Jersey folks!! Any recommendation for exercise locations for pup?

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Originally Posted by doggiedad

taking your dog somewhere for him to run is no
substitute for training.

It is not to substitute training but to help with recall and play. He loves fetch more than anything!! normally its a KONG stuffed frisbee but it is super thick, but since my son started winter baseball again he realized he loves the taste of baseball.. he will chase the ball all over the house and he always brings it back (we are working on GIVE). I am wanting a fenced in area for recreation to throw the ball some distance and let him enjoy the retrieval. That would be in addition to our training sessions. I am not trying to tire him out or anything like that, I just want him to be able to play more without fear of taking off and being hit by a car.

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We are near Toms River and only about 13 miles from seaside. I know that Island Beach state park allows dogs on beaches past first and second beach but I am not sure of their condition since the storm. The group that I was invited to I am going to be getting in contact with to see about their next outting. I am nervous about groups not because of the dog but my own personal issues with people and places I dont know...(some PTSD I am working through which was the reason Hero joined our family and has worked to calm me better than the medicine!!)

We live close to Fort Dix and I bring him there sometimes, also we do frequent pet store runs. The only issues I am having with that is in the store and on walks people all want to pet him and come running up, I politely stop them and tell them please wait until I have control of him. I make him sit (if its children I make him lay down). But he barks at them constantly and mouths at them like he wants to bite. I am trying to train him out of this but he is in that shark stage where he wants to bite everything. His barking makes him seem vicious which he is far from (which most of you prolly know he is a sissy). But I want to work on those before I get him with a group... I can't imagine him barking the whole time annoying everyone.

I have not heard of a flirt pole but I will be googling that as soon as I am done with this post.... well now i guess.

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So today before my workout I brought Hero to a baseball field a few blocks from my house. The first and third base line have fences the rest of the field is open and goes toa soccer field again wide open. I bring Hero into the outfield and he sees I have a baseball in my hand (which is his new obsession thanks to my son). I am very reluctant to let go of his leash but he is going NUTS for this ball so I decide I have my running shoes on, and he knows sit so lets take a gamble. I toss the ball the first time a short distance and he takes off. He grabs the ball and slowly comes right back!!!! This continued for about 25 minutes with the distance getting further and further and the praise being more and more everytime he would bring the ball back. This brought up some training opportunities as well! I was able to get him to SIT at a distance of 15-20 feet away... Then I made him drop the ball and lay down before I would toss it again. Also I got him to lay, stay while I backed up about 25 feet away and wait for me to throw the ball!! It was SO much fun having him out there and watching him go full speed and able to run! It was a relief that he came back and we will continue to do this pretty much every day!! I guess my next question is at almost 6 months old, how long is too long playing this type game? I dont want to hurt his growth or over "play/work" him. Also should I bring treats for this? I am also working on getting him excited for tennis balls so I can get him catching it. My son calls him "AIR HERO" cuz at 5 he is obsessed with the Air Bud movies lol

[jae]

Fields are great in a pinch. If you like biking or hiking or long walks, surely check out the Pine Barrens. They are huge and I am sure you can always find a new thing for quite a while.

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I found a few trails and dirt roads in our town, I am just concerned about ticks. I don't want him off somewhere in the woods and getting ticks and me not finding them. They are hard to spot on our own skin let alone in the dark fur of a very hyper GSD pup!

[phgsd]

Unfortunately, ticks are a fact of life here. I wouldn't keep him in a bubble just to avoid them. Get some tick preventative, pick off any you find, run a SNAP test once or twice a year, and he'll be fine