Dog exercise Q.

Alfasudcrazy

I alway like to bring my dogs to a deserted and secluded beach every day so they can have a good run for themselves. The problem is that they sometimes overdo it - chasing birds mainly and next day I have a limping dog.

I then have to leave them at home for a few days until the lame dog is better as it would not be fair to bring the rest and leave one at home.

They have a large area at home to run around in so get enough exercise anyway but obviously not the prolonged high speed bursts they do on the beach.

My Q is - is it better to say exercise them 5 days a week with two rest days - after all isn't that the way joggers etc train.

The weather of course often ensures this is the case anyway but dry spells are different.

Annika30

I exercise my dogs 7 days a week, I think that's a must. I really don't see why you can't leave the dog that's limping at home and take the rest of them for a walk. Is it always the same dog that starts limping? If it is it might be a good idea to bring him to the vet and to keep him on a lead on the beach.
Annika:)

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I believe in exercise 7 days a week if possible. Rain can change that of course. I would agree about a Vet visit if this lame business happens regularly.

LuckyStar

Alfasudcrazy wrote: »

I alway like to bring my dogs to a deserted and secluded beach every day so they can have a good run for themselves. The problem is that they sometimes overdo it - chasing birds mainly and next day I have a limping dog.

I then have to leave them at home for a few days until the lame dog is better as it would not be fair to bring the rest and leave one at home.

They have a large area at home to run around in so get enough exercise anyway but obviously not the prolonged high speed bursts they do on the beach.

My Q is - is it better to say exercise them 5 days a week with two rest days - after all isn't that the way joggers etc train.

The weather of course often ensures this is the case anyway but dry spells are different.

Why do you leave your dog lame without getting it treated and why do you deny the rest of them their walk because of it? Why are they not walked every day? Why do you compare them to joggers? They are DOGS.

Futurism

LuckyStar wrote: »

Why do you leave your dog lame without getting it treated and why do you deny the rest of them their walk because of it? Why are they not walked every day? Why do you compare them to joggers? They are DOGS.

It has a bit of a limp,it happens.
It was mentioned that the dogs have lots of land to exercise on,so they are walked.
Joggers do this so that their muscles have time to rest and repair,I'm sure dogs muscles need resting as well.

LuckyStar

Futurism wrote: »

It has a bit of a limp,it happens.
It was mentioned that the dogs have lots of land to exercise on,so they are walked.
Joggers do this so that their muscles have time to rest and repair,I'm sure dogs muscles need resting as well.

Yeah but comparing dogs to people is not always a very good idea.
Nor is not getting a dog to the vet when it limps- from the post it sounds like one or more of the OP's dogs gets lame on a regular basis.

Futurism

LuckyStar wrote: »

Yeah but comparing dogs to people is not always a very good idea.
Nor is not getting a dog to the vet when it limps- from the post it sounds like one or more of the OP's dogs gets lame on a regular basis.

I suppose,I just assume the dogs are walked get exercise everyday anyway.But a reest from hard exercise is probably a good idea anyway.

Again,it could be just a sore muscles causing a limp

golden

Hi there

We had a large Golden Retriever RIP (Shandy) who if walked too much would limp due to arthritus. (he had it when he was two years old). If its a persistent lameness get it checked out by a vet. We walked Shandy every day but never over did the walking otherwise he would go lame. He learnt no sharp turns as he would go lame as well.

Alfasudcrazy

Of course any serious condition would mean vet attention straight away such as if they cut their paws or had a very severe limp.

These dogs run at very high speeds on the beach for prolonged periods so the odd strain is inevitable resulting in a minor limp. Not much a vet can do about that except tell me to give the dogs a rest which I am doing.

I of course examine them to see if there is any visible injury.

The dogs must have done at least 10km around the property yesterday as if one sees / hears something at the end of the field the other two have to run down to see whats up - its a vicious circle that lasts from 9am (when they are left out) to about midnight (when they are put to bed)

Its just that I find they need 3 /4 days 'rest' to return to normal.

I think leaving one dog at home would be cruel as they always go / do everything together and each of them hates to be separated or left out of the action.

Annika30

It sounds like your dogs are stressed running around in your garden that much. I'd say you'd be better off keeping them in a large dog run and it's not normal what your saying about your dogs starting to limp on a regular basis, why not keep them on a lead when you take them out so they don't over do it? They don't have to be off the lead all the time.
If they were my dogs I'd bring them to the vet for a check up, sounds like they have problems with their joints, which might be as a result from over exercising them.

michelleans

My boy gets from 5-8 hours of walks/off lead runs a day 7 days a week (as we live in an apartment and he has no backyard). And in saying that he;d probably go 24 hours a day if he could. Even with all that exercise he does not limp, I'd get the limping dog checked out by the vet. IF it is problems with joints some olive oil in his/her food, or extra suppliments would help. Also, keeping him/her onlead while at the beach would help things along.

