Hi
I hope someone can help please.
I have recently rescued a lab 9 months old, but she is very under developed and unfit. I need some help working out what amount of exercise she should be doing considering these factors.
Up to now i have done very little exercising with her as it has taken some time to win her trust on a few issues.
It has been very slow going, but she will now accept the lead and collar happily and will follow me if i walk her, so i know need to look at amounts of exercise for her.
any help would be appreciated !!
thanks in advance
Donna

>under developed and unfit

You mean she's fat?

So is mine!  My dog walkers best friend keeps giving her treats (she thinks I'm 'mean' to withold them from her).  She looks like a little pig now.  Stern words have been spoken, my dogs now on nature diet 'lite' and exercise is her middle name.  I'm hoping she'll shrink a bit soon...

Hi Donna

The usual guideline for puppies is 5 mins per month per day - so in your case this comes out at 45 mins exercise (walking, running) per day.    You might not want to do just so much at the moment, if you feel that you want to build her trust in you - but if you feel that she is up to it, then - say half hour morning, 15 mins evening, walking/running, won't do her any harm.   Don't let her run up & down stairs, though!   

Hope this helps.

Margot

Agree with everything Margot has said ;)

Nice and slowly to start with to ease her into it gently. At least you are taking the time to find out how to deal with her excercise properly. It would probably be worthwhile speaking to your vet about it aswell if you haven't already done so ;)

manny, do you consider this a helpful response? If you had a query, would you be satisfied with a reply like this? I don't think Donna was asking for comments, just helpful replies.

It's good that Donna has asked for advice, especially since she has rescued this dog ;) I have seen young dogs that are underdeveloped and unfit and I can assure you that not everyone of them was fat

Did we get you on an "off day"??

Or perhaps I'm having an "off day" :D

Exactly, HP :) My older dog was only 14kg when we got him from Battersea. He was about 1 year old and had very little muscle and was very thin  - so he would have fitted this description :( He put on 4.5 kg, most of which is muscle :)

Daisy

Hi all thanks for the comments so far,
No she isnt fat - but is very underdeveloped in any muscle tone, and unfit in the manner that she cant run to the end of the garden before heavy panting.
She isnt allowed to run up and down stairs as we have a baby gate at bottom (GSD isnt allowed up either) so i dont have concerns there.
I have spoken to vet about her and his suggestion was light exercise !! just hoping for a bit more detail of "light exercise". (espically as GSD would run all day if we let him).
She is also very inactive in the house and garden as she doesnt know how to play with toys or interact with people or dogs, so she isnt exercising herself in any way at all !!
thanks for your help so far and keep it coming please.
Donna

My dog was on 'light exercise' after a foot operation. This involved plenty of steady walking on pavements and grass, not running about. He was taken out for three half-hour lead walks a day.

Unfit and dogs that lack muscle tone don't have to be fat esp, in the case of a rescue dog: for instance, the dog may have been kept crated/caged for much of it's former life and not had the opportunity to develop properly :) or simply never walked/exercised.

Lindsay
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Hi Lindsay,
I believe this to be the case, she has very little muscle tone,
I am led to believe that she has been locked up a huge amount.
My GSD has a huge run and outdoor kennel (for if we are out and i dont want him cooped up in the house) Upon arrival at our home she put herself inside the kennel and wouldnt come out for well over an hour, IMO no 9 month old dog should be that accustomed to an outside kennel !!!

This is why i asked for advice with exercising as my concern with her exercise is that with so little muscle tone i want to make sure i do it right and do not damage an already fragile body !!
Donna

If you have access to safe water (sea/river/lake) - swimming would be good - good exercise, without straining.   Maybe, even better, would be a "doggy swimming pool" - with easy in/easy out.

You'll soon have her fit - poor girl, doesn't sound as if she has had a puppy hood!

Margot

Thanks for that, i hadn't thought about water and we have a secure lake less than a mile from home - that could be worth a try at least to see how she responds to water, i have no idea if she will like it.

As to her having no puppy hood i believe you are right and hope we can make it better from here on in for her
cheers
donna

Our dog has had an operation on his shoulder and we were told 3x10mins lead walks a day to slowly build up the muscle.

Well done on taking her on, good luck :)

Where did you get her from out of interest ?

Lucy
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Hi lucy,
She came from a local rescue in our area, they deal with the council dog wardens alot and they take all of their strays amoungst other dogs people no longer want, they are still a very small rescue through and only house about 8-10 dogs at any time.
We have been taking our GSD to places like that regulary for a while as he was bitten as a pup and developed a fear response to other dogs (so re-socialising him has been interesting to say the least).
This particular day our GSD made a bee-line for her kennel and they sat trying to touch through the cage and that was pretty much it, she melted hearts all round and was with us two days later !!
Donna

I hope things go well with her :)

Just take things steady, whatever you do, and slowly build up. Once she's fitter, you can try gentle retrieves as this can build up muscle and stamina (not formal retrieve, just ball chasing and bringing it back if she can do that), but watch if she gets excited and slams on the brakes if she misses the ball, as that may place a  bit of strain on her muscles, and skeleton.

Swimming would be excellent, that's a great idea, but remember to watch out for that blue-green algae which can have serious consequences for a dog. If there's a canine hydrotherapy pool near you, try to make use of it :)

Lindsay
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