walkhighlands

This forum is for general discussion about walking and scrambling... If writing a report or sharing your experiences from a route, please use the other boards.

1st Munro for a puppy.

1st Munro for a puppy.


Postby MScates83 » Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:15 pm

I'm looking to walk a munro within a 90 minute distance from Edinburgh in a few weeks time that will be suitable for my six month old puppy to do her first munro with me. Any suggestions/advice/tips will be greatly welcomed thanks.
User avatar
MScates83
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 8
Munros:29   Corbetts:3
Donalds:1
Joined: Apr 24, 2014

Re: 1st Munro for a puppy.

Postby StevieC » Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:28 pm

Not sure about the distance but we did Buchaille Etive Beag a few weeks ago with a wee shih-tzu and he managed it no problem, and loved every second of it. However he is fully grown - I believe you are discouraged from over-exerting dogs until they are fully grown, which obviously a six-month old puppy wouldn't be...

Toby on BEB:

Image
StevieC
Hill Bagger
 
Posts: 355
Munros:75   Corbetts:6
Fionas:3   Donalds:1
Sub 2000:10   
Wainwrights:1   Islands:17
Joined: Apr 3, 2013

Re: 1st Munro for a puppy.

Postby meangarry » Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:51 pm

Yep, over excercising a puppy can lead to joint problems. I was told off by my vet for taking my 1 year old collie lab Lucy for walks in the hills. The general consensus is to wait until they are 18 months which is considered as adult for most breeds. Lucy is now 3 and loves walking so much that if I even go near my boots or rucksack she is waiting by the door wagging her tail like mad. I've since got another puppy, Talla. She is a 7 month old lab and I haven't taken her farther than 4 miles on flat. Labs can be prone to hip dyslapsia and I'm not taking any chances on wee Talla.
User avatar
meangarry
 
Posts: 398
Munros:29   Corbetts:19
Fionas:15   Donalds:60
Sub 2000:5   Hewitts:16
Wainwrights:23   
Joined: Mar 24, 2012

Re: 1st Munro for a puppy.

Postby mband » Thu Sep 11, 2014 3:50 pm

Ben Chonzie near Comrie is only a 4 hour walk, track a wee bit stony for my Jack Russel on Sunday but he managed to skip on to softer ground most of they way - and he's a woose anyway :) and once off the track the going is good and not very steep.
mband
 
Posts: 383
Munros:210   Corbetts:41
Fionas:2   Donalds:10
Sub 2000:22   Hewitts:1
Wainwrights:1   Islands:23
Joined: Aug 7, 2010
Location: Perthshire

Re: 1st Munro for a puppy.

Postby MScates83 » Thu Sep 11, 2014 5:30 pm

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll leave Cassie at home until next summer then & go for a more challenging walk in a few weeks time instead. :thumbup:
User avatar
MScates83
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 8
Munros:29   Corbetts:3
Donalds:1
Joined: Apr 24, 2014

Re: 1st Munro for a puppy.

Postby gammy leg walker » Thu Sep 11, 2014 9:16 pm

MScates83 wrote:Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll leave Cassie at home until next summer then & go for a more challenging walk in a few weeks time instead. :thumbup:


Sensible decision IMO the hills aint going anywhere.
User avatar
gammy leg walker
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 3464
Munros:282   Corbetts:7
Fionas:4   Donalds:3+0
Sub 2000:2   
Islands:7
Joined: Jan 30, 2010
Location: Central Region
Walk wish-list

Re: 1st Munro for a puppy.

Postby tall-story » Thu Sep 11, 2014 11:51 pm

If its of any help the book that I use to help me with training suggests that your pup needs no more than 10mins of good exercise every session, for every month of age, eg- a 4 month pup should get 40mins. I personally think this works well as most dog owners will know, the more you give them the more they want (and more importantly, need) In future exercise routines. That's what I do until around 9mths or there about when I start to increase the amount of time and type of walks to start including some gradient, but always on the lead so they don't get smart with you and charge ahead and end up doing twice of more of the desired distance of the walk. I hope that helps also. :)
tall-story
Walker
 
Posts: 295
Munros:158   Corbetts:222
Fionas:37   Donalds:22
Sub 2000:1   Hewitts:21
Wainwrights:21   
Joined: Jan 16, 2010
Location: Doune

Re: 1st Munro for a puppy.