LuckyStar

Large breed dogs are not supposed to be over exercised while growing up as it can strain their joints. OP you examining them is not quite the same as the vet doing it and you don't know what the vet is going to say unless you bring the dog to be treated. It is NOT normal for a dog to be limping.

Leaving an injured dog at home is not cruel, they do not have to do EVERYTHING together. If one of them broke a leg and would be out of action for a few weeks, would they all be cooped up for all that time?

I think it is crueller to leave a lame dog for a few days until it gets better rather than get it treated. That is a few days of being in pain for your dog. It doesn't matter if you check for visible injuries- there is such thing as internal injuries which you might not know about. A vet would need to do an x-ray.

LuckyStar

[Large breed dogs are not supposed to be over exercised while growing up as it can strain their joints. OP you examining them is not quite the same as the vet doing it and you don't know what the vet is going to say unless you bring the dog to be treated. It is NOT normal for a dog to be limping.

Leaving an injured dog at home is not cruel, they do not have to do EVERYTHING together. If one of them broke a leg and would be out of action for a few weeks, would they all be cooped up for all that time?

I think it is crueller to leave a lame dog for a few days until it gets better rather than get it treated. That is a few days of being in pain for your dog. It doesn't matter if you check for visible injuries- there is such thing as internal injuries which you might not know about. A vet would need to do an x-ray.

Edit- going through the threads you have made about your dogs (about 4 pages of threads came up in the search), it seems they have hurt themselves a few times and also attack each other quite a bit?

Alfasudcrazy wrote: »

My two Dobies normally live with each other in peaceful bliss but now and again all hell breaks loose and I have to rush in to separate them. :eek:

I don't mean play fighting either - this is total war type situations. My collie goes scurrying for cover when it happens as it did today.

It starts just like a brawl outside a nightclub - all seems dandy and then its snarls and two dobies rolling around on the ground. What frightened me a bit about today's fight was that for the first time they did not stop for me for a while despite my best efforts.:eek:

I am just afraid they could start when I am out. The female dobie is to blame for most of it. She is such a highly strung dog compared to the easy going and placid male. :rolleyes:.

Alfasudcrazy wrote: »

My female dobie and female collie have a great time 'playing' with my male dobie which is all very nice etc but part of the playing is to catch his back leg with their teeth. I always assumed that this was always no harm but of late I have been noticing little scabs and small scars where this is happening.

Alfasudcrazy wrote: »

About three weeks ago my Bonnie - the female dobie was running at full speed after a seagull as she likes to do at the beach when nobody else is around.

I however noticed that she was lifting one of her back legs afterwards and assumed she had just hurt her foot or something.

It lasted a few days and then went away and I thought all was well as she was back to her usual self and was running about again although not as fast as she had been before and also she now seemed to prefer to walk along with me and not follow the other dogs as they ran about.

I then noticed a little lump on the middle of her back along the backbone. I knew this was unusual as it was not there before and then related this to the leg lifting a week or two before.

Had her at the vet this evening and she is going for an x ray on Wednesday as the vet said something was definitely out of place. Even though she is seemingly happy and plays along with the other dogs as normal I am sure it is not serious but I have read of dobie's breaking their backs as they don't know their own power and Bonnie could run at speeds that must have been at least 35mph.

Hope she will be ok as she is the tourist of the pack - always loves going places and looking out the window of the jeep while the others snore.

Perhaps the dogs need to be put on a lead to stop them over exerting themselves, and given some training or even separated to stop them fighting?

It's the law anyway that Dobermanns should be muzzled in public and on a lead?

dollydishmop

LuckyStar wrote: »

[...]
OP you examining them is not quite the same as the vet doing it and you don't know what the vet is going to say unless you bring the dog to be treated. It is NOT normal for a dog to be limping.

I think it is crueller to leave a lame dog for a few days until it gets better rather than get it treated. That is a few days of being in pain for your dog. It doesn't matter if you check for visible injuries- there is such thing as internal injuries which you might not know about. A vet would need to do an x-ray.

Are you seriously suggesting, that each an every time a dog has a slight limp you'd be bringing it to the vet for a full work up and x-ray???

Good heavens...

With regard to the OP, if this is happening on a regular basis I'd be inclined to look at controlling their activity on the beach better so that the one prone to limping doesn't over-exert itself each time.
Use the beach walks to practice some basic obedience training, recalls, retrieves etc...then when they are getting a little tired, clip on the leads and go home.
That way they *can* play on the beach 7 days a week, with much reduced risk of over doing things and ending up sore.

Luckystar...if this makes it clearer for you...imagine you've gone for a very long walk, or done something physical which you're not used to doing....an extra hard day at work for an example. If you woke up the next morning a little stiff, would you imediately rush yourself down to the casualty department at your local hospital and get yourself x-rayed, mri-scanned etc etc....or would you just rest for a day or two, and then seek medical advice if the pain/stiffness didn't reduce in any way?

