I have just been reading through the Burns puppy booklet I received today.  Under the topic of exercise, they say,

'Give the puppy plenty of exercise'  and  'Many new owners of large breed puppies are told not to over exercise.  There is little scientific evidence to prove this.  In fact exercising large breeds can help strengthen muscles and soft tissues, aiding the prevention of bone and joint disease.'

This surely contradicts the 5 minute per month rule that everyone seems to adhere to.   What would be the right thing to do??

Thanks

I would err on the side of caution. Bad hips can't be improved by exercise but good hips can be damaged.

Ask them why children aren't allowed to run in marathons ... ;)

But we don't severely restrict childrens exercise either :) in fact government advise on excercise levels is twice as much for children a week as adults.  I do feel this "rule" is too restrictive and some discretion over exercise is better, clearly jumping and running up and down stairs is not good but I think it is possible to increase exercise at a quicker pace than this providing you are confident they are not overdoing it although I do recognise that does require a reasonable understanding of dogs and in particular puppies but breeders could give guidance for their particular breed.  I think not only do they benefit from strengthening joints but also building strong hearts.  I see this "rule" creeping in for much smaller breeds and I find myself seriously questioning where is the science behind it.

I have learnt from my mistakes.  I completely ruined my Dalmatians pasterns by over exercising him as a puppy.  We don't have stairs, it was straightforward allowing him to run far too much as a youngster. 

I didn't make the same mistake with my current dog and her pasterns are perfect.

Sandra

Actually their formal exercise is indeed restricted, even in the 'olden days' ;) when there was a games lesson of some sort every day. There were long periods of rest (lessons!) in between the bursts of activity at breaktimes. Nobody forces 5 year-old children to jog (a dog trotting is like a person jogging) for 2 hours at a time the way some people take their 4-month old pup ...
:)

Oh I totally agree that 2 hours for a 4 monther would be way over the top :) I just feel the sensible course is somewhere in between these two extremes and it will vary by breed, certainly I don't think anything under the medium size needs to stick to a 5 minute rule.  I let my puppies choose the pace, except in training class and gradually increase day by day depending on what they find tiring and this is the advise I give my purchasers.  I only sell to sensible people anyway :D  I must admit if I had a large breed I would be in a quandary, playing it safe is all very well but could it be limiting their joint development, could it be limited the development of heart and lung I really think it is an area where someone like the AHT should be doing a lot of work on.  I find it interesting that Burns have chosen to stick their neck out on this, can't really imagine any ulterior motive which makes me wonder if something has emerged from their monitoring (not testing of course :)) of dogs and puppys reared on their foods.

Of course, with the smaller breeds there's the option of carrying them if they look tired. With a bigger breed that's not possible so you've got to make sure you either stop and rest them, or get them home before they get tired. It's a tricky one to gauge - you really need to be very observant about the dog's behaviour, which with the best will in the world not many novice owners (nor some experienced ones either!) are. Which is where the general rule of thumb comes is - it's not writ in stone, but is a useful guideline.
:)

  STRUTH,  ISABEL 

>and I find myself seriously questioning where is the science behind it<

That's not like you .......

Teri :P

:D
Well I presume your joking :)