How much exercise to TRULY tire your dog out?

JacksonsMom

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#1
When is your dog just... really pooped out?

I can take Jackson on a short 30 minute walk and it will 'satisfy' him to the point that he will come home and lay down if I tell him to, but he's not truly 'tired'.

I mean, today we spent 3 1/2 hours at the park today (which we usually don't do that long) and walked about 4 miles and spent the rest of the time in the dog park. Got home around 4. After dinner, my step-dad had a fire going outside so I had Jackson out playing long distance fetch with the chuck-it and just running around for over an hour. Just came inside like 45 mins ago and he started whining at the toy box. Seriously, dog? I told him to go lay down which he did, but jeez, you'd think he'd automatically be tired.

The main time I see him TRULY just exhausted is at my dads house in the summer, where we often will spend 5+ hours outside and he's constantly in and out of the pool swimming, jumping, and running around in the yard in the heat. Those are the only days I see him come inside truly tuckered out.

On an average day, we'll often do a 2 mile walk or a session of fetch in the yard up-hill. It is enough for him to be content but it definitely doesn't exhaust him at all.

So what is your dogs 'exhaustion' point, if they have any? LOL
 

smkie

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#2
About 2 hours at the dog park including swimming.
 

JessLough

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#3
Err.. Up until her last day, Rosey needed at least 3+ hours of hiking and swimming a day to make her bearable to live with. LOL and even then...

I never managed to exhaust her, so I'm not sure what would have done it :p
 
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#4
:rofl1:

But seriously, they do get "tired" in the sense that they come in and fall asleep and maybe aren't as fast to jump up if I leave to go to the bathroom. Especially right now since both are out of shape from winter.

Like today I got home from work and my sister goes "There is something wrong with Traveler. He's laying down and when I move he doesn't get up right away. Is he ok?" and it's because yesterday we did a lot of disc training and then a couple hours at the dog park where he swam a real lot which he isn't used to yet this year. So today he's a little lower key.

Didgie yesterday got a bike ride and about 30 minutes of swim fetch and 15 minutes of up a steep hill fetch and again, more willing to lay down when we got home. But if I get up for the door or make any indication of doing anything she's right there.

Then today Didgie and I spent about three hours at the dog park where she swam and ran A TON. I mean, she's never swam this much before (first few times swimming! Yay!) and I was using the chuck it to the best of it's and my ability.

Right now she's sprawled out on the floor sleeping but ten minutes ago when I took her out she was picking up her disc.

Heat though does seem to do them in pretty well! Stupid Australian dogs.

So, they become content pretty easily but flat out exhausted I've never seen! Which is why I <3 off switches.
 

momto8

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#5
I do about 3 miles once a week with mine at the lake, they are content with it, but they could keep going. Most of it is off leash so they are running and playing. I dont know how much would really tire them out to be honest. A few years back we went to a friends in AR and they were in the pastures all day with us, we were on 4 wheelers and they ran and swam all day, a day like that wears them out lol :)
 
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#6
Daily something (training class/practice, dog park, long walk/hike, scootering, going nutbar with each other in the backyard for an hour, or skijoring) for 5-7 days in a row to truly, truly tire them out to the point where it's like we don't even have dogs because everyone is napping soundly and doesn't jump up every time we move in case something awesome is going to happen.

To make them pleasant to be around, something 4-5 days a week.
To keep them tolerable, something 3-4 days a week.
 

Laurelin

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#7
Summer gets worn out after about 2-3 hours on average days. If it's hot she is tired after about an hour. But she's older so I forgive her. ;)

Mia really is still going pretty much all the time. We did 4 hours in the park the other day and she came home and crashed pretty good. She was still keeping good pace at the park though and I am sure she could've gone for quite a lot longer. I don't remember if she was still jumping up at my every move or not when we got home. These days she'll hang out most the day, being relatively quiet, but she's always been a dog that jumps up at every movement. Like today we did about 30 minutes and she's hanging out (awake) on the back of the couch. But she's being good.
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#9
I'll let you know if I ever find out.

I know my dogs can begin to heat stroke after a bit and last weekend they were pretty easy going after Schutzhund (tracking, obed, Bitework) and dock dogs from 9-3 but they still had enough to go if I asked. They are bred to go all day though. You can tire them mentally and physically but give them ten minutes and they'll give you three more hours.
 

