Looking at Blueberry running after the ball today I started thinking when should we stop with it. He somehow never gets tired (swiming, catching ball, frisbee,...) it is never enough for him.
Usually after 15 minutes of intensive running after the ball he is not as fresh as in begining but he would go on till he drops dead I guess. In other breeds dogs usually just stop and lay down, relax.. but not with belgians.
So I usually stop after 15-20 minutes of running and make him relax. My biggest concern is ofcourse in summer when its warmer and I am worried about heat stroke but than we go out early in the morning and late in the evening. When swiming he is cool anyway.
Now to finally get to the point.. When do you guys stop when traning, playing and so on?
Bye, Raven
« Last Edit: February 18, 2007, 04:05:53 PM by Raven »
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Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong. ~Dandemis
Now to finally get to the point.. When do you guys stop when traning, playing and so on?
Common sense !! duh !!
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keep in mind you and Katja might have had the thought of make Blueberry tired so you kept on playing with ball. But in fact you have built up the condition of the dog instead. Same as with running people. Some can keep running over 40 km and some drop dead after 1 km. Condition training does the job.
In my oppinion you guys has rewarded Blueberry for the apport game to motivate the dog to keep on going. Awesome, but when to stop is common sense of the owner. I would teach the dog to down and wait for release command and then go on with game. Just improve control of the dog with play as reward. You could work more on mental games in between the physical games (which is rewarding).
--same as Tess. Training her at KNPV club she hold the grip firm. Perfect. To improve bite-condition I do the same as you guys with the apport game. Tess will hold till she drops dead. It's me who have to tell Tess to out and have her cool down before going on with next session.--
Well about condition we know and that is the point of doing it so that he stays in shape. To make him tired is pointless since we know that in couple days he will be able to do more. He swims a lot so condition is no problem to him.. If we wouldnt call him out of the water he would probably end up in France or something like that.
About when to stop I was asking because he has no limit, he does not wanīt to stop. He is one of those dogs which move every freaking musle in their body when they do anything.
I know of some people who overdid what ever they were doing with their dogs and some just fell dead. It wouldnt be too good if I would be throwing ball for couple hours and he would just drop dead. I thought maybe someone will give couple ideas on what to watch (to make sure we are not overlooking something) so we wouldnīt overwork him one day. That would probably be easy since he doesenīt know what stop means when having fun.
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It's me who have to tell Tess to out and have her cool down before going on with next session.--
Cool down is more or less my point.. but how do you know when? I stop him when I see his breathing increase to certain point (I guess common sense).. Probably I should just google dog overheating symptoms. Sometimes I just donīt think fast enough..
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Signs of heat exhaustion include heavy panting, hyperventilation (deep breathing), increased salivation early then dry gums as the heat prostration progresses, weakness, confusion or inattention, vomiting or diarrhea and sometimes bleeding. As the condition progresses towards heat prostration or heat stroke there may be obvious paleness or graying to the gums ( I realize this sign won't work for you but you might keep it in mind to ask someone about, just in case), shallowing of the breathing efforts and eventually slowed or absent breathing efforts, vomiting and diarrhea that may be bloody and finally seizures or coma. Temperatures above 105 degrees Fahrenheit are dangerous, if you have a way of taking her temperature. Most people don't carry around thermometers with them and the physical signs are usually enough to go by.
Control is covered too! As you know (you made him!) he is more or less ball freak.. his big passion are balls and controling him when he has one is probably the hardest thing he ever did.. here goes:
We control him a lot for instance he has to sit in front of his bowl and wait for command so he can eat (he will not touch the food until he is told to) but this things are something every dog owner should do in first place. Itīs hard on him ( ) since food means more than balls but such are rules here..
Bye, Raven
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Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong. ~Dandemis
We have seen heat stroke in dogs who were swimming or who were merely excited but not obviously exercising hard, situations in which people often do not make an association with heat stroke. We have even had one bulldog patient who developed heat stroke in the house, with the air conditioning on, apparently because he became very excited about guests at the house for a party.
When I go swimming with Yentos at the therapist, the therapist checks now and again for physical stress by making him rest once in a while and checking the bloodcirculation. You check this by gently pressing the in side of lip and see whether it turns pink immediately when pressure is released. If it doesn't turn pink immediately, the dog is in physical stress and really needs to rest.
Even at 8 years, Yentos is in enormous shape. His therapy is now made up of 15 mins on the underwater treadmill (water is halfway up to his chest), he has to run at a speed of 6.2 km/h (he is not allowed to gallop) uphill and afterwards 20 min swimming against the jets. Yentos has never been in any physical stress but he is forced to rest once in a while.
Saskia
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He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
Maybe we as owners donīt know the limits of our dogs as we should. They donīt stop so we have to and knowing signs of heat stroke is very importaint.
I never gave it mouch of a thought before just stoped playing with him when I saw him breathing like an idiot.. 15 minutes of running up and down hill after the ball full speed is not an easy exercise although it doesent seam a lot to us.
Yentos must be in a very good shape (underwater threadmill and swiming against jets is a real exercise). He is still doing therapy?
Bye, Raven
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Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong. ~Dandemis
Maybe we as owners donīt know the limits of our dogs as we should. They donīt stop so we have to and knowing signs of heat stroke is very importaint.
Heat stroke does happen also when a dog is not doing anything physical. Some gets exited and pump theirselves up and does cause heatstroke. You could imagine a dog getting excited and not being able to stop themselves from excitement.
I will try to loan a camera but also take pictures (this will be done quicker than the film).
Yen's work-out today was 20 min run at 7.4 km/h and the angle was on 5 compared to 3 the last time and afterwards a 20 min swim. The therapist hoped that this would calm him a bit but no way. He came home and brought his ball to me for more play.
I stopped for more than 6 months but I resumed this as he really enjoy's the work out. Previously Yentos had a lot to do but I don't want a repitition of the situation a year ago so I cut down on trainings but compensated with this. He is just crazy about swimming and enjoys the treadmill.
Saskia
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He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
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When do you guys stop when traning, playing and so on?
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