Hi, just wondering how long you spend walking your Labs every day? Dexter is 18 months. I figure he needs a minimum of an hour a day walking, and ideally double that. Does that sound about right...? Plus time off lead in the park, as his recall (hopefully) improves....
So apparently there have been 52 viewings of this question - but not a single fellow Lab owner has responded....
It depends if it’s a working bread or show bread lab, mine is a working bread so needs plenty of exercise. No less the 1hr hour, but he could walk all day if he wanted/had to, if you think about the amount of miles a lab could cover on a shoot, which could be anything up to 30 miles going back and forth. I would say up to 5 miles a day is usually enough for the average adult Labrador. I don’t know much about show bred Labradors, although there usually stocky, shorter on the leg, and have a bigger head, compared to the working Labrador. This is longer in the leg, more compact and agile, with a smaller head.
I have two chocolate labs, show type, aged 3 and 4. We generally have a walk every morning lasting between and hour and an hour and a half. This is usually off lead in our local country park or in a nearby managed forest. We then have either one or two shorter walks during the rest of the day, usually the final one is just before bedtime. I'm not one of these who kicks the dogs out in the back garden to do their business. They get a proper walk, around 20 minutes. The daily walks are never missed, because they don't care what the weather is doing, and I must be a masochist because I actually enjoy being out in foul weather, although I do prefer sunny and warm. Regularly, perhaps once a fortnight, we do a much longer walk, up to 10 miles, but generally around 7 or 8, which can take 3 to 4 hours. I'm retired so I have the time, although I appreciate that not everyone can put in that amount of effort.
I exercise my two adult Labs three times per day, it's not the amount of time, but what's involved. I don't agree that there's a difference between breeding, just energy levels, some show bred Labs are just as much, if not more, boisterous than working bred. Taxing the brain of any dog, wears them out much more than walking the legs off them. One of my bitches, would be lame after a ten mile walk, as she's suffered cruciate problems, so for her, little and often is best. Dogs are not always the same, not even within the same breed, you need to tailor exercise to suit.
HOPKINS - that sounds really good and what I'm aiming for roughly PAULANDFLOYD - as Dex was a rescue,we don't know what his background is. He has the smaller head and lean body of a working Lab, but his face is more that of a show Lab... Our trainer thinks he is a mix of both. However, I'd say his energy level is lower than that of most working Labs, from what I understand about them. TARIMOOR - yes that is a great point. I know Dexter gets exhausted from our weekly training sessions, because he has to focus so hard!
My lab is 6 and gets max of 1 1/2 hour walk daily. Usually it's more like 40 minutes. He LOVES training, tricks, obedience... anything which makes him think so I try to do a bit of that daily with him too
I have a show type lab & a lab cross, both around 7 years old. They get 20 mins off lead in a deserted, dark & at the mo, very muddy park at 5.30 a.m. Then they get 11/2 to 2 hours in the evenings, off lead, over the Downs or in woods, with their playmates. During the weekdays my OH is in & out all day so they get to go out in the garden regularly ~ but often prefer to be upside down snoozing on the sofa At weekends they tend to get longer & more interesting walks that may involve a pub lunch or teashop , & often includes water in the form of rivers, ponds or the sea. Once a fortnight they go to hydrotherapy ~ 20 mins constant but controlled swimming. IMO because of the variety of places we walk, & the different human & canine friends we go with, this gives them plenty of mental stimulation as well as physical exercise. But all dogs are different depending on age, breed, fitness levels, health, mental stimulation requirements, owner interactions etc etc. So whilst 2 half hour walks plus training sessions may be sufficient for one dog, other dogs may need much more. You can't generalise too much but obviously young, fit dogs SHOULD get more exercise to keep up their fitness levels & promote good health, in the same way that people should take regular physical exercise. IMO a young dog like Dexter probably should be getting a bit more than one hour of physical exercise via walks, but this depends on what you mean by walks ~ is this hour off lead? Does Dexter get the chance to romp & play with other dogs in that time? Is he chasing rabbits or running up & down hills? What else do you do with him? Does he go to training classes (usually a very good opportunity for mental stimulation if the classes are well run)? Does he do agility or any other activities? Do you play with him in the garden with toys, or do any training at home with him? There's no one-size-fits-all answer to these questions ~ it's more a case of trying to fit what time you can give to your dog & what exercise/stimulation needs your dog has.
