New Hound - Walking Amount?

[stormnw]

Hi all!

 

The new addition to the household - Vincent - arrived a couple days ago. All in all settling in is going pretty well. He was at a foster home a couple weeks before he arrived here, and seems to be getting the hang of house life. He's turning two next week, so definitely a youngster.

 

I had a question about the amount of exercise/walking we're doing. I know we need to build up his endurance slowly, though also I know a tired dog is a happy and more well behaved dog, so am asking for experiences/feedback on our schedule for the next little while.

 

The last couple walks we've taken I've paid attention to how he's doing, and he seems to be pretty happy to walk a while. We just finished a 1/2 hour walk that ended up being 1.5 miles. He drank water and played some before sacking out -- he was noticeably tired when we got back, but I wouldn't say he was weary or extremely fatigued.

 

I know his endurance needs to be built up, along with his pads to get used to the concrete (we're in an urban area). We're in an apartment so no yard unfortunately, and not easy access to run around off leash, either.

 

Does that sound like too long/far for an initial walk routine? I was thinking of dialing it back to 20 minutes twice a day for a couple weeks and seeing how that goes...

 

Thanks for your time!

[rsieg]

Big thing to watch out in the summer is overheating. Logan does 1 1/2 to 2 miles at a time regularly, even up to 3 mi or more in a single trip on weekends, about 2 mi/hour pace. But I try to go early morning or late evening or even at night, try to find shady park paths, stuff like that. A we enter July/August I expect we will cut back some. At least with Logan, the sun in particular is a problem, he slows down very quickly if he is walking in the sun. Basically watch Vincent and react accordingly. Some hounds are sensible and will lay down in the grass if they get tired - if so, let him rest a few minutes. Some won't do that, so need to watch for things like excessive panting, slowing/stopping, or staggering, and stop or at least take a break in the shade if you see anything like that. From what you are describing sounds like Vincent is doing fine with your approach. One thing I do is carry a Nalgene bottle with water for the dog, and you can get a small folding or collapsing dog bowl, so you can give him water during the walk if needed.

 

BTW, congrats on adopting Vincent!

[greysmom]

Congratulations on adopting Vincent!

 

A two year old will have a good amount of energy to burn off, but the you do need to monitor the rest of how his body is adapting. As you said, be careful of his paw pads and watch carefully for overheating as the weather warms up. Otherwise, I would walk him as long as you can! The 1.5 mile walk doesn't sound too tiring, especially early in the day. He will probably also need that long at night. You will probably also need to extend it once he gets used to walking.

 

Good luck!

[Trudy]

I adopted Jet when she was 2. I had a postage stamp sized yard. We'd walk about an hour in the morning and then a quick trip around our block which was just under a half mile before I'd go to work. Then we'd walk an hour when I got home and another trip around the block before bed. Weekends we did some longer walks around town. Girl loved her walks.

[stormnw]

Thanks all for the thoughtful replies. We just got back from another walk -- just a little longer so we could get to the large park by our place. Did some resting/sniffing at the park and headed back. Vincent walked like a champ, most of the time at my side with a loose leash.

 

Glad to know I'm not overdoing it -- I've noticed that he seems most playful right after we've gotten back from a walk. I'll take that as a good sign, too.

[cleptogrey]

just watch the heat and humidity. once they are used to walking when my dogs were young they went forever! slow and steady, water breaks and enjoy!

[GeorgeofNE]

1.5 miles isn't very far, so I'm sure that's cool, but do watch out for the humidity and heat.

[mychip1]

1.5 miles isn't very far, so I'm sure that's cool, but do watch out for the humidity and heat.

Agreed.... The real key with mine isn't the distance, but how fast as they get older. A half-hour for 1.5 miles is a decent clip, but not excessive...IF it's not hot and humid.

 

Watch those pads!

 

Best wishes and welcome.

[marion]

I walked my beloved Greys twice daily from the beginning (they entered our home as pups)...one hour

off-leash in the morning in the countryside and in the late afternoon another 45 minutes on-leash mostly.

3 times a week to the beach to run full speed in the early morning. That worked for us.

I recommend you, to find a fenced in área, so that your youngster can run a bit to let stem off.

1,5 miles are not much, so with the time he might enjoy more walking.

My Grey was very sensitive with his pads. He didn't like stony áreas, although over here it's difficult

to find grassy soft places. Maybe with the time you can buy something to protect his pads.

Edited June 24, 2018 by marion

[stormnw]

Thanks for the feedback. Thankfully hasn't been too hot around here yet, so temp/humidity hasn't been a concern. We did a longer, slower walk this weekend -- about 3 miles -- and he did fine. His pads seem to be adapting ok, have been keeping an eye on them.

 

He's started statuing at times, though have found great advice by searching the forum. Giving him a bit of a push from behind and then picking up the pace for a little while seems to do the trick for now!

[Jodyjazz]

Hi, I am new to greyhounds, not animals or dogs but greyhounds. OMG how I love this dog. I adopted Latte in December of 17.

I walk her (carefully in Florida summer heat) late evenings, almost dark. We have worked up to about half hour. But when cooler we will walk longer maybe 45 minutes and a bit faster.

 

Question: How do you upload pictures on this site???