That’s what I was thinking earlier- -9 mo lab pup, raining like crazy and she’s needing her tennis ball exercise. We walk her 2-4 miles 2x daily and still doing the “fetch” thing every evening. How much of a work out do these gals need every day? Gotta say that it’s fun but what’s the norm??? 
jerr
The norm is different for every dog. Depends on your dog’s energy and physical fitness. If you want a good healthy working dog then feed it high performance food and run/work her until she gets her fill. You will see after a few days what the dog can handle and what it cannot. A working lab needs a lot of exercise to stay healthy. If this is just a house/family dog then I’d say you are doing more than enough, you just want it to maintain a good weight and get some exercise each day.
Also, just wait until next spring… she will have to work off all that stored fat from winter. You think its bad now, wait until she is an adult with winter weight to burn. Its like having a puppy all over again.
We have a border collie mix, herding dogs NEED to work. When she was a puppie we questioned if we could handle her. With time we found a routine that kept her happy and healthy. Walks really don’t satisfy her need to work, they really are for my wife and I.
The addition of a second dog definately helped us and our border collies sanity. The combination of play and fetch is perfect.
Now as she approaches 3 years old it has definately gotten very manageable and i wouldn’t trade her for any other dog.
I have a 9 year old lab. He’s just starting to slow a bit. I used to take him through the neighborhood on bike rides to get him tired out. You can also get them “mentally” tired by having them search for things. I hide dummies in the yard, treats in the bushes, etc. Train, train, train…
WOW She’s an active one, any Pics of the baby? 
Wonderful, here I am sr citizen with a psycho puppy on my hands 
not really, great pup, gonna be a great dog. Who ever it was that said they’re man’s best friend wasn’t wrong. Best thing that ever happened to this house 
jerr
photos, of course, ever see a proud papa without an album or two full 
Wow what a beautiful dog!
I chocolate lab!!!!!!!!! 
for a while there I thought you guys where describing my brown thing and sheltie!!!!!!!! I have had other labs, don’t know why that brown color in them make them so much more…………..spoiled!!! 
That looks like a hair covered happiness extender!
I’d say 4-8 miles a day are plenty enough. Nice lookin pooch.
Raising a hunting dog of any breed is kind of like raising kids. If you spend quality time with them they will turn out great and be a lifetime friend.
Jerry,
Where was the photo taken?
Looks like one of my bridges from Wheeler, should be a name plate on one of the end posts.
Carroll58
Once the ice clears, get were swimming. They will wear her down iin a hurry. Easy on the joints and bones too!
-J.
My second of two has limitless energy as well. I often reflect on how much of our time she takes next to the older dog. Good days and bad days. She is just over 1.5 years old.
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That’s what I was thinking earlier- -9 mo lab pup, raining like crazy and she’s needing her tennis ball exercise. We walk her 2-4 miles 2x daily and still doing the “fetch” thing every evening. How much of a work out do these gals need every day? Gotta say that it’s fun but what’s the norm???
For exercising the dog, you could try what my daughter did.
She has a Lab/Chow mix, Otis has some joint problems, doesn’t like walking in the cold.
She trained the Dog to walk on her treadmill. He will get on and walk for 30-45 minutes in the comfort of the home.
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Once the ice clears, get were swimming. They will wear her down iin a hurry. Easy on the joints and bones too!
-J.
X2!
I’ve got a Yellow Lab, about 1.5yr old. 3 miles daily last fall was pretty normal. Once the water is warmer, swimming is awesome. My pup loves the water and it really seems to take more energy out of her doing water retrieves.
Swimming is great if your dog will take to it (I assume most labs will ). I really wish Floyd liked swimming, but he’s a sissy. I’ve found biking to be great, though. 3 miles and he’s spent. Depending upon your situation, tagging along with an ATV can be a good option, too.
my lab goes nuts when she’s in the truck and sees the lake. one would swear i’m beating her as much yelping, whining and such on the way down.
sorry, i gotta disagree on letting my dogs follow the ATV, truck or anything else. in my case and i am only speaking from my experience if you let them do that they will follow all ATV’s’ golf carts etc. not to mention i feel its a saftey thing for the dog in case it gets to close or you and your hound make the wrong turn.
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sorry, i gotta disagree on letting my dogs follow the ATV, truck or anything else. in my case and i am only speaking from my experience if you let them do that they will follow all ATV’s’ golf carts etc. not to mention i feel its a saftey thing for the dog in case it gets to close or you and your hound make the wrong turn.
Right! Chasing is not a good idea. All depends on the dog and the situation.
I asked myself the same question a million times. My girl is now 2yrs old. I can’t tell if she has settled down some or I’m just used to it but things seem way less crazy than they used too. I think the previous post was right about all dogs being different but in my case I let the dog tell me when she was done.
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