Help! I recently got a GSD puppy, at 7 wks,  she is now 13 wks, has had her injections and so can venture out into the big wide world. People and books have been telling me that you should not overwalk a GSD puppy to prevent damage to not fully formed joints.
This sounds logical but how much walking is over walking? How far or for how long should we walk her?
I don't want her to be under-walked. My neighbours and friends also have dogs who she often plays with. Surely a walk around a park is better for joints than tearing around the garden with another puppy.
look forward to hearing from someone experienced in this. i'd hate to think i was contributing towards early HD, CDRM or whatever. Thanks

A rough guide to puppy exercise is 5 minutes walking for every month of age. So 13 weeks = 3 months = 15 minute walks.
:)

Deleted as I have hit the button twice again :D

Hi

I'm no expert on GSD but I would say go for the walk where ever there are people/buses/children etc. Get her out in the world, as much socialization as you can get, I don't think I got more than 80ft away from the house when Sal was small as everyone wanted to stroke her :D Take her to the park in the car and spend 15 mins or so just stroling around you'll be surprised how many people stop you with a puppy :D

Karen

Excuse my ignorance, but is that 15 mins in total per day, or per walk?? how many walks a day is okay?? I have an 11 week old Gordon Setter, who is due his last jab next week - FREEDOM!!! he stands with his front paws on the lounge window sill, looking so wistful at the park opposite!!!

15 minutes per walk - at this age walks aren't for exercise, they are for training and socialisation. So the pup needs to be taken to as many different places as possible (as you will be doing now, just not letting him on the ground), which is mentally very tiring for them - so three outings a day will be plenty.
:)

'Tearing around the garden with another pup'  is one of the worst things that you can let her do, especially now  'They' say that most harm to hips is done between 14 - 26 wks when pup has a rapid growth phase. I agree with both Jeangenie and Kazzstaff, get on the bus too and a train, a ferry.... The most important thing with a Shepherd is socialising, she needs to have as many different experiences as you can possibly give her but she will be learning good and bad. So always make sure her experiences are good and be aware of a situation 'turning bad' i.e: meeting other dogs, make sure they are friendly dogs before you approach. Go and sit in a very public place like a shopping precinct, pubs are good places too, outside of a school gate where she will meet people of varying shapes and sizes, pushchairs, wheelchairs, all of this hard work when she is young will pay off and you will have a dog that you can be proud of, an un-socialised dog is a nuisanse to society. She willl come home from her 'outings' quite exhausted, it isn't necessarily hard physical activity that they need but mental stimulation. For now 15mins walking is fine and increase as advised.
Out of interest did you not get any advise from your breeder with regard to exercise?
Regards Debbie. :)

Thanks vey much for your help. The problem i am having is not training my pup (yet!) but training my husband. He is thrilled with our new addition and wants to take her for walks, he thinks i'm just nagging about the over walking! I think the breeder said about 15 mins going up to 30 mins at about 1 year of age, however, she didnt write this down, her written notes just say, do not over exercise. Hubby is an obstinate so & so and is convinced that over exercising would be something like a 2 hour walk. I have worked from home as a dog sitter for 6/7 years so have some experience of dogs but i have never had my own dog, hubby was brought up with german shepherds who "never had a problem". I have looked after lots of dogs, some beautifully trained and some not trained at all- where neither the dog or the owner seems particularly happy! It breaks my heart to see young dogs with problem hips/joints, maybe thru over exercise, maybe not. So i am anxious to do things right.
Our pup only had her final jab last week so hasnt had many experiences yet. She's has met loads of dogs that i've looked after, their owners, neighbours, friends etc at home, but the outside world, buses, trains etc, she hasnt done yet.
I hardly ever see dogs on buses or trains. Can they refuse to let a dog travel? Do you have to ask? Some people are scared of dogs, so wouldnt appreciate a dog sitting next to them on a bus!

You have to buy a ticket for your dog but many people don't have a car so they have to get a bus, anyone who doesn't like it can move :D
Out of interest did you buy your pup from the person that you have recommended in another post?

yes i did. she was recommended to me by 2 people. one had 1 pup from her, the other had had 3 over the years. why? do you know of her? good or bad??

I went there because she advertises 'huge chunky teddy bears'   I walked away I'm afraid and so did another lady who was there at the same time.

i never heard that. in fact i never saw her advertise. i was looking for a pup for a couple of months and her name came up a few times as breeding GSDs with a good temperment. we want a pet dog not a guard dog. where did she advertise? if you didnt like the advert why did you go & see her? Sorry, just curious! Stella

Hi

Now I've seen this word GSD a lot since I came to this site a few weeks ago. I'm not quite sure, what breed it is. I'm guessing German Shepherd, is that correct?

I just thought I'd ask.

Jeanette

Yep, well done. :)  German Shepherd Dog and welcome.
Debbie.

Thanks

I'm from Denmark, so ther is a lot of technical words I might not know. But I'm trying :-)
Jeanette