There is this couple who "run" their young pup at the same place i walk my dogs. They ride their bikes and make the pup run after them.
The other day i was walking my dogs and they passed me with pup running after them as per usual,around half an hour later we sat down for a rest stop and i saw them again,there is this track which takes me and my dogs(boxers) around 20 minutes to circle,walking slow and steady.This pair were going round and round taking around 7 minutes,each time they passed me my blood was boiling more and more,until on the third one i asked how old the dog was,14 weeks they said(border collie) and they had to tire him out somehow or else he's all hyper in the evenings! I then asked if they had spoken to their vet about the type and amount of exercise they were giving their wee mite,the husband just ignored me :rolleyes: but i told the wife that they could be doing untold damage to this pups joints,bones etc. and told them about the 5 minutes for each month of age rule,not 1-2 hours like they're doing!!  she said she would talk to their vet,who knows if she was serious or not???

Am i wrong in thinking that this amount of exercise is detrimental to a young pup. The dog did not look puffed out or anything,but still it cant be good for him!!

It just makes me so angry when people get these types of dogs who they know need alot of exercise and then couldnt be bothered walking them,but take the easy way out rolling along on their bikes

thats terrible. that puppy will end up crippled. :( bloody people

Complete twits!!!! All they are going to achieve at best is a very very fit hyper mischief maker or at worst a crippled dog :(

By the sounds of it that is far too much excercise for such a young pup, our 18 week old get a max of half an hour a day, 10 mins of that is off lead but he mostly ambles rather than runs :D And we go out more for socialiasation and training than to actually 'exercise' him like we do with the girls. And even then he doesn't get this every day, and he is not allowed to jum off the settee or walk up and down stairs.
Where I live, the town is surrounded  3/4 by woods which then go up to the North York moors so we have alot of stables and horses and I have seen a woman trotting her horse along aqccompanied by a GR, she's probably 3 now, and a pup that looks no older than Idõ and judging from where she was she must have been out for at least an hour, the pup was trailing behind with a stick in its mouth, I just thought I hope she doesn't do this everyday, if she must do it
I sometimes go out on my bike with Chloe, and my dad takes her running(and I mean RUNning not jogging :D ) which means she has to run and therefore doesn't get much opportunity to sniff about etc but most days my mam walks the girls for anything upto 3 hours in the woods, but we are lucky where we live and that she has the luxury of time, I'd love to stay at home all morning and walk the dogs :D But I have to go to college instead :( !!!
Emily :)

You are so right to be concerned, hopefully you will have raised doubts in their minds, and they will at least consult a vet.  What a dog like this needs in any case is mental stimulation in lots of short bursts, rather than hours of physical excercise :(

I havnt seen them since i spoke with them.They probaly hide when they see me coming now

No your right that's way too much, but unless their breeder or vet had told them otherwise how would they know, i bet their intentions were good, they probably think they are going out of their way to get it fit.At least you have told them now, and they will cut down.

Sarah
x

over exercise is a really common problem in collies.

someone down the road from mum got a jack russell pup, as soon as it was allowed out they were walking it the same distance as their older dog. And they WALK all the time!!!!!!! felt really sorry for that dog.
They have had dogs all their life (they are in their 50's) and I presume they have always done it that way. but dread to think what would happen if they got a big dog.
Lea :)

The trouble is there is such a myth surrounding collies that suggests they need MASSES of exercise. Yes they do need a fair amount whe n they are older, but its the mental stimulation that they need. Although the message about over exercise seems to be gettin g through (to some extent) with the bigger breeds, labs and retrievers collies seem to have slipped through the net. I bet if they spent 10 minutes just playing and doing some training in their house the pup would be just as tired, if not more so.

Yes as others have said it is too much. When my Lab/colli x was a pup (we lost him 2 yrs ago) I used to play hide & seek around the house with him, it used to tire him out, I also never over excercised  even in old age he was still having walks etc,and enjoying life, in fact up until the day he died he still went for a walk and scuffed.. no you were right.

I rememder a couple of years back, while walking my boxers in the park. i met a  chap who had just taken early  retirement,  and to keep himself busy had bougth himself a boxer puppy,the pup was about 4 months old at this time, and he was walking it 1 1/2 miles to the park 40 mins in the park them 1 1/2 miles home. tried to explain that this was far to much exersice fo a young puppy`s bones, and that it was like taking a 12 month old child that had just started to walk. for a 20 mile round hike. Hav`nt seen him for a long time, till about 2 weeks ago walking along a main road about 5 miles from his home, it was so sad, the dog witch is about 3 now, was really struggling to walk, Surprise.... Surprise.

jackie