Postby electricfly » Fri Sep 12, 2014 1:04 am

An excellent way of introducing your young dog to the hills is to take her wild camping. It gets her used to being outdoors for long periods without all the exertion. You could head up to Glen Shee with a tent and perhaps start with Carn Aosda, then look to camp on the way to Carn a' Gheoidh. You could leave your tent in situe and take in the Cairnwell on another day. Similarly the same can be done over on the Eastern Glen Shee munros and also on the White Mounth.

In the mean time I'd get her up among the Pentlands and Holyrood Park for short inclined walks. The Pentlands is also good for getting her familiar with sheep. :D
User avatar
electricfly
 
Posts: 1657
Munros:282   Corbetts:34
Fionas:10   Donalds:1
Sub 2000:9   Hewitts:26
Wainwrights:45   
Joined: Mar 19, 2012

Re: 1st Munro for a puppy.

Postby Beaner001 » Fri Sep 12, 2014 11:02 am

Sound advise above mate.
Two things i would recommend from my mistakes are: get her used to sheep at a very, very young age and also get them used to walking nicely on a lead in the hills. Mine are great but for the two things above. I became complacent because i took them to puppy training classes and they behaved well on leads and encountering other animals in Urban Life but when in the hills and off the leads the numerous smells and sounds drove them wild. My current two are bad at both and believe me it can make a walk hellish, any advise/tips anyone can give me on the above would be welcome also. I may post a different thread re this so others can post replies.

Cheers
Matt
User avatar
Beaner001
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 763
Munros:241   Corbetts:29
Fionas:3   
Sub 2000:7   Hewitts:2
Wainwrights:1   
Joined: Sep 17, 2013
Location: Aberdeenshire

Re: 1st Munro for a puppy.

Postby Joshm » Fri Sep 12, 2014 1:53 pm

I agree with electricfly While you shouldn't be over walking young dogs, you could do small overnight outings into the Pentlands as suggested in order to get them used to be being outside for long periods of time without running about like mad things. When you do take them out into the hills properly you want them to know when it's time to settle down and rest - be that at lunchtime on a long day, or at the campsite for a multi day walk. It's something mine aren't good at and as a result I'm currently having to limit our long days because they haven't quite learned that they can rest and recover at lunchtime so they 'd end up exhausted and grumpy by mid afternoon if I kept going as long as I'd like. Until they learn at least.
Joshm
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 66
Munros:6   
Sub 2000:3   
Joined: Jan 4, 2013

Re: 1st Munro for a puppy.

Postby BoyVertiginous » Fri Sep 12, 2014 2:00 pm

Aye, if it must be a munro then, high starts make most sense (like the aforesaid Cairnwell/Glenshee ones or Lawers range) but, best to start on smaller hills first, plenty of those in close proximity to the capital. Had my 11-month old pup up Ben Venue last weekend, having done a handful of sub-2000s between May and now, and camped at the top to break-up the distance. Kept him on the lead the whole time for now. May get out again this autumn but, will be leaving the Munros until Spring/Summer 2015 now.
User avatar
BoyVertiginous
Wanderer
 
Posts: 1327
Munros:251   Corbetts:75
Fionas:26   Donalds:11
Sub 2000:49   Hewitts:33
Wainwrights:62   Islands:18
Joined: Jun 14, 2011
Location: california

Re: 1st Munro for a puppy.

Postby Border Reiver » Fri Sep 12, 2014 2:53 pm

My retriever puppy sat down and refused to move after about 2 miles on his first decent walk when he was 6 months old. I had to carry him most of the way back. It was only on forest roads, but he'd had enough. The vet advised against trying to get young dogs to walk too far, as it can cause major problems later in life. Better to be patient & miss a year or so of their company early than to miss many years if they have joint problems later in life.
User avatar
Border Reiver
Wanderer
 
Posts: 1509
Munros:202   Corbetts:7
Fionas:3   Donalds:1
Sub 2000:2   Hewitts:62
Wainwrights:69   Islands:33
Joined: Feb 18, 2011
Location: North East England




Can you help support Walkhighlands?


Our forum is free from adverts - your generosity keeps it running.
Can you help support Walkhighlands and this community by donating by direct debit?



Return to General discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests