[Gwenhwyfair]

I found my puppy and she's home with me! She's a 6 month old female, imported West German Showlines (with some titled Schutzhund in her background).

I've read here and elsewhere that the type and duration of excercise are important for proper and safe development of joints. I did search and found a thread about jogging with a puppy.

What types of excercise are good for a 6 month old and as she develops how do I safely adjust her excercise?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Stosh]

Looks like she's already enjoying one of the best exercises- swimming! Congratulations on your new pup

 

[elisabeth_00117]

Swimming, hiking, training will tire a puppy (make it fun with toys and treats). You could also get involved in a sport such as schutzhund or agility. I like agility for puppies because it builds confidence. You can also do some basic obedience courses too.

 

[Elaine]

Any and all exercise, except a lot of jumping, is good for you puppy so long as she's willing and able to do it. If she's over angulated or structurally unsound, then you would want to limit any distance type of exercise.

 

[Gwenhwyfair]

I hear you Elaine wrt the angulation. She does have some working titles in her pedigree. I'm not an expert but I would say she has moderate angulation. She keeps up with my other dog who is not angulated at all. She can turn quickly and hold her balance. Just to be safe I will watch out for the things you mention.

Thanks Stosh, the dog in my avatar is my rescued male dog, Smitty. But I gave Ilda a bath yesterday and she didn't mind the water. So I hope I can get her to the lake before it gets cold and she can learn to swim with Smitty.

I probably won't go into schutzhund but I definately want to do obedience and there is a local trainer who is very experienced in GSDs who I will probably be going to for classes.

She likes to play tug of war with toys with me and Smitty. Should that be limited? I just want to make sure I don't do anything to cause her any developmental problems.

I read where running on hard surfaces is not good, which makes a lot of sense. Anything else I should avoid?

(btw, here are pics of her on the pedigree database, Ilda Dornigen Weg - German shepherd dog

 

[Gwenhwyfair]

Oh geez... :blush:

I did a search for puppy+excercise and didn't pull much up.

Then taking a step back (so to speak) I see there's a sticky thread at top on this very topic!

Thanks for the tips so far and I'm going to study the thread above!