Puppy Advice (merged)

katyk_2

Can anyone please advise me on how much I should be walking my 14 week old collie pup as I keep getting conflicting advice. Many seem to think you should walk them only for very short times eg 15-20 minutes for fear of hurting their legs/joints in later life - one video recommended building walks for pups up so that by 9 months old they can go for an hour at a time!
The last thing I want to do is hurt him but at the same time Collies need a lot of exercise and I love to walk - about the only exercise I do! Surely I do not have to wait so long before taking him out for an hour at a time. After all, Zak's parents were both working dogs and would be used to going out for several hours a day whilst remaining in superb shape.
A friend who runs half marathons etc has a small Cairn Terrier (around 20 weeks) and she takes her running with her for 5-6 miles at a time and has done for a few weeks now, with the full blessing and approval of the vet who thinks it is wonderful that the pup is being so well exercised.
Thanks
Katyk

hollydays

If you do decide on a particular breed,please speak to a breeder about the breed,they will tell you what the dogs traits are.I have done this a couple of times,and it has avoided me buying a dog that wasn't right for our family,and lifestyle.

JennyW_2

elsien wrote: »

Nothing - I always thought it would be waaay too messy, and she's quite happy playing for hours with them as they are.
Do they not leave a slobbery mess all over the carpet?

mine only have them in the garden :eek:

I use whatever is to hand as long as it's not going to upset their tummies. I've used pasta, natural yoghurt, peanut butter, mashed potatoe, left overs from roast dinners - Mine go in the freezer overnight and they have them the next day - they last a bit longer this way.

oh and if you have runny ingredients, I use a bit of masking tape over the hole, turn it the right way up and place it in a glass - this holds it upright whilst you fill it. The tape stays on until I'm ready to feed them.

frugallass

elsien wrote: »

Nothing - I always thought it would be waaay too messy, and she's quite happy playing for hours with them as they are.
Do they not leave a slobbery mess all over the carpet?

same - we started with the squirty peanut butter stuff but he's quite happy just to chew the kong (although they're supposed to be pretty tough, my westie bit through his within an hour)

foreign_correspondent

why would a collie pup from a breeder be any different to a collie pup from a rescue - at a couple of months old there is likely to be no difference at all?

Try breed specific rescue, often pups are born in rescues cos their mum was pregnant when she came in.

here is a collie rescue page:
http://www.bordercollierescue.org/

here is a list of loal rescue co-ordinators - there may be one near you:
http://www.collienet.com/breed_rescue_organisations.htm#bcr

it is worth noting on that page that there is info about working collies from farms being rehomed due to fot and mouth - I think it is very likely you could find a young pup with a bit of research.

Remember that most resues charge about £150 or less (my lovely dog was £95) and dogs often come vaccinated, neutered and chipped - compare that to a £400 or £500 pup from a breeder, then add on a £150 or more for the vets fees for those basics, and there is a huge financial difference too.

Dont breed and buy whilst unwanted dogs die.

G-G_4

You do realise this thread has been dug up from February? :laugh:

piratess

Hi ... I know with Labs and Golden Retrievers and basically any dog which can be prone to Hip or Elbow displasia or problems then from puppyhood to 1yr their lead walking time should be limited to 5mins per month of their age! ...

Not sure about collies .. if you go to google and type in collie forums or somthing there should be some forums and maybe ask on their ... Hope you find out ..
sorry i couldnt be more help x

LillyJ

I wasn't even planning to get a dog (my boyfriend had been asking if we could get one for ages).
We went to look at the local rescue, I wandered round, saw this dog and burst in to tears (I don't know why, he was perfectly happy and healthy!). I grabbed my boyfriend and told him to get his wallet out cos we were getting that dog. 8 months on it is the best thing I ever did.
There were lots of dogs there but something just drew me to this one and I couldn't leave him there.

Bubbles911

know this is an old post but needed to post to say she is gorgeous! Glad it all worked out ok in the long run

FakeIrish

I received many reports of walking dogs for 5 minutes for every month they are, eg, 5 mins for 1 month, 10 mins for 2 months and so on. And when they get to 12 months old, then it's unlimited. I started this approach with my English Springer Spaniel but by the time he was 6 months old, he still had plenty of energy after 30 mins walking (split into 3 walks a day) so I had no choice but to disregard this method.

However, he's 9 months old now and I still try to restrict it to an hour or so a day. I know that running or walking on concrete should be restricted as this can affect growing joints due to the hard impact. Make sure they are not doing excessive jumping from any heights and try and split the daily allowance into 2 to 3 shorter walks.

I suppose it's different for each dogs but still be cautious of not putting excessive strain on joints.