| EXERCISE A Malinois puppy is going to grow into a fairly large dog, and as such he or she will be growing until about 18 months of age. The adult height may well be reached at as an early age as 6 or 7 months but the bones will continue to develop and the body will fill out. The bones will not be fully developed until 18 months of age. Because of this, it is ESSENTIAL not to over exercise a growing dog, or bone problems can result. A young puppy, up until the age of about 4 months, should not go for proper walks at all. He or she needs to be getting used to a collar and lead and need to be taken out for short walks to get used to all new impressions, people, dogs, cars etc , but this should at first consist of carrying (or driving) the puppy to the nearest park or suitable area, and then letting him or her wander around at their OWN pace, with you strolling around slowly or standing still. As the puppy grows, the amount of exercise can gradually be increased, (a good rule of thumb is to allow 5 minutes walk per month of age, eg. at 4 months 4 x 5 equals 20 minutes) but no long walks should be given until 7 or 8 months of age, just shorter ones. Likewise, growing puppies should not be allowed to FREQUENTLY climb stairs and jump over objects. Do practice using stairs though, such as when out and about socialising –but once a week or so is quite enough. (No agility jumps until at least 12 months old -but if you are interested in agility, do practice the tunnels, the weaves, the seesaw etc from an early age!) From 18 months onwards, the dog can be given unlimited exercise, but do build it up gradually. You will find that it is more or less impossible to tire an adult Malinois out! At least an hour a day is necessary, and do add training exercises so they dog gets to use its brain. |
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