Walking puppies

petals

What age would it be okay to start walking a puppy and why?

jen_23

Hey Petals,

As far as I know you can walk a puppy at any age! However the general rule is you only walk the puppy 5 minutes for every month of age ie if the puppy is 4 months old you can walk him/her for 20 minutes.

You should't walk them more than that because you don't want to put pressure on their bones which are still growing.

kildara

A week (or is it two weeks) after his/her second set of injections.
Because before that they are not fully immune to diseases.

faceman

kildara wrote: »

A week (or is it two weeks) after his/her second set of injections.
Because before that they are not fully immune to diseases.

Yep, what kildara said, 1 week after their injections.

It will take a puppy some time to get used to being on a lead so until then, no harm in getting some practise in the back garden, walking around with the lead on.

Most dogs should get a good 30 minutes of exercise a day. Puppies obviously may take some time to break in but you'd be surprised at who ends up walking who!

jen_23

oops yes definitly do not have puppies out untill after they have had all their vaccinations. You can still get them used to walking on a lead around your own garden

And please do not over walk puppies! They have soft bones which are still growing. Being overwalked can lead to hip and joint problems when they get older.

Maqnus

like puppies :pac:

lorebringer

Puppies should be satrted to be "walked in your own back garden from the minute you get them, to get them used to the leash and the sensation of walking with restrictions. Walking outside of your property can start about a week after the pup has had all of it's vaccinations. Walk the pup for a totaly of 5 mins per month of age at the start (e.g. a pup of 3 months old would be walked for 15 (3 x 5) minutes in totaly a day) to let the dog get used to walking and also protect from joint damage in developing pups. Gradually increase this until the dog is about 6/8 months old (larger breeds need a longer time to adjust because their bones are growing for longer than smaller breeds).

petals

Thanks for the info. I was only wondering cos I brought the eight week old pup out on the lead with the 5 year old dog the other day.. The pup didn't walk the whoel way I carried him most of the way but did let him down occasionally. He seemed to be having great fun walking behind the older dog but then a neighbour gave out to me for having him out of the house even. Was just wondering

Steve30x

lorebringer wrote: »

Puppies should be satrted to be "walked in your own back garden from the minute you get them, to get them used to the leash and the sensation of walking with restrictions. Walking outside of your property can start about a week after the pup has had all of it's vaccinations. Walk the pup for a totaly of 5 mins per month of age at the start (e.g. a pup of 3 months old would be walked for 15 (3 x 5) minutes in totaly a day) to let the dog get used to walking and also protect from joint damage in developing pups. Gradually increase this until the dog is about 6/8 months old (larger breeds need a longer time to adjust because their bones are growing for longer than smaller breeds).

I tried that with my parents puppy when they got him first. He would go around half the garden , at the top of the garden he would walk towards the house and down the garden again , but as soon as his back was facing the back door he would refuse to walk. He eventualy walked perfectly on the lead on walks.

star-pants

petals wrote: »

Thanks for the info. I was only wondering cos I brought the eight week old pup out on the lead with the 5 year old dog the other day.. The pup didn't walk the whoel way I carried him most of the way but did let him down occasionally. He seemed to be having great fun walking behind the older dog but then a neighbour gave out to me for having him out of the house even. Was just wondering

Yeah you shouldn't bring them outside until they've had all their shots (which they won't have at 8weeks). And even then I think you're to wait a week or two before you bring them outside.

andreac

petals wrote: »

Thanks for the info. I was only wondering cos I brought the eight week old pup out on the lead with the 5 year old dog the other day.. The pup didn't walk the whoel way I carried him most of the way but did let him down occasionally. He seemed to be having great fun walking behind the older dog but then a neighbour gave out to me for having him out of the house even. Was just wondering

Please dont bring the pup out until its over all its vaccinations, they can pick up diseases like parvo and lepto which can be fatal to pups if caught, its only a matter of waiting another few weeks. Just keep the pup confined to the garden for the moment.

