[Greater Swiss]

We just had Caeda out for her second fair sized walk today, and we played a little laser game with her along the way.
This last walk was easily over half an hour of solid hard running and jumping on her part, through really deep snow, plus a fair bit of relatively steady walking, about a half hour.
She isn't tired, she could have kept going. I was getting too hungry to stay out any longer, that's the only reason we came back when we did! She is just over a year old, so from what I understand her bones and joints should be done growing enough for relatively rigorous exercise. She is completely healthy and very high energy. I'd love to take her and play/walk/exercise her until she's actually tired.
This brought up a question. Will a dog play/exercise itself into exhaustion, dangerously so? Do I have to be SURE to stop before she is ready to stop? I really don't want to cause her to hurt herself, but she has never stopped because she is tired.....ever.

 

[sassafras]

Some dogs will, yes. I used to have a Chesapeake who would stagger out of the water and whine for the dummy to be thrown again.

 

[Darkmoon]

I think yes it's possible for a dog to over do it. Peanut will run after the flirt pole until she can't move anymore, and then she will still attempt to go after it. Today it's 80* outside (in Michigan, in March even. Yes I'm scared of this) and Peanut would go after that Flirt pole the same as if it's 30* outside.

So long story short, if your dog has the drive, yes it can over do it.

 

[Gally]

Will a dog play/exercise itself into exhaustion, dangerously so? It's possible yes. Some dogs are so obsessed with running, chasing balls or playing with their dog friends they will just keep going as long as you let them. Could cause long term joint issues or over exertion of the cardiovascular system.

If your dog is finished growing you have a bit less to worry about though since she wont be damaging her growing joints/bones. I also doubt that an hour of exercise is anywhere near "too long" for your dog. An active energetic breed that's full grown can easily exercise for 2 or more hours a day without hurting themselves or getting too tired. Gally needs at least 2 hours of active exercise a day to get most of his energy out.

 

[luv mi pets]

My doberman will run as long as the quad or snowmobile is going. We actually have to stop just so he will rest. He will also do this when a friend brings over her dog. The two will play non-stop. Finally we make them lay down and take a breather. Last year a couple dog owners walked their dog while the pavement must of been hot. The dog's pad sluffed off just days after the walk. The owners claimed that the dogs did not show any pain or discomforth while on the walk.

 

[Greater Swiss]

Wow, good to know. She does seem like the kind of girl that would have the drive to be exercised into oblivion, so I'll be sure to watch it (especially in the summer!).
She went SO hard today on the second walk, the previous walk was a little bit shorter, but she had her backpack on with a few pounds in it. She also had a walk this morning (not too long though, maybe 20 minutes), we played some leisurely fetch in the house an hour (while I was relaxing after work and watching TV), and she had over a half an hour training session. She doesn't even look like I've put a dent in her energy.....though maybe I have and she just WANTS to go more. MMMM, nuclear powered pooch...

 

[luv mi pets]

If you find a way to harness this excess energy let me know. I sure would like to have a little excess energy some days.

 

[Willowy]

Yes, my Lab used to run herself into heat exhaustion and start stumbling around walking into things. Collapsed a few times. We got to be experts at cooling a dog down fast. And at learning how to stop her before she got that far. She was a crazy dog.

Penny is gogogo, but I have never seen her get tired. She's more sensible than Willow was and will stop if she gets too hot, but she's just never tired out. . .

The boys are lazy .

 

[dbulick]

Indeed they will, my brothers BC mix came very close to dying because of this. We both ran track in college and he took her for a run, didn't seem like any longer than usual, but it was very hot. About 1/2 a mile or so before he was back to his place his dog collapsed and went into organ failure. He got her to the vet in time for her to be saved, but it was close.

 

[Zoopie]

I think the most draining thing my dog ever did was helping us make a new snowshoe trail. It took us almost 5 hours. Waist-deep in snow. Dexter went first and opened the trail for us. He could have went at the end of the line for breaks, but he didn't feel like it. There was so much snow he couldn't even stop jumping.

Never seemed even CLOSE to mild exhaustion. He slept for two hours before whining to go walk.

 

[Greater Swiss]

I think the most draining thing my dog ever did was helping us make a new snowshoe trail. It took us almost 5 hours. Waist-deep in snow. Dexter went first and opened the trail for us. He could have went at the end of the line for breaks, but he didn't feel like it. There was so much snow he couldn't even stop jumping.

Never seemed even CLOSE to mild exhaustion. He slept for two hours before whining to go walk.

heh...this sounds like Caeda. We had her chasing the laser in snow that was about up to my thighs, and all she could do was jump. I will say though she was REALLY calm when she got in the house after that, though its hard to tell, her "off button" is pretty good, so she knows not to act like a crazy freak in the house lol.