Kootenay

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#10
Both of my guys will go to sleep once we come in from any kind of excursion, they are pretty forgiving. Running or biking is always good, or playtime with other dogs out in a big open space. Definitely the times I've seen them most exhausted is after a really huge hike. We tend to go hiking a lot in the summer and cover a lot of ground, all the way up a mountain, and the dogs are offleash running around the whole time. Also, going on really long horse rides really tires them out as well because we cover a lot of ground, and often at a quick pace. Generally after days like those, they are pretty pooped.
 
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#11
Gage, a good 5km walk does him in, Bristol can make the 5km walk, but in reality a walk around the block and shes good, or a walk down the deck to pee, shes a Shih Tzu, LOL.

Diesel, well Diesel the only time i have ever seen him truly tired and wanting to sleep is after mental activities so we concentrate his time on that more then physical activity. Physically he can go, and go, and go, and then go some more. I have taken him for 5km walks then had him run in the park for a good 45min to and hour, only to have him come in and run and play with the cat like he hasnt moved all day. An hour learning some new agility equipment and he will sleep all night and ignore the cat.
 

Gypsydals

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#12
I'll let you know if I ever find out.

I know my dogs can begin to heat stroke after a bit and last weekend they were pretty easy going after Schutzhund (tracking, obed, Bitework) and dock dogs from 9-3 but they still had enough to go if I asked. They are bred to go all day though. You can tire them mentally and physically but give them ten minutes and they'll give you three more hours.
^that is pretty much Ivan. I swear he has no sense of when to stop. Now in the winter its a different story. As in he doesn't do much of anything, cause according to him he.doesn't.do.cold!
 

Toller_08

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#13
I really don't know. They're all pretty tired after a 2 or 3 hour off leash walk, but I doubt any of them actually need quite that long to truly be tired. I'd say about an hour and a half of non-stop action (running, playing, walking, swimming, sniffing) does it for all of my guys, though.

The Dobermans are the hardest to wear out. Usually the above is plenty, but some days we can do all of that and they come home, nap an hour, and are ready to go again.

The other two are pretty beat after the above. They nap hard off and on for most of the rest of the day and are quite content just to hang out and not do much.

But they all settle well with or without a lot of exercise.
 

Beanie

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#14
The only time I've ever seen Auggie truly tired was after two days of agility and one day of herding out in the hot summer heat.

Payton... no clue, never been there before.
 

Southpaw

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#15
I guess I don't really know because I don't do much to really run Juno ragged. :p

It is weather dependent, on hot days we can just go for a short walk around the block and she'll come home and just crash for a while.

I would guess it'd probably take a few hours of some sort of running in order to really just exhaust her.
 

PWCorgi

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#17
I don't know that I've ever seen Siri truly tired. But she's also a 6 month old JRT :p

With Frodo, mental does him in faster than physical. So any kind of going to a persons house or around a crowd of people (like walking him in a busy area where we see other dogs/people) and he is OUT...for like 2 days. LOL
 

PlottMom

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#18
Daisy walked all over redondo beach today (it was like 1.4 miles from where we parked to where we ate...) and she seems pretty tired - but she's a 13 year old basset with a bad back...

Liz, the world may never know because she hates exercise & pretends she is exhausted at all times.

I have seen Rage truly pooped twice - once, after 3 days of show/water race/field trial/nite hunts in August in Ohio (between 80-100 degrees at all times) and once after a run in 96 degrees. Otherwise she just. doesn't. quit.
 

Michiyo-Fir

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#19
Nia is really bad in the heat. If it's even remotely summery or hot, she gets tired after 30 min. Or at least she gets too hot and doesn't want to keep running around. If it's cool, she'll go a few hours. Her hot is like 70F though... So she gets hot verrrry easily.
 

noludoru

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#20
Two hours of running. . . and no, I don't mean off and on running, I mean TWO STRAIGHT HOURS of barreling around at top speed only skidding to a stop for the occasional treat did not tire him out. He chilled in the house but could have kept going. He then proceeded to play tug for 20-30 minutes with another dog and human.

Mental stimulation was really the best. Driving across the country in a moving van was a huge thing for him. He actually did get tired. Not pooped out, but slowing down to a walk.
 

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