Whispered

andreac wrote: »

parvo and lepto

you would not believe how quickly these diseases can manifest after having a pup outside. Literally a case of every minute matters when getting them to the vets. It's a scary thing to happen. Best wait until the pup is over his vax.

Do you have any pup pictures?

petals

Thanks for info. Vet's going to give him his injections next week anyways when we bring the "pound" dog to be neutered!

helena.ryan wrote: »

Do you have any pup pictures?

yeah there's one of him:

petangels

Get showing her off as soon as you can!! <snip> no advertising<snip>

star-pants

petangels wrote: »

Get showing her off as soon as you can!!

Obviously she shouldn't show off the pup until it's fully vaccinated.

Cute pup OP

petals

petangels wrote: »

Get showing her off as soon as you can!! <snip> no advertising<snip>

She's a he and he's a little ladies man!

Exon

There's no set age, it depends on breed, size, temperment etc.

Whenever the dog looks ready to be walked I suppose!

Aru

Exon wrote: »

There's no set age, it depends on breed, size, temperment etc.

Whenever the dog looks ready to be walked I suppose!

pups should not be walked until a week after their 2nd vaccination..
so around 13 weeks..before this and you put your pup at risk of catching parvo,leptospirosis or distemper...
Parvo in particular is often fatal to dogs especially puppies and its not a nice death at that..chronic bloody diarhoea ...older dogs can also catch parvo...
im afraid the lady was right to give out to you..its a highly contagious disease and its spread very easily even if you came into contact with no other dogs parvo is a virus that can live in the ground for up to 5 months and can also be spread from a seemingly healthy but carrying the disease dog or their poo to a young pup very easily...

your pup is lovely by the way but please for his sake keep him in til after his vaccinations..

petals

Sure we have another dog we got from the pound two months ago as well he's five! Pup goes mad to go out and play with him and they seem to have fun together at the mo! My point the pound dog could have anything as we don't know his history. Vet looked at him before and couldn't spot anything major but still if a perfectly healthy dog could be carrying these things what's to say that the pound dog isn't carrying one of them! I don't know like. Yer one was just a nosey busy body anyway though Pup is getting injections next week although he's only 10 weeks now vet says he can get them anyway

tk123

We were told 2 weeks after the 2nd vaccination. I can't wait because the puppy is getting too heavy to carry around the corner to the vets for his weekly "puppy preschool" He'll be able to walk to his last class in a weeks time.

messygirl

hiya I will be getting a puppy in a few weeks and I have one question, if most socialising should take place between 8 and a half and 13 weeks how do you do that is a safe manner that won't have him/her exposed to diseases? Carry him/her and a bottle of antiseptic gel for anyone who wants to pet him/her? So confusing.

SilverFox261

messygirl wrote: »

hiya I will be getting a puppy in a few weeks and I have one question, if most socialising should take place between 8 and a half and 13 weeks how do you do that is a safe manner that won't have him/her exposed to diseases? Carry him/her and a bottle of antiseptic gel for anyone who wants to pet him/her? So confusing.

When i got my two a few months back they had already been shown off with the rest of their litter to potential owners so they were used to new faces showing up at random. I kept up the trend when i took them home by bringing frineds/family over to see them. I also brought my neighbours kids over to play with them a bit to get them used to children.

They just passed the six month mark now and they don't give me an ounce of trouble anywhere i bring them when it comes to other people and they're great with children.

Getting them used to other dogs is a bit more difficult. I brought them to some training classes where they did alot of socialising with other dogs once they had their 2nd vaccination. They still pull/bark the first time they see a dog on the street but because of the classes they now stop and sit to allow the other dogs pass when i give the command. They're getting better every week so they should get to the stage were they just don't react to other dogs at all. The different rules are misleading but if you put in a bit of effort in the first few weeks while they are getting their vaccinations then you and your pet will benefit from it in the long run.