high energy breeds

How much exercise does a high energy breed actually need? Lets say an Australian Shepherd or a terrier. How much and also how often? Like if a dog needs a certain amount of exercise I would assume it needs to be spread out over a certain number of sessions so the dog does not build back up to the point of restless chaos. Would walks be enough or should there be fetch and Frisbee daily, maybe swimming with some dogs? Do some breeds absolutely NEED a job (fly ball, agility etc.)? Just wondering

When Voodoo was at his height of young exhubrance, I don't think I ever managed to tire him out. Ever.

Morning walks, fetch until my arm fell off, countless chew toys, chasing 'round the yard, training sessions, pestering Zeus...it was go go go go go. The times he *did* nap, it was as if he wasn't really tired---he just took pity on us and decided to give us a break.

One day I decided to really tire him out, and launched into a marathon fun session: jogs, fetch, car rides, etc. End result? I was sprawled on the couch, exhuasted. Voodoo was sitting in front of me, hopefully trying to shove a squeaky in my lap.

Thank goodness he's past that phase.

I have 5 Jack Russell terriers. And they are hunting/sport bred so they have oodles of energy. But I find that mindless exercise, like repeatedly fetching a ball for 30 min isn't as effective as a 10 min training session that engages the brain. Mental stimulation seems to be the key, so a job is really really helpful.

You will need 24.5 hours of walking every day to tire out a high-energy dog like an Aussie. Walking is not sufficient exercise for most dogs, much less a high energy terrier or herding breed.

A job is great, it helps them settle down because it exercises their mind as well as their body. Agility is especially great because it requires a lot of focus on the dog's part. Same with any kind of obedience training. I can let Eve run all day, and she'll still be full of energy when we get home. But if I snap a leash on her and make her follow me around and behave herself all day, as soon as that leash comes off she heads for her crate and takes a nap.

so true. Milo could chase a ball for three hours straight, take a five minute break, and go for another three hours. we often play "hide the ball", he swims daily in the summer, we go for walks, preferably someplace more exciting than through the neighborhood, etc.

i also find, however, with Milo, he needs to rest, and if he does, he gets more wound up. twice a day he gets a nap, and if he doesn't go to sleep on his own he gets crated for an hour or two. it doesn't exactly give him less energy, but it keeps me sane and keeps him more focused, instead of climbing up the walls (literally).

From what i hear, an australian shepherd isn't as high energy as some terriers or, say, a border collie.

Belgians are a "high energy" breed - Riot is NEVER satisfied unless hes put in a hard days work.. THEN he'll relax next to your feet. If not he has random spasm moments where he just NEEDS to do zoomies around you lol

Belgians are a breed that NEED a job or your going to go nuts living with them.

If Riot didn't have an energy outlet he'd go insane and develop his own job - usually in the "bad" zone for people.. ie. chewing, chasing shadows(VERY bad habit for a high drive dog to get into), ripping things up etc etc.

Now I dont have a pure breed but he is extreamly high energy. (He is a Dutch Shepard/Australian cattle dog mix) Walking does nothing for this dog. I got him at 4 months and the second day I had him he was out for 8 hours walking around and playing around in my friends back yard and he went the whole time. I realized I was gonna have my hands full after that. On average he will have atleast 4 hours of off leash running chasing a ball or freesbie with a bit of rumbling with other dogs. And still he runs around the house for most the day with his toys or the cat. If I miss one day where I dont take Duke out he becomes extreamly destructive.

The one thing I did find that wore him out was (like someone mentioned already) mental stimulation. When he was in obedience class I would take him to the park to wrestle with his doggie friends for an hour or so then take him to class for an hour and when we got him he would sleep for hours.

I have border collie sheepdogs that I use for mustering sheep and working in sheepdog trials.

I give them 2 hard short runs a day i.e flat chat for 15 mins running hard plus work them on sheep as well which gives them extra exercise plus the mental stimulation they need.

i notice they behave alot better if they get the proper exercise like I outline above.

Cheers
Sheepdog

I have an American Staffordshire Terrier. I cannot do enough to release all of his energy. The one time I can remember that he actually was tired was after he was at a friends house for a week while we were on vacation. he played for a whole week with their Rottweiler, Australian Shepherd and English Mastiff. He slept the whole 2 hour drive home.

What I have found that works to get rid of some of his pent up energy is giving him bones to chew on during the day. He no longer rips my house to shreds when he comes inside. He is happy to lay around for half an hour or so.

I have an Aussie, who thankfully was out of the bottomless well of energy phase by the time I got him. But it does take quite a bit to wear him out. An hour at the park will take the edge off, but he can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, so by the time we get home he's recharged. Combining thinking with exercise does work a lot better. It's not impossible to keep controlled, it just takes some creativity. His "job" is keeping doggie daycare under control and making sure that no one is breaking the rules.

Thanks you guys!! this is very helpful, I just want to know whether or not I could handle a high energy dog or not so this really helped as far as what I would need to do to keep a high energy pup from eating my house lol.

