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How long should 3 walks a day be?

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cocopops:
I have two 9 and 8 month old male pups, and a 1.5 acre garden.  They have started to chew anything they can get near.  I was told they are probably bored and need extra walking and toys.  Got the toys and play with them when I can (not raining).  I have taken them for several walks each day , each 40 minutes, off lead and running through fields.  One is a border collie x spaniel, the other a lab x bloodhound.

I am loving the dog walking, but what does three walks 3 day  mean? I would have over two hours a day walking them.

Thanks for any advice.  :)

star:
Oh heck cocopops.......you do have your hands full! I have had our two from pups and they have been fantastic really. But you are going through the worst period now. Maybe its not so much boredom as its pup excuberance.

You also REALLY need to set yourself up as leader. Im not in agreement with a lot of training or behavoural treatments....but I read Jan Fennels book, The Dog Whisperer (I think), and she does give some very sound advice. Also there was a programme called Wolfman on Animal Planet, bound to be repeated at some stage. Where you eat before the rest of the pack, plus lots of signals, or canine language as its called.

You dont stroke your 'pack' when they demand it, its all when you decide.

EG, When Im getting ready to walk mine, as soon as they start to get bouncy and whine ect. I sit down. I dont start the next stage till they are quiet, it took me 2 hours to get out of the house when I first started. Now its 10 minutes.

I think of it this way....if your kids yell and shout at you to take them to the shop for sweets, how would you react? I know I would say to them,' You get nothing till you ask properly and show some respect'.

Obviously a dog wont understand that, so we have to learn thier language which is action or no action.

You can with patience and kindness communicate on their level so they fully understand you, but it does take a lot of effort. I do recomend you get a book by Jan.......it has worked for us. the one thing Im still working on is barking far too much, but I guess one day I'll release I dont need to do that!! ;D  Good luck

ipt8:
I am afraid they are coming up to adolescence and will be hell for twelve months. Dog bones from the butcher may keep them occupied for longer but just make sure they do not quarrel over them. The idea is to keep them busy with the bones rather than other things. Good luck.

SnooziSuzi:
I agree with Star...

My sister in law has had dogs for a number of years and she does exactly what Star has said; ie no feeding the dog unless you've eaten, make sure the dog is greeted last when meeting people etc and it's worked a treat.  None of her dogs have ever been anything but perfect and they are a real credit to her.

Good luck!  ;D

Trevor_D:
With meal-times, be very very strict. Dogs sit on their mats (They do have mats, don't they? A place of their own is very important.) until the meal is over. But they always get something as a treat afterwards. Our first meal with Timmy took an age, while we took it in turns every few seconds to put him back on his mat. But he taught Pippa and we've never had an ounce of trouble from her.

But when they're young they need a lot of exercise. It sounds as if your garden is great, and if you can walk them across fields even better. We've got endless woods at the back of us and we've walked them for an hour a time twice a day (but just a quick wee in the garden at night), but as they get older just once a day is fine.

It's good for us too. Some days - especially at this time of year - it would be very easy to stay in all day!

And we let the dogs greet people first. They vet them to see if they're safe to let in. But then they settle down & leave us in peace. Just establish your regime. Remember - you're top dog.

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