Tony
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How much exercise?How much exercise should Suki have?
Elsewhere in the Forum I have written about Suki’s arrival in my home. She was a stray, said to be seven or eight years of age. I have little knowledge of other Brittanys but she seems far more lively than Ted was at that age; she makes local young springers look like lay-abouts! My custom is to walk for three to four hours daily, split between am and pm. Suki will be off the lead for all but half an hour. A rough estimate is that she covers at least 15 miles a day: crossing fields, investigating hedgerows, coming back to see what Ted and I are doing.
Should I limit this exercise? Might overdoing it lead to arthritis (Ted is greatly hampered by arthritic elbows, maybe the result of very early training for falconry work; he,too, was a rescue)? Or do I let her run as much as she likes? Quality of life is very important but maybe there is a balance.
I would appreciate comments and suggestions.
Thanks.
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eddieh
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I'm quite surprised nobody has answered this question. Consider the post bumped 
in addition, I'd be interested in peoples comments on the amount of exercise needed by a pup. I've seen a guide which suggests 5 mins per month twice a day. Doesn't seem much
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Mugi
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Tony, tis a hard one.
Mugi came to me aged 10 and very ricketty but he built muscle and tone and was soon out-running my younger dogs (springer and deerhound) even then. At 12 he is now chosing to slow somewhat but he will still do a full days work on partridge and duck.
Like you were advised with Ted when he got arthritis, I would judge more with how Suki is as she gets up the next day. If she is showing no signs of stiffness or pain I would let her get on with it. These dogs run for the joy of it and limiting them is hard IMHO.
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guy
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Tony - two questions - what are you feeding and how much? are you happy with the exercise level you are offering?
the more exercise the dog gets the fitter it becomes so the greater exercise it will take before tiring. The higher the protein/oil content of the feed the more energy available to burn.
'Working dog performance' type feeds = rocket fuel
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doganjo
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That's absolutely right, Guy. Protein makes for hot dogs. 
An old Cocker breeder once said to me 'don't take your dog for a walk at the same time every day, don't give it the same amount of exercise every day. Don't feed it the same food or the same amount each day. It will expect more each time and it has a body clock and may start to control your life'
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Patricia
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Eddie...I thought that had been covered a bit in other posts...
In a pupppy, I feel it is best to have short stints and instill some obedience to set a pattern for later...than letting a very young animal run riot and do possible damage to his bones/ ligaments etc...
I have been stunned by some of the French messages wishing to take a 4 or 5 month old pup shooting for a bit. When you consider how long you will have that dog, what is the hurry?
It also depends if you mean exercise on the lead or off. 10 mns is hardly likely to hurt a young pup, and it may be a good idea to introduce a bit of basic obedience so he/ she learns not to pull on the lead, sit etc...
Basics.
I don't take a Brittany for hours until it is at least 8 months or for serious working sessions.
I will retell the story of my friend whose puppy went to someone who let it run for 3 miles, twice daily. The poor dog was not only unruly, but disobedient and this pattern set a trend of self hunting, distrust which made him difficult to rehome.
So, it is not how many miles you exercise, but how. Free galloping is essential, I can't see 15 miles being necessary at full pelt. 
A friend of mine has a 14 year old Dalmatien which she still insists on walking for miles up the hills of Northumberland. The dog is getting stiff. To which I asked her how would she like that much exercise in her 70's!
Yes, these dogs can follow a marathon running family, yes, they can go shooting all day...but a good hour off lead in the coutryside is adequate, maybe twice daily, also depends on people's working patterns etc...
I feel the training and bonding,learning etc... is as important as the amount of running given for a happy and confident dog. 
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Patricia
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"Protein makes for hot dogs"
That is not actually quite right. I was under that impression previously but was corrected . 
Protein is meat, which is the prime and most important ingredient in any dog diet.
I shan't go into the subject of diets again, but additives and colourants are the culprits for intolerances. Hence the importance of a good balanced diet.
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doganjo
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Ah, the wisdom of our children beats us all - I stand corrected, fair Jessica.
