Welcome to The Labrador Club
Exercise
Importance of exercise
All Labradors need proper exercise, according to their age and stage in life. It is as important as food or shelter. Exercising the dog should be an interesting experience, the mental experience of a changing environment for the dog, as well as for maintaining fitness. Dogs, by nature are pack animals and wanderers and when kept alone and in confined spaces become bored, unhappy, and naughty.
Check will your local council to find where you can legally walk your Labrador. Get together with other dog walkers, you may be able to share transport to go further afield once or twice a week. Most non-dog owners are quite happy for dogs to share open areas with them provided that the dogs are under control, and that you have a poo bag. Do not exercise your dog in the heat of a summer’s day unless it is swimming.
Exercise for Puppies
Labradors are fast growing, heavy dogs, and what we must be very careful about is that our exercise regime does not interfere with their growth and cause joint problems. Puppies, like young children, play –
they run, tumble, and explore.. For your brand-new puppy, doing this at home will be all he needs. Let him play in his own time and sleep whenever he wants to (babies need a lot of this). By the time he is four months old, he will be able to go for
small walks away from home, but this does not mean putting him on a lead and towing him around the streets. Take him somewhere safe where he can still run and explore at his own pace. Once a day is enough. Once he has reached six or seven months, more formal walks on a lead are possible, but make sure that he has been trained and is not pulling on the lead. These walks should be varied, and initially not more than half a kilometre at a steady pace, on a hard surface. Right through their puppyhood, the
best exercise is freedom to choose running and play. This should be on level ground and not include jumping down steps and over obstacles. This does not mean no lead exercise; it just means that a growing puppy is not meant to be over-exercised. Like young children, we need to protect their bones and joints while they are growing. Remember to consider the temperature of the pavement on hot days; test it by holding your hand on it for more than 20 seconds.
Exercise Options
A reasonable week’s exercise for an eight-month-old Labrador might be:
Monday a.m. – 5 minutes obedience on back lawn, freedom of fenced back yard (throughout the week)
Monday p.m. – In car to the beach at low tide. Explore off lead. Practice sit, stay and coming when called. About half an hour free play.
Tuesday a.m. – Join friend with young dog of similar size for trip to local reserve. Free play with five minutes obedience in the middle (just so they don’t forget that they are there with you) half to three quarters of an hour.
Tuesday p.m. – Five minutes retrieving practice, or a game e.g., find the shoe (have pup on sit stay command, let him watch you hide the shoe just a short distance away (4m) then encourage him to find it. He will love it, and soon you can extend the distance till you can go out of sight while he sits and stays. This can be played inside on a rainy day and is a fun way of putting your obedience to the test.
Wednesday a.m. – Walk to the corner dairy to get the paper. Stop and talk to people on the way. Puppy sits outside dairy tied up while paper bought but keep watching him.
Wednesday p.m. – Walk to football practice where he can assist with team morale and organisation. Walk around football grounds (don’t forget the poo bag).
Thursday a.m. – Free running at beach for half an hour plus five minutes obedience.
Thursday p.m. – Obedience classes.
Friday a.m. – Visit friend with young dog – pups free playing in fenced backyard.
Friday p.m. – A half km walk to local park, short free run including short retrieves, walk home.
Saturday a.m. – Football match with family – plenty of socialising with team plus scrounging practise around the sausage sizzle.
Saturday p.m. – Even walk on lead around streets looking at gardens, about two kms.
Sunday a.m. – Playing with children.
Sunday p.m. – Family outing walk to the river – approx. one hour walking and swimming.
Be aware of how your puppy tolerates this amount of exercise – if he appears sore in any way, stop. Any lameness should be checked by a veterinarian as should any difficulty standing up after lying down.
Adults
Once a Labrador has reached adulthood there is almost no restriction on the amount of exercise that he can have providing that he is sound, but even an adult Labrador, will prefer to go for a free ramble rather than a jog. Your jogging pace is a fast trot for him, and he is not designed to do this on hard surfaces. Swimming can be unlimited. Try to vary the walk and if possible, include a little training as you go. Most important of all; enjoy the walk as well. An adult should have a good hour’s exercise each day. Because of the busy lifestyle that most people lead, this is not always possible. Your dog will forgive you if you have to miss a day, but your Labrador will be healthier, and better behaved, if his exercise is regular.
Don’t exercise in the heat of the day if possible.
Check local body regulations as they vary from place to place and from summer to winter.
Exercise in the morning if you are going to be out for the day – it will help settle an active dog.
Pregnant Bitches
Normal exercise if she wants to.
Swimming is great. During the last two weeks if she is carrying a large litter she will probably only want to potter, don’t force her to do what she doesn’t want to. Some bitches will act normally, until the day that they whelp.
Older Dogs
A dog that is sound and has been kept fit all its life, will probably keep up its normal exercise regime until is eleven or twelve. Those that have physical problems, adjust their exercise to suit. Here again swimming is excellent (but make sure that they are warm and dried off afterwards). Mental stimulation is very important for an old dog. Try playing some of the games that you did with him as a puppy. Take him to visit , he will get possibly enough exercise for his time of life by sniffing scents in a new environment. He will probably spend a great deal of his day lying down but it is important that his old joints do get some gentle exercise each day. Old though they may be, the old Labrador never loses his love of food, try salting the backyard with his favourite dog kibble and send him off on a food hunt to keep his mind alive.
