JE-UK

Hmm, my miniature must not have gotten that memo.

He needs quite a bit of exercise, and quite a bit of mental stimulation. Even now, at 2, when I can just about get away with shortening his hour-long evening walk if the weather is truly vile, I can see the effects the next day. He gets a total of at least 2 solid hours of off leash exercise a day, some of it playing with other dogs (when the dog walker takes him midday), and some of it playing fetch/tug and training in the park.

Savannah is absolutely right about the mental stuff being a great calmer!

fjm

Lol - I was waiting for you to read that bit, JE! Even Poppy, my toy, needs a good hour or two, plus games, plus play with Sophy.

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To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

JE-UK

I can't imagine living with this dog, if all I could manage was a couple of short leash walks per day!

CharismaticMillie

This is a pointlessly old thread LOL.

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Happy tailwags from Peckerwood's Thoroughly Modern Millie, CGC and Ch. Safari's Specter, CGC!

mandyand casey

It might be an old thread but what does everyone say when someone asks the same question over and over go read the older threads.

Now my 2 cents Mandy and Casey are polar oppisites Casey is happy to lay about all day and snuggle He enjoys a leisurly stroll Mandy lives to run that girl can move jump spin Whatever as long as she is moving. We do 2 hour hikes a couple times a week and then stroll around her daily
I wanted to add that it is important to mix things up Dogs dont need the same walk every day they need new things to explore smell and investigate. We try to pick a different hike every weekend though we do do the same 2 mile starbucks walk each Thursday lol Hey we parents have needs to

Indiana

Ooh, a Starbucks walk, what a great idea! This old thread is extremely interesting to me, and I am dying to know if Kurlioo (sorry, I know that's probably misspelled horribly but I don't know how to look it up without losing my place in the thread!) ever got a poodle?? I can tell you that I bought 2 standard puppies at once,...why? Not really sure, but part of the reason was my husband couldn't leave the last puppy in the litter at the breeder's place alone, the last little puppy's stricken expression when he bought her sister and took her away made him go back 3 days later and buy the last puppy too. Anyway it has been a lot of work, but they're incredibly fun! On the exercise thought, I have been waiting for them to get old enough to run with me (they have to be 18 months was one theory I heard, to let their joints mature a bit) but in the meantime I take them for a 45 minute walk in the morning before work, and a half hour walk before bed in the dark. They love those, but recently we discovered a dog beach not far away from where we live and since we've been letting them run there off-leash, we realized that off-leash runs put the walks to shame! Plus there is something so beautiful about watching a poodle run at full speed in giant circles around you, it's like they are experiencing pure joy! And yes, so much calmer in the house afterward too.

kuriooo

Hi Indiana,

So the answer is, I'm still waiting for a poodle, but mostly because I've discovered that having boys 2.5 and 4.5 is slightly insane. I was just thinking about the 'imaginary dog' tonight and trying to envision that on top of the wrestling, kicking, jumping my two human puppies do every day.

It will likely be another year or so before the 2 year old settles down enough to be a reasonable enough companion to a dog without 'overloving' the dog too much.

kuriooo

Indiana

Well that's smart of you, Kuriooo. When you do get a puppy you'll enjoy everything all that much more, kids and dog. I waited 6 years after my two border collies passed away to get another dog (well, these two dogs), so that was a long wait! Hope all goes well for you

Indiana

In case you're still monitoring this thread, kuriooo, my puppies are 5 months old now and they're waaaaay better in the house. We take them for walks and runs but they recently stopped wrestling so much in the house. So maybe a little bit older puppy is the answer for you, or an adult. Although you would miss out on training them right from babyhood if you got an adult, so I guess there is a trade-off both ways