I do try to keep away from the foods that have funny numbers in them - like the drinks for my kids and grandkids, no 'E' s
Annie
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Mugi
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I pretty much followed the 5 min rule with both Chase and Brice. So I would drive to somewhere we could have safe free-running (and not waste our time pavement pounding to get there), I would do some lead work too and plenty of short training sessions on sit, down, stay etc as they were old enough to concentrate. Also games in the garden with toys and as I have more than one dog they also get athletic play sessions with each other.
Now I have dogs ranging from Mugi (12) to Chase (18.5 months) and they all have similar exercise regimes bar Brice. Spaniels and Brittanys both get a walk ranging from an hour to an hour and a half.
Mugi paces himself slower than Chase now and Chase basically will run full pelt for the first part of the walk then he will settle into running but in touch with me. On the days Mugi beats he doesn't get further exercise so that evening Chase gets a shorter but more training focussed walk.
The spaniels will get their walk (both similar ages) and spend less time running and more time bouncing in and out of hedges  . Alternatively I will take Mugi with the spaniels and take Chase on his own but I am trying to get him to concentrate when he isn't the only dog out hence walking him with Moo.
Brice gets free running twice a week and shorter pavement walks the rest of the time, this is partly cos of his 'issues' with other dogs so I am still working to lessen his anxiety round other dogs well over a year since he was last attacked.
All dogs get one day when they have no walking, cos sometimes life is like that and so I want them to accept that walks can't always happen. Things like a family funeral or similar may mean you can't and call me controlling but there is no-one I would accept to walk all my dogs..... Brice with fear aggression, Mugi deaf (and unable to walk with Brice as they hate each other), Freddy a managing bog-off dog, Chase - well he isn't for the faint hearted , and Piper who is as good as gold but still on new dog honeymoon. On such days they will play loads and possibly do a small amount of training but mainly they are learning to settle and not nag me .
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Patricia
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Now...this all makes sense. Each dog is different.
If " on the button"good long runs in the fields and a relaxed walk. If " b...ng off with no" brakes" then no long walks, short ones with discipline until they know they are the dogs, I am the boss and they do as they are told.
So I like to apply the brakes... and recall, drop to the whistle make for a stress free walk. I only do short training sessions and if the specific dog is " naughty" , he/she goes on a Flexi, the others loose.
If it is pouring with rain, quick spin! My dogs have pretty much a routine,and it works well for me having 6 of them and most being young now I have lost the " oldies". I found it does not matter how old they are, they seem to carry on running until they drop dead!
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sallie
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Monet has approximately four hours a day, this includes free running and as Patrica mentioned training the recall and stop, but i do add in directional as Monet works. On working days Monet starts at 08.30 and finishes at 17hrs, so he has to be fit, hence good food and quality exercise.
Poppy who is a spaniel cross and with health issues has only an hour, plus trips in the back garden - she works through the hedgerows still, but very slowly and more for fun.
It depends on the dog - if no health issues, then i can't see why there is a limit on the time spent walking as long as you are all enjoying yourselves. If the dogs is lethargic and stiff the next day - cut back.
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Tony
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[quote Tony - two questions - what are you feeding and how much? are you happy with the exercise level you are offering? )
Guy - I feed Suki twice a day, about an hour after our am and pm walks.
She weighs 14.5kg and gets a total of 700gms a day, sometimes a bit more, split equally between the two meals.
200gms raw minced lamb or tripe (from frozen packs)
100gms mixer
50gms lightly cooked vegetables
Occasionally I give cooked offal as part of the meat ration. I offered her minced chicken once but she wouldn’t touch the meal.
An evening treat is a spoonful of live yoghurt.
This is a larger amount of food than some information I've read but she is still nice and slim - just right according to my vet.
As to whether the exercise suits me:it rather depends on other duties! I'm not so keen on a long pm walk if I've been gardening for a couple of hours.
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Mugi
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Tony - from the pics she looks fine and she looks to be having a nice balance of meat and roughage  .
Mugi (12) and male weighs in at 18kg and gets 300g RMB, 350g lamb/beef or tripe mix and some biscuit which keeps him active and stable now he has started working again. On a work day he gets a handful more biscuits and/or Kronch Pemmikan at lunch.
As long as Suki maintains her weight on that food and exercise regime you will be pretty much spot on IMHO.
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