My puppy constantly wants in the garden and has just mastered the step out, before he sat waiting but now he is off the minute the door opens he runs around with other dog for ages. I tried keeping him in but he runs around the house then lies flat out for 5 mins repeats this then crashes out for an hour then the cycle begins again. I thought it was maybe bad for his bones but he seems fine always chasing other dog he actually prowls around like a cat jumping on him bailey doesn't know whats happened to him. Is this ok?

Pups have no idea when they've had enough and being daft as brushes will keep on going until they're asleep on their feet!  So as you can't trust their judgement you're going to have to do it for him, when you think he's getting over excited then bring him in for some quiet time, also gives your other dog a break too.  It's a lot of fun watching them bond, makes me miss having a pup about the place again!

Some pups will play for 10 minutes straight then poop out for 2 hours. If you have a particularly large breed like a golden retriever,lab or german shepherd then monitor how much they play. Their joints are still growing and should not be overstimulated, this can lead to things such as hip dysplasia in the future even if they are OFA certified for generations in pedigree.

Playing in the yard is fine , i wouldn't start walking the pup until he has his 2nd set of vaccinations for parvo virus and others. When you start walking keep the walks short and fun and your pup will be happy~!

Also i wouldn't recommend flight of steps until 1-2 years of age because of the odd movement it can also trigger diseases like hip dysplasia , 1-2 steps at a time are fine but make sure when they go down the stairs they aren't tumbling!

Sensible advice, Manny :)

The general "rule of thumb" is 5 mins x months per day - ie if you puppy is 3 months, then 15 mins exercise should be sufficient - up to about 1 year - and as Mannymax says, watch out for stairs under 1 year - particularly for large breed dogs.

Margot

I've been having this discussion on another board and I am desperate to stop someone over exercising their puppy of 11 weeks. They are giving it nearly 2 hours a day. How do we stop people doing this.

If it isn't forced excercise rather then just the puppy romping around on its own then it is probably O.K if it has suffiecient water. Although he could put some stress on his joints!

In truth sadly you can't stop them you can only advise them what is a suitable amount of exercise and point out the health implications in doing to much. :(

how much excercise for a 9 week old pup???? er.....NONE!