[myFirstlab]

Hello everyone, just checking in to ask if what I'm doing during meal times is ok for my puppy.. I feed her 3/4 cup per meal, 3 times a day, and a portion of each meal i set aside for training (maybe around 40%?)... so we do a couple of sit, down, stay exercises first... then let her eat from the bowl, then I save maybe 5-6 kibbles from her plate so we can go outside and play fetch..

Now when she fetches she goes All out full speed, then when she comes back with the ball i trade it for a kibble and she's really good with that...but is this ok or would this be bad for her bones as a puppy (11 weeks)? we only do this for about 3-5 mins (once or twice a day), or should we just do 5-10 minute walks for now instead until she gets older?

I've been reading u shouldn't over exert a puppy, but what is your take on this when it comes to playing fetch and she goes for the ball Full speed?

 

[Bob Pr.]

There are 2 things involved here.

One is appropriate amount of exercise for a puppy. The "rule of thumb" guide is about 5 minutes of vigorous daily exercise for each month of age up to one year. That would include such activites as fetching. It sounds like you're within those limits.

The second is exercise right after feeding to avoid bloat. Most people recommend waiting an hour after feeding to avoid that danger. I think it'd be better to wait longer after a meal.

I think it's great to be using some of the meal to use as treats.

You might Google "Nothing in Life is Free" dog training. It's a method to use while feeding and is very effective.

 

[BigBrownDog]

Bob is right. You should not be exercising her after eating. The preferred position for a dog after a meal is prone, napping.

 

[myFirstlab]

I am glad I asked! I'm going to start waiting a couple of hours atleast b4 playing. thank you

 

[Dani]

I exercise my dogs all of the time after eating. There are pros and cons to it. I've had more problems with dogs exercising before they eat and none afterwards.

 

[Luvmydog2much]

Me too Dani, my dogs eat before activity all the time. Feed them, go to the dog park every Saturday morning...

 

[Dani]

In fact, I can tell you that this past friday, we were out at my friend's house on the ice and on the 4 wheelers with the dogs chasing after the 4 wheelers (and Rider doing a dang fine job of keeping up with us)...and when he did two laps in the field, he stopped and threw up...this was in the middle of the afternoon....5 hours after breakfast and 4 hours before dinner. So...I guess I have to say you need to guage your dog.