Monday, September 1, 2008

September...1st...Happy and Safe Labor Day

I thought it might be a good

idea to start another blog

showing my progression in

training Indy. She is definitely

going to be a challenge for me.

For those of you that

have never had a

dog before or never owned

a Weimaraner, I thought it

might be helpful. At the

same time if any

one is having any

particular training issues

or concerns, you can email

them to me. I can answer them

on the blog, and they may be

something that is a concern

for someone else as well.

Remember...you decided

to get a high energy breed.

They demand a commitment

in time and energy on your

part. I have mentioned before

that we have trails on our

property and our dogs

are run at least once a

day. In the winter, if it is

above 20 they get their run.

When there is snow on

the ground....and we get snow,

we don the snowshoes.

In the mile or two that

we may walk, the dogs will run

this way and that maybe

going three miles. Just went

for a run out with the big

dogs and Indy and Grayson.

The pups had no problem

keeping up with the big dogs.

Puppies have energy

to spare. When we got

back from the run, we let everyone

have a few laps of water, and than

let them cool down before they

get anymore than that.

You pup will need one or

two good walks a day on

leash, or run on trails.

Or if you want

to train them to a tread mile,

that is another good way to

run off the energy. This method

needs a lot of treats and positive

reinforcement from the very beginning.

They start out at a slow walk and

and work their way up to a trot.

This is the best gait for exercising

on a tread mill. 20 minutes twice

a day would be a good routine as an

adult. Initially a puppy maybe five minutes

twice a day so they feel comfortable

with it. The bony epiphysis need to

fuse first, so there is no damage

to the long bones. A good routine

for an adult could start at 18 mos.

I will post the training blog

when I initiate it.

Jean

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