the risk of disease around where we live is small, and we try to be as careful as we can with her.
> 
> Unfortunately, we live in a concrete jungle with very little grass or dirt anywhere, so 98% of her walking is on concrete by necessity. I am going to make sure I only take her on short walks until she is much older.
> 
> ...


I'll summarize my previous advice:

Vet check to make sure there are no physical issues.

Train verbal cues so you don't need to pick up or physically move your pup. I'm sure Kikopup has videos.

Desensitization and counter-conditioning to handling. Sophia Yin has two excellent videos on her web site: Dog Aggressive for Toenail Trim and Jack Russell Terrier (JRT) Aggression When Blowing in Face.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

buiscuitsm0m said:


> I spoke to a trainer today who said to continue to pick her up and just tell her "no" when she growls as we are picking her up, but I am also not picking her up as much as before, as she's old enough to walk on her own where we need her to go. I do pick her up supporting her bum first, so I'm not sure why she doesn't like it, if I'm doing something wrong, etc.


Punishing her for growling (even verbally) will teach her not to growl. A growl is your warning, and if you take it away, you don't take away the way the dog feels, you just take away your warning.
I would think making being picked up a pleasant experience would be the better way to go. Handle the dog a lot in play, offer a reward for proper behavior when you go to pick her up, offer her a reward when she is picked up, then once she tolerates being picked up, fade the reward out.


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

buiscuitsm0m said:


> During her second walk, she just sat down on my feet and I realized we needed to stop. Unfortunately, she growls at me if I try to pick her up,


 Would seem to suggest that it was a pain or soreness issue, at least in this particular instance. I'm not sure about any other times when she growls, but consider for a moment how it might be similar to when a hawk scoops up it's prey. Human towering over, then scoops up dog? If I was the prey I'd probably kick scream and strike back in protest too. 



> She has had most of her vaccinations


 If they are fairly recent, this could be the cause of tenderness, especially in the hindquarters.



> I spoke to a trainer today who said to continue to pick her up and just tell her "no" when she growls as we are picking her up


 This is not good advice. Saying "no" doesn't really convey anything to the dog other than a very broad 'the human is unhappy at the moment'. I doubt that a 13 wk pup is making any connection of your words to the fact you wish the growling to stop. 'Flooding' or forcing the dog is likely to bring about all sorts of unwanted consequences. 

http://dogcare.dailypuppy.com/growling-behavior-dogs-picked-up-2269.html


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## kelly528 (Feb 13, 2014)

HollowHeaven said:


> Punishing her for growling (even verbally) will teach her not to growl. A growl is your warning, and if you take it away, you don't take away the way the dog feels, you just take away your warning.
> I would think making being picked up a pleasant experience would be the better way to go. Handle the dog a lot in play, offer a reward for proper behavior when you go to pick her up, offer her a reward when she is picked up, then once she tolerates being picked up, fade the reward out.


I agree with these sentiments, I would make a constant point of really handling her and sucking her up. You might have to go with kid gloves at first, ie holding her in your lap, sitting down when you pick her up etc. so that she is not freaked out by the experience of being elevated so such a height-- its a long way down for a little dog so its hard to blame them for being nervous!

I would also try to see if there's any particular type of handling that she is more averse to-- maybe some part of her body is a little more tender and she is guarding it.


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## tigerkitty (Jul 12, 2013)

I have a Cocker Spaniel too and he refused to walk anywhere until he was around 5-6months old. He was very lazy and would lie down on the grass/concrete and crawl along instead if I tried to coax him. Puppies do sleep a lot at that age and so I don't think you should worry too much - just cut it down until she's older and has the energy for it. Jet is 11 months old now and though he is still very lazy, he has the stamina for 1-2hr walks per day now then comes home and sleeps the rest of the day away. 

Like others said, check that there are no medical issues with her belly/legs, to rule that out, and if that's all good then as said above, reward her each time you pick her up so she gets used to it being a pleasant experience instead of a bad one. 
It could be something bad happened one time when she was picked up and now she doesn't like it, so you need to rewire her experience of it by making it a good thing!

I wish you luck!


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