Energy level after walk

[Michele Kiss]

Our miniature labradoodle Fenway is about 15lb now, and 4.5 months. We take him on walks ranging from 1-3 miles (3.8 has currently been the longest.) We base how long to go on how he does on the walk. E.g. If he starts getting tired we know that going longer is a bad idea, and have slowly built up to the 3 mile distance. 

My question is about energy levels AFTER they get home from the walk. Fenway still runs around like a crazy pup after a walk! I would have figured that it should tire him out and he would be a little more chill post-walk, but it doesn't seem to be the case. Sometimes it will be so nuts that we have to put him in a short time out (10min or so) in his playpen, until he calms down. 

He does NOT do this after going to a puppy social or the dog park - he just lays on the couch and naps. But in terms of activity, the walk and playing with other pups are about the same length of active time. My boyfriend and I theorised that maybe it has something to do with mental exhaustion of being around other pups vs. purely the activity side of it? 

Is that normal? Do pups take a while to "wind down" after a walk? 

[Kerry L]

My pup is 6 months now. Last night we walked 4 1/2 miles and he was  a nutcase after!!! Literally, bouncing off the walls! He is like this every time we get back home from a walk. I have no idea why. He usually runs around like crazy for about 45 minutes after we get back then, all of a sudden, he just lays down and passes out! LOL I'm sure he'll grow out of it.

[Michele Kiss]

T

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

Going on a walk is NO comparison to running at the dog park. Even if I ran with him he would never use up as much energy as he does zooming through the dog park.

[Margo Erickson]

My puppy class said that they should walk 5 mins for every month they are.  So a 5 month old puppy should walk for 25 minutes.  To the burn the extra energy, I let Jax play with other dogs and run at the off leash park and attend day care 1-3x a week and have had great success.

[Kelly & Zoe]

Thanks for that info - I had never heard that ratio before.

[Tina McNerthney]

Margo, this is interesting info. Sounds like I'm taking Baxter on walks of the exact right length and sometimes a bit longer. In a couple of weeks, Baxter will be able to attend day care a couple of days a week and we're all looking forward to having him engage in the same balanced mix of activities as your pup. I am certain a combination of dog park, day care and walks and play at home will make him a very happy, well exercised and adequately tired pup at the end of the day!

[Toni Clayton]

When I walk George, I usually also train...I stop, have him sit...watch me etc. I think it helps with the mental fatigue part of things..also before morning walks my husband has him outside playing first for about 10 minutes, then we walk after dropping kids at school. When we get back he is usually pretty chill afterward ..evening walks coincide with the puppy crazies a lot of times, so not as much luck there.

[Tina McNerthney]

As Helga noted, generally speaking, going for a walk in your neighborhood (especially if you are walking the whole time and not running), is not comparable to the exercise a pup/dog gets when he's running around with other dogs off leash in a dog park or on a play date.

When I take Baxter, who is almost 15 weeks old, on walks, they don't tire him out nearly as much as an hour of puppy kindergarten, romping around with our neighbor's dog, or the dog park, which we introduced to him (safely and carefully) during the past week. Baxter is constantly running and playing at the dog park and it tires him out much more than any of our walks, despite the length, because he's using much more energy. A dog's (especially a pup's) mental state / self awareness is also very challenged when interacting and negotiating with other dogs, so that adds to the energy drain factor.

When I take Baxter on walks, I bring a toy and do as much running as possible to keep him interested and to get him more exercise than if we just walked. Before or after our walk, we always spend some time in the backyard playing chase or fetch and generally running around because a walk alone does not sufficiently tire him, even if it's a longer walk.

[Christina]

Reading these comments and curious about how old is recommended before running with a puppy. I remember reading somewhere that is is not advised to run with a puppy until their hips are fully developed and thought that was between 9-12 months. Any thoughts on this?

[Michele Kiss]

Everything I have read says 9 months for smaller dogs that reach maturity earlier (Fenway and Oakley should be fit in to that, I think. Brandi said they should actually reach their full height at 9mo, though they might not reach their full weight till 18mo, so 9mo seems reasonable since they'll be their full height.) For bigger dogs like labs, at least a year. And really big dogs you should wait till 18 months, maybe even 2 years. I am going to ask our vet at our next appointment though - will let you know what he says. Curious what yours says, if you see him/her at some point. 

[Tina McNerthney]

Christina. When I mentioned that Baxter and I run during our walks, I should have clarified that we will run for a couple of blocks then walk and play and do various activities. I am not a runner and we don't go on what I'd consider real runs. At the dog park, Baxter sometimes runs around, sometimes he just wrestles gently with other dogs or chases them. I think most people with puppies chase them around and play in their backyards and during training classes the dogs get time to run around.

What I've read is not safe for puppies is taking them on runs or hikes of any length or duration. I have not heard it is unsafe for puppies to run in a controlled corral-like environment for shorter spurts of time.

[Michele Kiss]

For some reason unbeknownst to me, it replaced my reply with just "t"! Anyways. Thanks everyone - sounds like it's pretty common. Doesn't necessarily mean walk him longer but maybe more "brain tiring" activities.