Puppy Exercise?
So after about two years of waiting for the right timing, we lucked out with a Lakesong puppy, and Daisy has finally arrived (hooray!) She's absolutely perfect  and we spend most of the day trying not to pick her up for cuddles, when we know she needs to practice being a dog, not being smothered with kisses (it's so hard!  ). We've been following a careful routine of play pen, 1-on-1 supervised play indoors, and regular pee breaks, with crating at night, but she seemed like she still had lots of energy at the end of the day. She's not very interested in treats, and just looks a bit surprised when we praise her, so any kind of training/mental exercise beyond housebreaking feels a bit pointless (and she's 8 weeks, so probably too soon anyway). As she's too young to socialize with other dogs we built her a snow fort in the yard, with ultra high exterior walls so that she can't escape. We give her about 3 walks a day, of about 10-15 minutes each on leash to get her to poo and pee (she usually goes pretty quickly, but we don't want to associate that with the end of fun time unless it's night), and then a few times a day we put her in the snow fort off-leash to give her some fun while we supervise from outside. She just absolutely loses her mind and goes berserk galloping around, digging, exploring the tunnels, hopping over the smaller interior walls, and practicing her chewing and barking and growling in what seems like a healthy environment. That said, I'm worried that she's going to overdo it - I know some people say that puppies, especially large-breed puppies need to take it slow as their joints and muscles develop. The floors of the fort are getting slippery as she races around, and I'm worried she could slip and pull something or just get too exhausted with fort time + walks. Should I be laying sand or something in the fort to help her traction? Or cut fort time for a few days? Or shorten walks? Am I going overboard?  She's our first (needless to say, I guess!) I'm also worried that she's on Iams puppy, which isn't supplemented with glucosamine or omega 3s to help as she develops. We'll try to move her on to Arcana when she's a bit older, but in the meantime should I be adding salmon oil or glucosamine or anything to her food? I don't want to start messing with her tummy too much, but I want to make sure she's getting everything she needs as she develops. Thank you and sorry for the overly verbose explanation! I want to include all the details! Maddie  |
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| Take a deep breath and enjoy your new baby. Not time to worry about food right now. That puppy food is fine for now. I agree, let's keep the stomach and bowels happy. What a clever idea about a "Play Pen." Pups self regulate re: play. When they are tied, they lay down and sleep. Slipping is a concern. I would have her on many different surfaces so she learns how to navigate each This is physical as well as mental stimulation. Way too early for socializing with strange pups. Let's get thru the vaccinations first. That's not to say she can't meet people (especially if they don't have young pups too or coyotes or foxes......carriers of Parvo) Of course you can smother your Fuzzy Wuzzie with kisses.......that's what they are there for. |
| Congrats on the new family member.....what an exciting time for you both!!!!! Enjoy Daisy while you still can pick her up and hug her. Gunner is only 6 months old and at 50+ pounds those days are over for me and I miss them already. I also would worry about slipping.... but heck....I was thinking about what is Daisy going to do when the ice fort melts????? Sheepieboss is right, pups will stop on their own when they have had enough. Also as Sheepieboss mentioned, the more surfaces you get her on early the better. I bring Gunner shopping to Lowes and other stores that allow dogs in just for socialization and to get use to all sorts of noises and people. Once Daisy gets old enough and she is ready she would probably love outings like that...and so will you!! Meanwhile relax, enjoy and take plenty of pictures because they grow way tooooooo fast. Do you have a pic to share with us? |
Yay puppy smooches!!!!  Oh my favorite! Congratulations! I was scared to death when I brought my ball of fluff home because my house is 90% wood and tile. Slipping was a huge concern. I do have huge rugs in 2 areas but that is it. My older dogs grew up in a different carpeted home and adjusted when we moved. Lots of stairs here too. I bought lots of runners. The long rugs for hallways. Placed them all over my house. Good mommy, way to think ahead. I did the "overboard" thing too. I like to call it being educated. How's that? Haha! Snuggle Daisy up because she will grow overnight and then she won't fit in your arms as easily anymore!!! Steel traveled in the truck with me until he was all done with vaccines and then he went everywhere with me. He went into the gas station, the schools, the bank, the dance studio often, the video game store. Usually one stop places. As long as it isn't a food place people don't mind. They are a little shocked but I figure seeing eye dogs go into those places sooooo. #1 Dog lover said it Daisy will love it and so will you! |
Congratulations on Miss Daisy...Awww...puppy kisses, pink pads and cuddles  All good advice from above, I have nothing to add. Snow fort!!! That's awesome! Enjoy every minute, cuddle, play and cuddle more if you can. They grow so quickly. Christmas will be fun for you and Daisy  |
I agree with all the above advice and suggestions..like a baby, you can't make them sleep when they want to play and you can't make them play when they want to sleep....  ~~So, just enjoy, love, and keep the innovative ideas coming (the ice playpen). When Heart came to me, she was a crazy wild girl and I worried as you are doing now. I wanted her to use her mind as well as her body so we played games in the house her first winter. Hide and seek is a great one!!! Put a treat under a towel and watch how she figures out how to get it. We played fetch in the living room and she learned how to bring it back to me. A little training in short spurts a couple times a day is good too...sit, down, leave it, watch me...she is young, but her mind is eager to learn, understand and please. Have a wonderful time with your furbaby!!!! And keep us posted on her progress...  |
