So many of you have been very helpful to me learning to manage our 9.5 month English Pointer.  While visiting our vet yesterday, he told me my pup is highly trainable, and she needs more exercise to learn how to channel energy/good behavior in the house...  So, the last couple of days I have increased exercise (even though it is 8 degrees F in the morning!)  My question is to Pointer owners, how much "scheduled exercise" works for your dogs and how old are the dogs?

hi well i own a german wired hair pointer. she also is very active, she is 15 month old,she gets her morning walk for about 2o minutes,then im off to work for 5 hours.when i return home from work i then give her another 15 minutes,then i will notwalk her untill 5clock, on this walk she gets a good 1 hour. she is quite happy to come home i then feed her and i wont hear of her untill the next morning.ive stuck to the same routine ever since she was aloud her first walk. she also knows that the house is not a play area.ive never aloud her to play around the house, i would suggest to try a have a routine with him or her. so good luck heidi

Humm.  Interesting.  I have been doing the hour walk first thing after breakfast.  Then two shorter ones later in the day.  I have just started this routine.  I wonder what the pros and cons are as to where the long walk fits in.

One thing which is a godsend in our house are the crates.  Pointers are excellent kennel dogs, in that they like their own space.  We have two crates set up in the living room where we feed Milly.  She eats her breakfast and then sleeps for a few hours in her crate.  I've also found that they love having other pointers for company.  They are always curled up with each other.

Helen

Hi

I have a German Wirehaired Pointer who is 11 months, we have a 30 min lead walk in the morning, lunchtime approx 1 hour partly free running and part whistle training, mid afternoon another 30 mins play time and evening road walk approx 30 mins. We also don't encourage to much play in the house as we also have labs and the house would be wrecked. 

Hope that helps
Tracy

I have 3 pointers and a german wirehaired pointer.  The pointers definitely need more exercise.  After our mornings walk, the youngest pointer is still wanting more whereas the gwp is happy to sleep on the sofa until his lunchtime walk.

We are lucky in that we have game for them all to hunt and point so that does take the edge off.  We can work our pointers for up to 6 hours and they are still wanting more.  They are tired when we get home, but they can carry on working.

We give the dogs a run of just over half an hour in the morning, half an hour at lunch and just over half an hour at tea time.  Our oldest pointer is 11, next one is 6 and the youngest is 11 months.  On top of that exercise, we have training sessions throughout the day for them on their own.  I've found that they need lots of free running exercise.  We've had to do lead walks with Milly this week and we've certainly noticed a difference in her, in the house.

We have noticed that Milly (11 month) has settled down in the past couple of months but can still be a handful.  They are bred to range out far on the moor and to work tirelessly, which is what we want them to do anyway. 

Sometimes if you give them more exercise, they want more and more so you end up in a vicious circle.  It's the things you do on the walk, which tires their brain out, which helps.

Helen

I am just learning about the exercise needs.  Honestly, I did not realize what high energy meant or a lot of exercise meant before we got the English Pointer.  Those characteristics have been more of an adjustment than I ever expected.  But, I am trying to make it work because my family (and me) are very attached to her.  Although I have just increased her scheduled exercise time this week, she is doing better in the house.  Sadie is about 9.5 months.  I am worried she will never calm, but this is helping.  Is there a significant difference with each year of age?

She will settle down.  They don't really calm down until they are about 6 but each year does get easier - honest :)

Helen