# How much exercise does eight week old puppy need



## Anita Hippogriff (Feb 11, 2021)

How much do I have to walk a little puppy for? I am getting my Havanese puppy in two weeks, and I recently broke my toe and I’m concerned about how much walking I’ll be able to do when I get him.


----------



## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Those with a better understanding of exactly what the recommendations are can better elaborate on the exercise portion and the hips, but young Havanese puppies actually don’t need “walks” for exercise because they’re hips are still developing. We did take our puppy on “wandering” walks, more for fresh air, sniffing around, and training. But your puppy won’t be missing out while your toe is healing. A lot of people wait on walks until a certain point in the vaccination schedule anyway.

Their physical exercise needs can be met indoors with a little creativity (which I’m really thankful for right now because it’s so cold outside). If you have a partner to help you play “name games,” with treats for recall, your puppy will get lots of exercise running back and forth between you, he can practice responding to you, and you can even keep your foot elevated  

Personally I found with my high energy puppy, practicing “sit” and other skills for 5 minutes burned off way more energy than exercise alone.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Anita Hippogriff said:


> How much do I have to walk a little puppy for? I am getting my Havanese puppy in two weeks, and I recently broke my toe and I'm concerned about how much walking I'll be able to do when I get him.


Well, you are in luck, because your puppy is MUCH too young for formal "walks". His bones and joints will not be mature until he is close to a year old. Right now, his "exercise" should be closely supervised free play, NOT leash walks. He won't even KNOW how to walk on a leash... loose leash walking is a skill that you will need to teach him over the months ahead. You have PLENTY of time!


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> Those with a better understanding of exactly what the recommendations are can better elaborate on the exercise portion and the hips, but young Havanese puppies actually don't need "walks" for exercise because they're hips are still developing.


It's not just their hips, nor is it just Havanese... it's probably a bigger issue with larger breed dogs. Their entire skeleton is not completely calcified. It is really rather amazing to look at the xray of a young puppy and see how UNformed their joints are! It is months before the joints all over their bodies are fully mature and up to heavy, repetitive stress like trotting long distances on pavement, which is what leash walking normally entails.

Focus during the first 9 months should be on teaching good leash manners in a controlled environment, preferably on non-paved surfaces snd then SLOWLY increasing the length of walks at that point. Before that, all walks should be wandering "sniff walks", where you basically follow the puppy around on leash and use the leash to keep them out of trouble.

The problem with not caring for joints now is that it is unlikely that you will see any damage from forced walks at a young age unless they are poorly built. What you WILL be doing is setting your dog up for premature arthritis problems later in life.


----------



## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

He should be able to play off plenty of energy in the house. Tug is a good game for this too, as is fetch.


----------



## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

Nay, don't worry about it. They will never stop moving until the humans in exhaustion put them in their crates. Right now Fezzik is playing soccer, hide the toy, drag the blanket, pounce the cat, run from the cat, zoom around the island, chew the squeaky, dig to China, bite the toes....

The hard part is remembering that the puppy needs naps... like RIGHT NOW.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

morriscsps said:


> Nay, don't worry about it. They will never stop moving until the humans in exhaustion put them in their crates. Right now Fezzik is playing soccer, hide the toy, drag the blanket, pounce the cat, run from the cat, zoom around the island, chew the squeaky, dig to China, bite the toes....
> 
> The hard part is remembering that the puppy needs naps... like RIGHT NOW.


Excellent point! Over-tired puppies can be HORRIBLE!!!!


----------



## ashelybrown (Mar 10, 2021)

Right now, his "exercise" should be closely supervised free play, NOT leash walks. He won't even KNOW how to walk on a leash... loose leash walking is a skill that you will need to teach him over the months ahead. 
Focus during the first 9 months should be on teaching good leash manners in a controlled environment, preferably on non-paved surfaces snd then SLOWLY increasing the length of walks at that point. Before that, all walks should be wandering "sniff walks", where you basically follow the puppy around on leash and use the leash to keep them out of trouble.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

ashelybrown said:


> Right now, his "exercise" should be closely supervised free play, NOT leash walks. He won't even KNOW how to walk on a leash... loose leash walking is a skill that you will need to teach him over the months ahead.
> Focus during the first 9 months should be on teaching good leash manners in a controlled environment, preferably on non-paved surfaces snd then SLOWLY increasing the length of walks at that point. Before that, all walks should be wandering "sniff walks", where you basically follow the puppy around on leash and use the leash to keep them out of trouble.


This feels like an ad for "game tables for less" They took pieces of two of _MY_ posts, word for word, and reposted them without credit as their own... curious. No original thoughts? Hmmm.


----------



## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

krandall said:


> This feels like an ad for "game tables for less" They took pieces of two of _MY_ posts, word for word, and reposted them without credit as their own... curious. No original thoughts? Hmmm.


It was the first thing I thought! It did cross my mind that someone was trying to quote and messed up the formatting but it’s been hours, plenty of time for clarification. It doesn’t seem like a bot post, but that’s what makes it smart if it is, because text taken from another part of the forum is unlikely to get caught by filters. A huge waste of the person’s time if it isn’t.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

goldendoodlessandieg said:


> I really like this page for information about puppy exercise. If you scroll down they have a great chart as well.
> 
> 
> https://www.sandiego-goldendoodle.com/


Selling dogs is not allowed on this forum. Nor is spam. Go away.


----------



## josaphlara (2 mo ago)

It is said that 5 minutes of exercise per month. Eight weeks means two months, which means 10 minutes of exercise will be enough for your puppy. Your puppy is young and growing, so you don't need to be concerned about walking too much.


----------