| Oh my gosh you guys are fantastic. #1Doglover, I saw pictures of a 6 month old sheepie the other day and nearly fell off my chair! It's impossible to imagine that in 4 months it's going to take two of us to lift her! On last night's pee break she went on strike at the foot of the stairs and started tossing her head - I scooped her up and we continued, but boy is she going to be cheeky when she realizes we can't do that any more! Daisy comes everywhere with us - we got booted out of a shop yesterday (whoops!), but we've been trying to socialize her to lots of people, environments and of course, car rides. So far she's been a champ, staring out the window and then just snuggling down and going off to sleep when it proves a bit too bewildering  Aleece, haha, I use "being prepared" as a cover for all my overbearing sins And yes, our house is entirely tile and wood as well, which is great for any accidents that might happen! Sheepieshake, I love the idea of hide and seek. We tried to play in the fort yesterday, but I think she got a bit spooked by my sudden disappearance! For now we're doing a lot of fingers under blankets poking her, which she chases and pounces on. She's just so darn CUTE! I don't know the rules yet for photos, so I uploaded most in the photo gallery, but here are a few: Portrait: Click through for fullsize image:   Snowfort (she's the black blur!): Click through for fullsize image:   Her play pen (it's bigger and has a tarp underneath, but I wanted to get a shot of her cute eyebrow!) Click through for fullsize image:   Sleeping: Click through for fullsize image:   |
Just enjoy your puppy! Puppies (and even older "puppies"  ) will often suddenly get the zoomies, that's fine. Play indoors or in a backyard is great, you don't want to go on long walks yet, they should be very short--if a puppy is playing hard indoors or in the backyard, they can always stop and pass out if they get tired I wouldn't be in a rush to change foods anytime soon, stick with what your breeder recommends. These puppies are still practically infants, so their digestive system has a lot of growing to do still, so they will have soft poops sometimes, it's ok, she's just a baby! |
| Just cute as a button! Does she have a freckle on her ear? I could just suck that nose right off her face! THAT SNOW FORT IS THE COOLEST THING EVER! I think my kids would be jealous! O.k. so just a little friendly heads-up as I read about your floors....Steel is a walk a peeeer and a walk a pooooer. He does both in a long stream/line. Now thank goodness outside. He had only a couple accidents inside but they stretched from one end of the house to the next and on a wood floor that is like a stream/river. Someone else on here has a walk a poooooer also so it may be a Sheepie trait. Not sure what is is but Steel still has to poo and walk at the same time so one poo turns into 4 or 5 piles (thanks love). May want to stock up on paper towel and floor cleaner if you haven't already. |
OMG....she is adorable!!!!!!!!!!!!  Thanks so much for posting those pics...it made my day.One little word of advice if I may.....I know she is very young yet and the steps must seem like climbing the Alps in Europe but.....try and lure her up the steps with a toy or treat if she continues to be stubborn. Of course it must look overwhelming to her right know but once she realizes she can "conquer" those big, bad, mean steps she will be bounding up them in no time (maybe a little slow and clumsy at first, so have your camera ready). Gunner needed help also in the beginning because he was so little (hard to believe they grow so darn fast) and he needed coaxing to see he could actually do it and to build up his confidence. You'd be surprised how quickly they "learn". They are like sponges at this age. Have fun and enjoy her puppy stage. It seems like they go through it way to quickly! |
| Aleece, yep, she's got freckles all over her ears and they're just the cutest ever. Second only maybe to this head cocking pose she's started to do when she thinks I'm being stupid (which is a lot of the time!) And YES, she totally is a walking poo'er - she tries to balance on her front paws and shuffles around in a little circle squeaking (you know you're smitten when even their poo'ing is kinda cute!) and then stands there like she's not sure what comes next! Barb, today we had a victory - she galloped up the steps like a total pro, but unfortunately it was freezing rain, so she got to the top and all four paws went in different directions, which was a bit anti-climatic. We'll get there! Thanks for all the warm feedback and encouragement! |
| OH NO you are in soooo much trouble!!! I call that the head tilt! Look under "Yay no more cone" in the pictures section. Steel could have me doing cartwheels in a clown suit for him if he wanted because of that head tilt! That "head cocking" pose is dangerous! I think you are going to find she does it to you more and more and she is going to refine her skills. Steel now knows he is going to get laughter and then his face smothered in kisses and whatever it is I have in my hand. So yes I'm perfectly trained! |
| Hahahaha - I didn't realize it was a trait! I've only had one dog do it previously, and it was only ever when my brother was playing the violin (or vile din as we used to call it, being such supportive siblings!) I'll have to try to get a photo of it - she's certainly milking it for all it's worth. Curious, my butt! She's started doing something cheeky and then sitting there, head cocked like "I didn't know I wasn't allowed to chew that! That? You sure? Who knew". We've got a ways to go with training |
I want to cuddle her so bad!!! You will have to keep taking pics as she grows next to the stuffed animal in her play pen so we can see how she is growing....Cute ! Cute ! Cute! i was going to go cuddle Tinsley until I realized she was toting a kitty tootsie roll around in her mouth.  yuck!! and she just ate dinner. Its not like she could be hungry.  |
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