German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America

[Taris]

We recently rescued a GWP. She's about 1yr 5mo old. So far, she has proven herself to be a wonderful dog, intelligent, with a great disposition. I'm aware that this breed needs plenty of exercise - my question is, how much? So far, we've taken her on a walk every day; is walking enough? Do they need to run? The vet suggested we also play fetch with her, so we also try to do that.

We don't have a fenced-in yard, but she does a good job of listening to us when outside. I've tried to take her out to play and run in the yard a few times, but she seems more interested in sniffing things out than running (of course, when we're walking, she wants to run and chase various things ). She did enjoy a visit to my parents' house, who have a large fenced-in back yard, and a lab about her age to play with; she got plenty of exercise that day.

I appreciate any input - we want to provide the best care for her that we can!

[Sheamus]

Congrats on adopting a GWP!!!

We adopted Sheamus a little over a month ago, and we often wonder the same thing.

Our guy is about 6 years old, but, he's not showing any signs of slowing down (I think.)

We walk him twice a day for half an hour a time, and we go for a run with him 3 times a week (about an hour), and, we take him to a dog park and play fetch where he runs for about 30 minutes straight....

We also don't have a fenced in yard (we are in an apartment), and, we often wonder if we don't let him run enough. We try to play with him as much as we can inside (he loves playing keep away - I'm updating my signature picture to include a great picture of him jumping while playing!)

Anyway, I haven't answered your question....but, we find that on days that we run with him, he is much less "antsy"....and, once when we ran with him three days in a row, we definitely noticed a slow down in him while he was going up the stairs.

Have fun with your new friend!
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Enjoying our adopted GWP (Sheamus) since Feb 14, 2005!

[Taris]

Sheamus, thanks for the reply. I don't believe we've taken her out enough, so we're going to have to take her out more. We're not runners, so I think we need to find a park or some place where she can go and run...she's taken to getting into the garbage the last few days (we've had her about a week and a half, and this is new as of the last few days), and I wonder if she's not bored and looking for something to do.

I work from home, and try to play with her every so often during the day; I also take her outside, but again, I'm not sure that makes up for a good run.

She's become a bit more agressive in her play (with barking and biting) after the first few days we had her, so that might be another thing we have to work with. Even so, she settles when I'm firm, and we're thrilled to have her.

[deiter8]

We have a 10mo. GWP and he is our first. We also have a 3yo toddler as well. We are in a townhouse. Exercise was an issue as well. After researching the breed we take ours to a local park and he runs off the leash for about 45 minutes every day, except one or two days a week. He is just calming down a bit now. We do water retrieving in the summer, fetch with a ball and sometimes he just runs and chases the birds. He is overall a great dog with the exeption of his crazy bursts of puppy energy. If he gets too crazy in the house he goes in his cage and sleeps. We are also going to be rescuing a mutt soon. Something smaller and the opposite sex. That will allow him to burn more energy off and I can save a life as well. I am really glad people are asking about energy needs. What type, how long, miles etc. I would like to know what everyone else does as well. Some hunt, some don't and when they don't what do they do. Good luck with yours.

Doreen

[whiskerdog1]

A good dog is a TIRED dog!
Mine is worked like crazy and it is hardly ever enough unless it gets hot out.
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Real men hunt Wire Dogs

[ANGUS]

my guy gets out every day,,has a run in a 5o acre field,,chases up some birds...maybe a bunny or 2,,then we head over to my friends place where he then plays.. can you catch me,, with their golden,,once the golden is pooped out we head home and do the chores,,,Angus makes sure everyone is where they should be and doing what they should be doing.
then its home for a nap while I head out for a horse back ride...when I get home he helps me with my evening chores,,we get everyone fed for the night ..we go in for our dinner and he gets his dinner,,which with all his running around ,,he gets quite a bit, 5 cups of Nutro Max and about 2 cups of Mountain Dog raw beef and veggy fruit mix.....
If you find your dog getting intro trouble,,you know that he isn't getting enough run around time......I missed one day due to being sick..and Angus ate my boots.....