How Much Exercise Is Too Much Exercise For A Dog?
November 30th, 2009 | 
Author:  |
My dog is two years old. She’s a cocker spaniel lab x, she’s small to medium size, 17kgs/ 37lbs.
She gets a lot of exercise.
Everyday she gets..
1 hour run
1 hour of chasing the tennis ball.
30 minutes -1 hour walk.
And she runs around the backyard for about an hour.
She’s very fit and fast. But is it bad for her or her joints?
We never force her to go for a walk or to do exercise.
Thanks.
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Tags: 13 Responses to “How Much Exercise Is Too Much Exercise For A Dog?”
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The dog is small enough to where you most likely wouldn’t have to worry about her joints, that is more of a large breed problem.
Exercise is great for dogs; most don’t get enough exercise. As long as the dog is not too tired, which it doesn’t sound like, she’ll be fine. It will also help keep her thin. The worst thing for a dogs joints is being overweight. That’s when their health takes a downhill turn.
Just make sure she isn’t too hot and out of breath; beyond normal panting; some dogs can overheat easily (like Chow Chow’s) and on hot days many other breeds are supseptible.
If she’s enjoying it, go for it – labs require a lot of excercize. Tthe more excercize she gets, the more balanced she will be. Generally a minimum of 2 thirty
minute structured walks, twice a day is what most dogs need.
Sounds like you are being a very responsible dog owner and i think it GREAT you are spending this much time with your dog.
Its not so much a question of how much exercise as it is the type of exercise.
Dogs running behind cars, bikes (motor, quad, or push) can cause extra stress on the joints because the speeds at which the dog must run are faster and more extended than what would be normal for a dog.
If she is ‘skidding’ to a stop and/or twisting her body to reach her tennis ball then this will put some stress on her joints – but within reason she should be able to handle this (sort of like a hunt and catch!)
As mentioned by others….dogs can ‘jog’ all day and sprint for short periods. Working farm dogs often do!
Keep the weather in mind…it is getting hot now in NZ and heat exhaustion can occur. Fresh water available at all times and a nice place in the shade when her exercise is done.
All the best!
i can just tell when my lab’s worn out for the day. even a dog that loves fetch is going to get tired and lay down instead of chasing the ball around. normally, when my dog sleeps for more than a half hour or when she’s too lazy to get up to investigate a noise, we stop pushing walks and fetch on her. even if she’s dead tired, she’ll get up and chase a few balls, but you can tell she’s lagging. most days, when she gets a lot of exercise, in the evening she’s better behaved. we literally can see a difference in the way she acts when she’s tired out or properly exercised. so it sounds like if your dog keeps getting up to play, she’s not that tired. and as long as all that exercise doesn’t come at once, it doesn’t seem like too much for a dog. as for being worried about too much stress on the joints, really, your vet is the one to be telling you that. it depends on your breed of dog and their individial bone structure, weight, and joint strength. it doesn’t seem like you’re over-working your dog, but if it’s worrying you, a quick call to the vet should clear up any concerns.
as long as your not forcing her then its fine. If she didnt feel up to the exercise she wouldnt do it. Its good for dogs to exercise and release their energy.
When she looks really really tired and breathing really hard.
as long as the dog seems happy and fine i’d say go ahead… in the wild wolves and coyotes run around all day… dogs are built to run
When a dog has had enough she will let you know I have two labs and 3 pit bulls trust me if shes tired she will tell you by laying down
i think you might be thinking into it a bit much. when she is tired she will lay down when she wants to run she will run.. good food and diet will keep her running strong.
no exercise is to much when shes tired let her rest dont force her to run when she doesnt want to
i just got 2 points !
when she looks tired.
=]
This is a really good question and there is no easy answer. It sounds like a lot of exercise for any dog.
It could be bad for her joints; all sizes of dogs are prone to joint problems. Some dogs aren’t built for a lot of pounding and there can be great differences among puppies in the same litter. I know people who have ruined their dogs health by agility training and had to destroy them at age 5 because of pain. Jumping, though, is more punishing than running.
This is not because of the running or jumping, but because the dog’s structure is incorrect from birth. Like people, few dogs are natural athletes.
Have your dog evaluated by someone who shows dogs built to run, like sporting dogs,, or by someone who does agility or obedience. Some dogs have slipped hocks, malformed knees and hips, underangulated fronts and/or rears. These dogs will transfer weight to compensate for their physical malformities and this will cause their bodies to break down. Is there a local veterinarian who does performance events with their dog? By the way, most vets aren’t good at evaluating dog conformation.
I went to a Pat Hastings seminar and at the end she evaluated several dogs that were brought by people who used them for agility. A couple of these people were in tears because they had no idea they were breaking down their dog’s body.
In order to please his master, a dog will kill himself to keep up with you. Just because he loves to run with you doesn’t mean he should. The 1 hour run would be the most punishing.