I understand the arguments both for and against I think, now not wanting to start up a tete a tete again, when dogs were wild and the puppys were born, what was the situation with them then? Would the mother and father not have had them walking and running and hunting? or were they straight into dog life at an earlier age

Just curious if this (flaw?) has been bred into dogs..

Incidently my lab gets a walk in the morning and sometimes in the evenings...

probably around 30 mins a day, and most times just a walk rather than intensive running..

as I say dont mean to start an argument again but was curious ....

Thanks in advance

From what I have seen in Wildlife programs pups are left at the den with baby sitters, so on;ly rough and tumble. It iwll be many months before they would go far, as they would be a hindrance on hunts, and physically incapable. so I imagine nature has ensured that excersise is limited in the young canine to plwy, and gradually once inot late puppy hood they would be taken on short trips to practice hunting, but not go on serious hunts with their parents until much older.

makes sense...

cheers...

You beat me to it Brainless! :D

Interesting but remember Nature has a very harsh way of dealing with any injuries/diseases/defects - affected animals die. Wolf cubs stay in/around dens with baby sitters until theyre quite big and they build up fitness by playing hunting games before joining the pack. Im not sure if packs care for sick or injured wolves.

Plus wild pups dont get walked on hard pavements etc

this post interests me, i have a 7 month old cocker who gets about 1 1/2 hours excercise a day on average, this is a fast paced walk through various terrain, i want to build him up so that he can come running with me............. eventually..................they are stamina dogs after all, however tyou hear all of these different stories about straining them and hindering development and growth, what is the truth?

If you over-walk 100 dogs when they are puppies 95 of them might be fine. The other 5 will have problems. The trouble is there is no sure fire way of telling which pups are which, so the sensible thing is to take it easy with all puppies, particularly ones with weaknesses in the breed.
Jane

Hi Sooz,
Bear in mind that dalmatians, a breed designed to be able to trot steadily for about 20 miles, don't start having their stamina built up until they are over 12 months old, and preferably nearer 18 months. Too much muscle too early is likely to distort growing bones.
:)

so do you think i should cut it down a bit? it's hard when you see them running around the house and climbing the walls, it makes you think "right down the woods young man to burn off some energy", but then would a hound ever refuse a walk...period!

Hi Sooz - if you go read through the other thread and get past the nasty bits you'll find some good info there. But yes, I would definitely cut down the exercise. One of the things on that thread was that running round the house and garden a pup can stop when he feels like it (or when you encourage him to). If you are walking him he has no choice but to walk till you get home.

Also you are talking of doing brisk/fast walks for that length of time, that type of walk is what 'can' do more damage. Several of the posters talked of leisurely walks where the dogs get to exercise their curiosity and brain as well:)

I would certainly not be walking him quite so hard and so far - but that's my opinion.

Wendy