My dogs are high energy breeds too, and Hershey being more layed back, can go for hours if he wanted to, but, he stops when he knows its time to stop, he gets his exercise with a lasor light! lol Whisper, she can go hours, as a puppy! And oh boy, she tires me out, before I tire her out! It takes her hours to tire her out!! Labs are high energy, but are happy to do whatever you exercise them. This is why I love this breed so much. Keeps you moving!

I use a combo of mental and physical stimulation for Gunnar. I find that making him think wears him out just as good as running does. We do daily OB training in combination with fetch and other outdoor games. The fetch is the reward for the OB stuff. We do agility and OB training in a class setting once a week.

Daisy and Bruzer are not a problem. Daisy is full of puppy energy but 20-30 minutes of playing with Gunnar or chasing a ball and she's done.

Right now I have 2 aussies and 2 GSD's..The aussies being 7 & 6 yrs old, the GSD's being 12 & 10 yrs old. I've had them all since puppies.

My female gsd is /was an energizer bunny, she is a dog who as a puppy, NEVER ever took a "nap" like most puppies do *vbg*..She honestly did not start slowing down until she hit about 10. She still, crippled with arthritis, never 'walks', she 'flits'....My male gsd is more laid back, however, he'll work all day if you ask him but lounge on the couch all day if that is required..

My aussies on the other hand,,my male out of working lines, is much like my male gsd,,he is much more intense & serious, and will chase a tennis ball all day long or until he dropped dead I'm sure...but he isn't 'demanding' or has to have constant exercise. My female however, never stops, she is very demanding and has to have hard workouts atleast 2-3 times daily. Walks have never cut it for any of my dogs, they need to run, chase balls, catch frisbees, hike, something that engages them. Training also is an outlet for them, classes in agility/obed , fun herding .

If we have say, a really rainy day, my female aussie is a bear to live with. Lucky for her (not really for me!) she doesn't mind getting wet and is willing to take on bad weather to get in her daily exercise.

There are loads of the higher energy dogs that can be found that are not high energy or as demanding, I happen to like demanding little demons .

Diane

This is a great thread. I've also been curious as to what exactly a high energy breed needs. They don't sound anywhere near as intimidating to me now. Especially since (although physical activity is obviously needed) mental stimulation seems to be the key. Thanks for starting this thread Maxy!

Cass.

We're looking into getting an Aussie or a BC for our next dog... thanks for making this thread

I would say ... Malinois and Cattle Dog. And they are the best with groups of kids if raised from a pup.
Good Luck.

By babyeagle4u at 2007-06-24

By babyeagle4u at 2007-06-24

i think it varies, buster is probably kelpie/cattledog with maybe some foxy or dingo. he saves his energy unless you want him to use it, like if your going for a walk then he's over excited ot the max, but if you just wanna sit around for a few days he's fine with that as well.

harry is border/cattledog from working lines MASSIVE amounts of energy and very nippy, if he doesn't get a walk for a couple of days he gets SO annoying. just always in your face jumping on you, trying to start games with me, my sister, buster, sophie, mac, mum etc and he won't give it a rest till you find soemthign for him to do. he has a few games he likes theres his "ready" game where you stare into his eyes and say "ready?" over and over again puffing yourself up, he gets all concentrated and stares back and gets all jittery then you go GO! and he takes off running in any direction, either that or he leaps at you and almost knocks you flat. we gave him glad bags with peanut buter on them till he learnt he coud just eat the whoel bag so we had to stop that.
we give him cardboard boxes to chew up if we can be bothered picking up the rubbish.
we try things like a biscuit trail, we make him stay and put a trail of biscuits all over the house then let hm go and clean them all up.

he's what i'd call they huge high energy dog, he needs CONSTANT mental stimulation, which isn't always easy. if he is bored he decides to do things like just barking... constantly or going and finding soemthing nice to chew up or go dig a hole. he's not an easy dog at all
he's mums dog but me and my sister spend more time at home so we have to deal with him more often, plus he's got so much energy but he's not mega athletic so teaching him agility or soemthing doesn't really work.

mac i would also rate as high energy we think she's kelpie/mini foxy she is relaly muscly, the minute you step outside she goes and finds a toy and you can play flat out with her for 30 minutes and she won't have lost any energy. we actually have to remind her to drink. she'll do soemthing just to have something to do.
i've got a system we're i'll get 2 toys, i'll throw one, thn the second she gets back with it i'll throw the next so she's constantly running, i always get sick of it first.

i'd say harry's the hardest to excercise, mac and buster have just as much energy as hime but they can easily contain it.

buster has amazing stamina though, you can keep him joging for ages and it doesn't worry him.


Edit: i just wanted to add.
i was just going to write about how he chases the cat on occasion, and i look over and harry's standing halfway up the stairs and panda's at the top (only about 5 stairs) everytime panda makes a move harry jerks back, panda stands up and takes one step towards him and super scary harry freaks out and half runs half falls down the stairs.

panda knows what he's doing