how much is too much exercise?

[juliefurry]

How much exercise is TOO much for a 1 year old lab? Hannah is outside for about three hours a day and I would say for atleast an hour we play fetch. She never seems to tire but I am afraid maybe I am over exercising her, is that possible? Even after we have been playing for an hour she is still bringing me the ball even though she's panting and slobbering all over the place. Although the good thing is after that hour she comes inside and is napping for a good hour or hour and a half. Should I not let her play fetch for an hour at a time?

 

[peta]

Hi i have a 20 kg kelpie (working dog) who is full on so i know what you mean about wanting vs needing excercise. I was advised that by i think it was 8 months old Harry was fully develloped structurally. The vet told me he could do agility training with no detrimental effects on his joints at this point. Agility would be one of the more strenuous excercises for a dogs joints so i would think (im no vet though!) I would guess that running and fetching would be ok by 1 for a lab. Being bigger, Labs would take alittle longer to be fully developed than a kelpie. I guess just make sure that your dog doesnt over heat or get over tired - i have to watch our boy as im sure he would keep going till he dropped dead if i gave him a chance!

Hope that helps
Peta

 

[Oski]

I agree. I was also concerned too at one time about too much excersize but as long as they are at least 1 years old, there joints should be fully developed and therefore shouldn't be harmed. I would say that your dog is one lucky doggie! Must get a good night sleep too I bet! I think that all you are doing for your dog is building its heart and strengthening its muscles which will probably prolong life a lot longer...keep it up!