Many thanks WILBAR Right now Dexter either gets an hour and a half walk - on leash - per day or We go out for two hours which includes both on leash time and also time in our local park. In the park he either plays with other dogs that are happy to romp with a very big extremely bouncy Lab, or we do training in an empty tennis court where he is also off leash. We have training once a week which does tire him out. I also do a bit of training at home with him, just basic things. Unfortunately because he is extremely nervous and reactive up until now our on leash walks have been shorter than desirable, because she sheer effort of managing him on lead has exhausted me. I'd LOVE to start flyball or agility with him but at present he is too excitable around other dogs - but when the training has finished and he is calmer and I can manage him better, I'm planning on finding a flyball or agility class for him
I don't have any kind of solid routine for mine; he is happy with whatever he gets. But then, my Dexter (yes, mine is a Dex too!) is a lot older than your Dexter as he will be 8 years old this March. Generally speaking though he probably gets walked for a total of an hour and a half a day, sometimes up to two hours. This is mainly because I have another dog who is extremely active and energetic and he will tag along on one or two of those walks, if wants (I let him decide). An hour would be absolutely fine for him though. Sounds like what you are doing exercise wise is fine for now. If you keep working with him like you are, I'm sure you will get to the point one day when he can be off lead more than on.
Well it sounds like Dexter is getting a nice variety of physical & mental stimulation. If he's "extremely nervous and reactive" on his on lead walks, I would suggest that reducing or minimising these sort of walks wouldn't be a bad thing. What is he nervous & reactive towards? Is it people, other dogs, traffic? If you want to help him overcome whatever fears he has, then the best way is to avoid putting him in those situations in the first place & concentrate on doing the things that he finds fun & enjoyable. This is because continually practising or rehearsing nervous, reactive behaviours makes them become more ingrained & more likely to happen. And it doesn't sound like you're enjoying those type of on lead walks either! Once you've both had a period (a few weeks perhaps?) of not encountering situations that make him nervous, then you can start a carefuly controlled programme to reintroduce the things or situations that make him nervous, but in such a way as to not invoke the nervous/fearful response. It's called desensitisation ~ and you can add counterconditioning, i.e. making positive & rewarding associations with the things that he previously found scary. I'll try & find you a link to the process of desensitisation & counterconditioning that explains it better than I can here. Or perhaps have a word with the instructor at your training classes who may be able to help?
Many thanks WILBAR Dexter reacts to any other dog on leash - it's pure excitement, not aggression, but as he's a big dog and extremely strong it can be tricky. And because his lunging has made me tense, that makes him worse... He also - we established today in training - reacts badly to any man who is carrying anything. Our trainer is helping us a lot, it's just slow progress as Dex is a highly fearful dog; we think he was poorly treated by his first 'owner' :-( The trainer says we must confront the things that are bothering him and that if I can remain calm, he'll gain in confidence when he sees nothing bad is going to happen.
Another lab called Dexter here i have two and walk them for about a hour a day (they are 8 and 6) they also get plenty of brain work throughout the day
Can I suggest that you have a look at this article on desensitisation & counter-conditioning? www.animalhumanesociety.org/webfm_send/43 Whilst your trainer may be advocating Dexter confronting his fears, this is not really the way to go about it, & could actually make the problem worse. Just continually exposing Dexter to the things that frighten him is not going to "cure" him, & all the time Dexter is practising & rehearsing these fearful behaviours, the more ingrained & habitual they become. You also have to take into account the fact that when a dog (or person or other animal) is highly aroused because of fear, they are virtually incapable of taking any notice of anything you say or do, or of being able to learn anything. All they can think of is how to escape or avoid the scary thing confronting them. If you were scared of spiders & I shut you in a room with some spiders, then told you to learn Japanese, I suspect you'd tell me to **** off in no uncertain terms! So it's no good just allowing Dexter to confront men carrying things, then wait till he reacts or feels scared & try to correct him. It's too late by then. Go slowly, at a distance that doesn't provoke a reaction in Dexter & reward calm, attentive behaviour. Only then can you start to allow him to get closer to scary thinhgs, only gradually at distances he can cope with. Best of luck with him
MANY THANKS WILBAR That link greatly appreciated I think our trainer - she is a former police dog handler - wants me to show Dex that if I stay calm around these trigger things, he can feel safe. She says that if I 'correct' him just before he lunges, hopefully this will teach him what is and what is not the 'right' behaviour. But I do take on board what you are saying; spider analogy good one, I'm shuddering at the very image:-(
I can understand why your trainer says that & sometimes, provided that the dog already looks to you for guidance, then a dog can take its cues from its owner. BUT, & this is a big but, it won't work if your dog either doesn't already know to take cues from your behaviour, or your dog is already too scared/aroused/upset by whatever scares him. Then it's probably too late & he'll be too scared to do anything other than lunge/bark or react in an automatic way to his fears. Correcting him before the lunge won't be necessary if you can distract him before he even gets emotionally aroused, i.e. before he even notices a man carrying something. Once he has seen the man, & his body is preparing itself for flight/fight mode & adrenaline etc is causing the heart rate to increase, respiration to increase, releasing glucose for immediate muscle use etc, then it's too late. You are not only trying to stop the physical lunging/barking ~ what you are really trying to do is stop the emotional reaction to the scary man, & then to change that emotional reaction to either ignore, because men carrying things mean nothing, or ignore man & focus on mum because when a man appears mum gives me treats. It's not a case of correcting the lunging ~ it's a case of changing your dog's perception of things he finds scary.
