Realy! LOL thats so funny, I know Ceasar would love that, he chases everything as it is. I will deff. try that. Thanks Take care
Skinny pup....
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HarleyBear
Boxer Pal
When I adopted Harley, he had severe anemia as the result of being covered in fleas and infested with tapeworm. He looked wormy, ribby and his coat was pretty dull. Ive tried Pinnacle and Welness (which didnt agree with him) and now were doing great with Solid Gold WolfCub. He's filled out lots, had lots of energy and is gleaming like a spankin new copper penny!
Murf
Boxer Buddy
CarefulI know you said "light" jogs, but you really need to be cautious with a puppy any anything that constitutes forced exercise (as jogging, even off-leash, does). Boxers aren't a large breed, but they're a slow gorwing breed for their size; They aren't typically finished growing skeletally until 12-18 months of age.
The problem with that and any sort of forced exercise that involves high stress or continuous pounding (as long leash walks or jogging with you do) is that, until the growth plates harden and close, the dog is very vulnerable to joint damage. Growth plates are those soft areas at the ends of all the long bones that allow for growth to occur. The vulnerability comes from the fact that they're soft - and can be deformed or otherwise damaged if too much is asked - either in highly stressful activity (like jumping or weaving) or else in continuous pounding (long walks or running) prior to these maturing.
Typically with a boxer, the growth plates disappear from obvious view somewhere around 12-14 months. But they're still not fully hardened and closed for another 2-4 months. Taking the dog running prior to that is risking damage.
To be clear: there is no problem jogging with an adult boxer. Within the sensible boundaries of temperature, and working up to long distances, this breed should be perfectly capable of jogging a good 10 miles with you daily. But a six month old pupy should not be doing this. A general rule of thumb for how long he can sensibly walk on leash is about 5 minutes for every month of age over 2. That would max out at about 35 minutes for a pup of this age - in continuous on leash walking. Jogging with you should be treated with the same caution (unless it is a very slow jog, and the pup is off leash and able to run ahead and then pause/rest to wait for you - avoiding the continuous stress to joints that on-leash jogging would require).
we take our 14 1/2 week old for about a 35 minute walk...so really we should cut it down to about 15 or 20 minutes?...if so then that is a great thing to know I didn't know i was over doing it on him.
Actually even to below that, if it is leash talking you're talking about. A rough rule of thumb for how long puppies should be walked on leash is about 5 minutes for every month of age over 2. Your 14.5 week old is closer to 3 months than 4, so you're looking at between 10-15 minutes leash walking as being an appropriate level.
The above is a good rule of thumb. What you need to bear in mind here though, are several things. First and foremost, puppies should get the vast majority of their exercise needs met from running and playing off leash. Leash walking is 99% about socialisation and education - not exercise. So there is no need or value for it to be long duration in the first place.
Second, the problem with leash walking is that it usually consitutes constant pounding, as the puppy does his best to keep up with or outpace you (very often the latter). In this situation, he won't pay attention to his body's needs, and take all the short breaks and micropauses that he would have if left to his own devices. So YOU have to be the one making sure that he does. The simplest way to do that is to keep the duration short.
If it just happens, however, that you have one of the small number of pups who DON'T do their utmost to keep up with or outpace you, but instead insist upon taking time out during walks to pause and look at stuff, smell the flowers, etc - then the "forced exercise" issue is less of a concern and you can go a bit longer. These pups are rare though Which is why the above rule of thumb exists - that is what is needed for the vast majority.
Also, there isn't a tight limit (i.e. just a common sense one) on what your pup can do off leash, where he is free to run ahead and pause for you to catch up, etc. This is how he SHOULD obtain the majority of his exercise. So if your version of a walk didn't really mean an hour or so on leash, but more like 10 minutes on leash at each end of an hour-long romp, then the above restriction also would not apply.
The above is a good rule of thumb. What you need to bear in mind here though, are several things. First and foremost, puppies should get the vast majority of their exercise needs met from running and playing off leash. Leash walking is 99% about socialisation and education - not exercise. So there is no need or value for it to be long duration in the first place.
Second, the problem with leash walking is that it usually consitutes constant pounding, as the puppy does his best to keep up with or outpace you (very often the latter). In this situation, he won't pay attention to his body's needs, and take all the short breaks and micropauses that he would have if left to his own devices. So YOU have to be the one making sure that he does. The simplest way to do that is to keep the duration short.
If it just happens, however, that you have one of the small number of pups who DON'T do their utmost to keep up with or outpace you, but instead insist upon taking time out during walks to pause and look at stuff, smell the flowers, etc - then the "forced exercise" issue is less of a concern and you can go a bit longer. These pups are rare though
Which is why the above rule of thumb exists - that is what is needed for the vast majority.Also, there isn't a tight limit (i.e. just a common sense one) on what your pup can do off leash, where he is free to run ahead and pause for you to catch up, etc. This is how he SHOULD obtain the majority of his exercise. So if your version of a walk didn't really mean an hour or so on leash, but more like 10 minutes on leash at each end of an hour-long romp, then the above restriction also would not apply.
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