I have a dog here (actually I have *6* of them) but one of them will be a little stiff in her shoulder after an extra long walk. There's no heat, there's no pain if I move it around and there's no pain if I press gently...she just doesn't move as freely as normal. She's not holding it the air, she's not crying with pain, she's *just* a little stiff and has a slight limp, and because I know she exerted herself previously I can attribute it to a particular event. If she's still stiff after a couple of days, or if it gets proggressively worse, then of course she would go to the vet (never had to I hasten to add)...but she's not in pain, she's not suffering, she's just a little stiff from a long walk. The same way that I probably am stiff if I'm the one who took them on the extra long walk...
I don't *rest* her when she's stiff, but her excercise while she's stiff is strictly controlled on a short lead, while the other 5 hooligans run loose. I strongly believe a little *light* exercise is great for keeping things moving and freeing stiff joints up.

muletide

LuckyStar wrote: »

Why do you leave your dog lame without getting it treated and why do you deny the rest of them their walk because of it? Why are they not walked every day? Why do you compare them to joggers? They are DOGS.

Jesus, relax would you - he,she is only looking for some advice. Another Dog owning Nazi !!!! - What a sh1tty response

OP I exercise my dog about six times a week I always try to get seven days in - but its not always possible when you have other commitments. They wont go crazy if they miss a day here and there - There are plenty of people who never bring their dogs out so dont feel bad for missing a day here and there.

And if it is recurring - go to the vet

Rodney Trotter

Some people, in my opinion (which I hope I'm allowed to express), go completely OTT with their family pets.

Dogs are dogs, not babies, or children. They play rough, they nip and bite, they get on with things. Nature provided them with enough senses and abilities to look after themselves. They do not suffer pain like humans. Look at a dog carrying an injured paw? They're not necessarily in pain, in fact were it not for the fact they carry the paw one would, most times, not know there was anything wrong with them.

If a dog limps, give him/her a few days to get over it. One of our dogs hurt the other some time back. A week not exercising him and he was right as rain. No need for the vet, no need for pain relief, or Prozac.

Our two dogs run around the garden every day. It's all the exercise they need. Their muscle tone is fantastic and they have great appetites. In fact, they have a routine of running around for a couple of hours, then going to bed, for a rest. They are loving life.

Given Nature, and how it works, I seriously doubt any dog would ever over-exercise itself. If he/she didn't want to, or couldn't, run, they would not run.

As for the OP? He's well aware of what's legal or illegal, and it's obvious from his many postings he has fantastic regard for his pets. So what if they get the odd limp? It's par for the course.

Alfasudcrazy

My vet is getting slightly annoyed with me because I am going there so often lately so I try not to panic anytime I see a minor problem.

Even sometimes I post here with some problem that in the end was not much of a problem at all.

The limp is gone now anyway so we can all relax again - two or three days rest worked a treat.

LuckyStar

dollydishmop wrote: »

Are you seriously suggesting, that each an every time a dog has a slight limp you'd be bringing it to the vet for a full work up and x-ray???

if this makes it clearer for you...imagine you've gone for a very long walk, or done something physical which you're not used to doing....an extra hard day at work for an example. If you woke up the next morning a little stiff, would you imediately rush yourself down to the casualty department at your local hospital and get yourself x-rayed, mri-scanned etc etc....or would you just rest for a day or two, and then seek medical advice if the pain/stiffness didn't reduce in any way?

If you are aksing would I leave a limping dog untreated for days- no, I would not.

I do not compare myself to a dog because dogs and humans are very different species.

muletide wrote: »

Jesus, relax would you - he,she is only looking for some advice. Another Dog owning Nazi !!!! - What a sh1tty response

I think you need to relax, not me buddy.

Rodney Trotter wrote: »

dogs do not suffer pain like humans.

Yes dogs do feel pain. Prove me wrong on it if you wish.

Rodney Trotter

LuckyStar wrote: »

...........................................
Yes dogs do feel pain. Prove me wrong on it if you wish.

Please. If you're going to take issue with something I've posted, as least have the courtesy to quote me correctly.
I never said dogs do not feel pain,

LuckyStar wrote: »

......................... dogs and humans are very different species.
...............................

Just the point I was making myself!

LuckyStar

Rodney Trotter wrote: »

Please. If you're going to take issue with something I've posted, as least have the courtesy to quote me correctly.
I never said dogs do not feel pain,

I may have read it in the wrong context, I read it to mean you meant dogs don't feel pain full stop, maybe you just meant they don't feel pain as much as we do? Apologies if I was wrong.

OP- Is it possible your dogs may have injured each other in one of the situations you have described?

scatty

LuckyStar wrote: »

Why do you leave your dog lame without getting it treated and why do you deny the rest of them their walk because of it? Why are they not walked every day? Why do you compare them to joggers? They are DOGS.

come on guys calm down !! it was a simple enough question .i am new to this board and to be quite honest with you if this is the sort of replies i can expect i think i will give it a miss!!:eek:

LuckyStar

I was being calm dude, just I was running out the door typing that

Whatever about the second two but the first two are reasonable questions to ask?

I am new here as well but I have seen that if you make a thread about something it is normal to get questions from people?