Hi,
I have a flat coated retriever and he is 4months and 3 weeks, we arec always going for walks down the billy trail and by the sea and he loves them , they usually last about half an hour to max of 3/4 of an hour, he could happily go on for longer but someone said to me I should only be walking him a maximum of 15 mins, I thought that half an hour was fine she said that I could damage his joints, I am worried and looking for any advice just want to know what is the right thing to do. He is large already and get very hyper if he only goes for a short walk . Any advice welcome , Thanks. Jenny.

The rule of thumb is 5 minutes walk for every month of age: at 4 months your pup should be exercised for no longer than 4 x 5 minutes = 20 minutes; at 5 months, 5 x 5 minutes = 25 minutes. To stop him being 'hyper' you need to do training to exercise his brain (very tiring) rather than concentrating on exercising his body.

you only need to do a the 5 mins per month rule so he nearly 5 monthsso that 25 mins a day on lead i would not let him free run yet either,
the best way is to do road walking to do your training and to build up the right muscal tone.

the reason he  may be large for his age you have over excise or he may be wronge diet,or genticely from the his mum and dad.
flatcoate retriever slow down ontheir growth plates around 8 to 9 months old but their head sharp change up to two years old.

we got a 8 month old puppy she only just started to have free run and thats only 5 to 10 mins.she as one walk a day in the week thats road walking for 25 to 45 mins then poss at the weekend  one short walk then late in the day another short walk  with free run and training.

Your not to blame to be honest your pups breeder should have explained how important it is not to do anything to damage your pups natural growth. So glad that you came on site to check, all a longer walk will do is potentially damage your pups hips and joints, all pups are excitable, just play lots of fun games at home and as already said lots of things to get him thinking, hiding and retrieving are great fun for a pup. :-)

Absolutely disagree about dogs not going offlead until they're older.

Free running on soft grass is better for them than walking on hard ground, plus they can have a rest when they feel like it.

Also, if you don't let your dog offlead until it is coming up to the teenage years, you are likely to end up with a dog who, as soon as it gets a bit of freedom, legs it. It is far better, IMO, to let them off when they are tiny and still  "glued"  to you, and let them meet loads of other dogs etc (vacc permitting, natch).

I have to agree with you on that one Kate.  I let pups off the lead as soon as injections are over.  They have very little confidence at that age, so will want to stay with you (usually!!), which makes for much better recalls when the pup is older.  Hide and seek as a pup is also brilliant.  It encourages the pup to look for you.  I've found over the years that this has worked every time.

I agree with you on this too. My pup always free runs when we go to woods/park etc. and only stays on lead when we pavement walk. He stays to heel (actually under our feet :) ) when off lead and only ranges a few feet on occasion. He  also sits down frequently and comes to us whenever we call him - although this probably wont last as he becomes more brave LOL. He actually walks with us better off lead so obviously much lead training is needed, but this will all come with time...

Yes, I allow mine free running too and (touch wood) have never bred a dog with bad hips. Though I must say that it is always on soft ground, never concreted or paved areas.

You have to remember the  "forbidden fruit"  aspect, too..... imagine, if they've been on lead for months and then, suddenly, you let them off and they discover the joys of romping with other dogs... and then you put them back on lead and take them home.... you're likely to get a dog who does NOT want to go back on lead!

My older dog was brought up with a huge pack of other dogs and now, at 7, she couldn't be less interested in other dogs when we're out walking. Her recall, in fact her desire to stay with me generally, is brilliant.  My pup has been offlead and mixing with others since she first went out on the ground at 11 weeks, and although other dogs (and people) are still a bit of a novelty, she will usually leave them with no problems to carry on with our walk.

I dread to think what she'd have been like if I'd kept her on lead for months and then let her discover the joys of other dogs... I don't think I'd ever have caught her!!

Free run on soft ground here too.
I have always been told the best exercise for a puppy is to play with dogs of its own size (Obviously using common sense here...) and to avoid lead walking the puppy as it will follow even if it gets tired and it is pretty monotonous (Sp?) movement compared to soft ground and free running/walking/rolling/leaping...
When puppy plays with others it will run as much as it wants and will rest when it wants to (might be different case with more energetic breeds that have a tendency to do over do things!)

Healthy muscles help support the growing joints/body.
Many people who I know actually believe you need good muscles to support the joints or you can do damage to the joints too...
I would speak to people who own your breed to see what they recommend (maybe there is a breed forum?)

this is a flatcoated we a talking about that in the breed there h/d and patella problem.

the person who post the first message i think this is her first fcr.

i do let the pup of the lead after they have finshed their vacc at 10 up the track they follow you like little ducks to get use to be with me but only for 5 mins,but that not free running at that age.

But surely if they are offlead, they ARE freerunning??  And if you are only out for 5 mins, then they're unlikely to injure themselves :)

What do you do, then, if they are in the garden and running round like loonies?  Or when they get silly and do a wall of death in the living room, as pups are wont to do?

I just think there's a happy medium between keeping them on lead and/or severely restricting exercise, and going out for hours with them offlead.

mine  do not go in the garden running around like loonies,they have a very long run, and i am watch them all the time,and if they run like you are stating i would stop it.

everyone that know of teyha and why she got a high hip score was the result on a hot evening in august 2003 she and chase were playing chase me around the garden and she run into tree so badly, damaging her hip the noise she made up set the rest of the gang.she couldnt walk for 4 weeks.her score was 3/15 i was there watching and it was that split sec it happen,before i could stop it,

at 10 week old they not free run like a 7month old to and adult they are totting and stoping at every blade of grass or thing in their pathway to explore,