Don't Exercise Your Puppy! (at least, not like you think)
You’ve got a new puppy and he’s quite a bit more energetic than the last dog you lived with. You want Puppy to be good and sleep (especially through the night!), so you religiously exercise him multiple times a day to get all that puppy energy out. After all, “a tired dog is a good dog,” right?
Eh…it’s not quite that straightforward.
Appropriate activity does make puppies easier to live with, but the solution for bad behavior isn’t exercising the puppy into exhaustion.
Here are some reasons why you want to be careful about exercising your puppy:
1) Growth and development. Puppies who do too much too soon may be more prone to injuries when they’re older. Puppy Culture has an informative article on puppy exercise. Ask your veterinarian for some tips too!
2) Stamina and conditioning. If it takes a two-mile walk to tire your pup out today, next month it’ll take three-miles, and then four and then five and before you know it you’ll have an Olympian you can’t keep up with.
Yes, dogs do need exercise, but be careful about intense exercise regimens. Creating good behavior via physical exhaustion isn’t a sustainable solution.
3) Exhaustion that causes bad behavior. Puppies are a bit like children: when they get too tired their behavior goes downhill in a major way. “Hyperactivity” is easily misinterpreted as excess energy and the well-meant solution winds up creating more of a problem.
How to Tire Your Puppy Out
Mental activity. Food dispensing toys for all his meals; kibble hunts in the house or backyard; positive-reinforcement training inside.
Appropriate physical activity. Gentle toy play in the house or backyard; brief games of fetch or ball chase; puppy-driven tug (neutrally hold the toy: do not actively tug back); very, very short leash walks.
Socialization outings. These provide physical, mental and sensory stimulation all at once. Check out the Koinonia post on [How to Actually Socialize Your Puppy] to get the most bang for your buck without creating future problems.
