# exercise



## clare (Jun 19, 2009)

Can anyone advise how much exercise I should be giving my 6 month old cockapoos. 
Thanks.


----------



## kendal (Jul 16, 2009)

how much are you doing just now. is he off lead yet.

at 6 months Echo was doing walks at about 1 or 2 hous long invaulving lotrs of hills.

i think her longest walk to date is 8 miles which took about 5 hours and thats her 10 months now. 

youl know yourself how much he can do.


----------



## clare (Jun 19, 2009)

They currently play off lead quite a lot in the garden.
I have been a bit cautious about giving them too much exercise on lead on hard surfaces as most advice I have read suggests that it can do harm to their developing bones and you shouldn't give them any more than about 30 mins per day. I just don't feel 30 mins is enough as they are just full of energy and I would love to take them on much longer walks but don't want to cause them any harm.


----------



## kendal (Jul 16, 2009)

you can push it a bit with small dogs. its you large dogs that are prone to problems with their joints. 

small breeds mature quicker than large breeds. i know a GSD pup who is the same age as Echo almost to the day. and he is on just under the length of walk that she is on now.


----------



## clare (Jun 19, 2009)

thanks for this


----------



## niccolina17 (Sep 8, 2009)

Hi! I had Otis when he was a puppy. I think one of the great things about this breed is that they don't need endless exercise to be calm in the home. He has always let me know what he wants. he loves walks, and also loves to be chased. At 6 months I would take him to a dog park or field for 30 minutes or so a day. He would chase other puppies a bit, and also spend a lot of time sniffing around and greeting everyone. If I could get 7-8 good sprints out of him during that time I was usually happy. He's a good little swimmer, but he doesn't do it on his own, even though he loves going to the beach. While I play fetch with my retriever, he sprints back and forth along the shore, wading in to his knees every once in a while. I will agree with the other poster, though, he has always been up for long walks, even at that age, but I don't think it's necessary if that's not part of your lifestyle. they're such great dogs, they're easy. They can go all day or take a few days off without complaint. I think as long as you are spending lots of time with your puppies, the specific amount of exercise becomes less important. He follows me around everywhere, jumps in and out of the car with me, goes to friends houses. so long as they are engaged, they will be fine. just make sure they don't get fat!! That leads to all sorts of problems. If your puppies start to get plump or hyper, that's probably a good sign they're not exercising enough. You'll know!


----------

