How far to walk

Please can you tell me how long I should be walking Biscuit for? He is 14 weeks now. Some people have told me that you shouldn't walk them too far as it can damage their legs and joints.

No they are right you mustn't take him for long walks just yet. Puppies need plenty of exercise and he can get this running for toys at home and having his mad five minutes but where road walking and long walks are concerned then short walks are a must for a good while yet. Also don't let him jump (easier said than done with some members iof this breed) as this too can damage the joints. The long bone sets at about 12 months time so once he has reached this age you will find he has the necessary stamina and body to cope with distance walks! At 14 weeks I wouldn't be going out for more than about 10 minutes at a time and then you gradually build this up as he gets older. Of course at this age/size it is possible to pick them up and carry them for a while too if you want to go a little further afield!

Thanks just as I thought then. Shame really as he would keep going for hours. He is a jumper not up at us as we have stopped that, but he jumps for anything. He is also a devil when it comes to the stairs goes up 3 thenjumps straight down to the floor, we have now discouraged this and he doesn't heve access to them.

Thats the best thing - prevention is better than cure - Some of this breed think they are mountain goats I am afraid and if Biscuit is anything like Josh he will have NO fear!!

I didn't know that about Shih Tzu's, Oscar used to have a 10 min walk twice a day from 12 weeks and now has 20-25mins in the morning and 15 mins at night. He would keep going if you stayed on the field but he isn;t the worlds greatest fan of the pavement! As for jumping, Oscar can't even get up a step! I don't encourage him to as it's the cats way of escaping up the stairs, in fact despite the fact that he can do stairs - as I saw at my brothers flat - I pick him up so he has got used to waiting for me to get him - bad I know but I have to think of the poor cat as well!

field and pavement are separate things - running around in a field is much easier on the joints than pavement walking which is HARD exercise. people that need to fitten up their dogs (eg racing greyhounds) use road walking as a way of getting their dogs fit

Oh thanks I didn't realise that there would be a difference, but come to think of it it does make sence. We are planning of taking Biscuit to the beach in a couple of weeks, how long would be enough for him to be on the sand?

Make sure you have a supply of water for him to have drinks, allow him to run around as he pleases and let him tell you when he has had enough (be prepared to pick him up and carry him if you are a long way from base when he tires - but it won't take him long to get his second wind) - a walk on the beach is great fun, he will love the sand, it is nice for them to run on and as long as you are not dragging him for hours on a lead I don't see there is any problem at all! I hope you have as much fun together on the beach as I do with Josh xx

My dogs have all loved the beach, which is a good job seeing as we are right on the coast, and the beach is always cleaner than the park when it has been raining! There are so many fun things to investigate on the beach, and a ball is great fun to chase.

Biscuit will soon tell you when he has had enough, but as Lesley says, a quick carry and he will be ready for more. Just make sure you take the camera and take loads of photos to show us him having fun!

Ok
will let you know how we get on