I know not to force run.  but have a question...

Pup is 13 weeks old. we take him to a field close by that is great, but he remains within about 20 feet of us as we walk.   he's jog but no sprinting / running full speed. 

yesterday I had a twig with some brush on it and he went NUTZ chacing it around.  he is lightening fast and its fun to watch, but is this fast running and turning / cutting bad for him?  he gets up to pant and I think it goes a long way toward wearing him out (and much faster than the field which doesn't really wear him out).  Worried about his bones / growth plates.  this okay?  he seems to really enjoy.

also, he seems to point the leaves (by sight)...is that another set of problems?  he's a pet-companion, but will plan on putting him on some pen raised birds in a few months to get the hirediarty juices flowing.  

look forward to your feedback!

Ditto here. I would think I'd have a much harder time "forcing" my 5 mos old pups NOT to run than anything else. If they are doing what they want to do, and wearing themselves out in the process, it makes everyone's lives easier.

Jean

pixie - I worried about that a little with Halo and agility because a dog has to work away from the handler in agility too (not necessarily as far as in hunting, but same principle).  On the other hand, I also wanted to build her confidence, I talked to allot of folks and ended up training her in flyball.  In flyball the tug toy is used as the motivator more often than not.  It usually has a ball on the end.  When I first started using the tug toy I had allot of folks say things from ":the dog will become aggressive", to "the dog will never be able to work away from you."  I did used it anyway figuring if I messed her up, I could always work to fix it, but I really wanted to build confidence and drive.  That was over two years ago and I have to say I have had no problems at all with any of the issues I was warned about.  I have since used tug games and chase games as motivators for Ringo and Belle with similar good results.  So, I would think that playing with the twig would work in a similar fashion and build drive and confidence in the puppy.  I would also think that if it builds confidence and drive it would help a dog that might have a tendency to want to work close and wouldn't hurt a dog that was big running by nature. Just a different perspective on the game.

The way you describe the twig activity, it reminds me of the flirtpole. I don't think there is much harm as long as there is no jumping up in the air and as long as you don't overdo it. I always try to mix things up on an outing, as far as what kind of moving around she does.

Flirtpoles are used to tickle the prey drive/desire to chase, in other breeds, and I don't know how that plays into the bird dog breeds. I have three books about bird dog training none of which mention the flirt pole...so I agree w/Francine in regards to using it with caution.

Try throwing or dropping some tennis balls or puppy dummies into a big field (I used to put quail scent on mine) and have the pup look for them. They say not to put a pup in a field with high grass where it can't see much but she went nuts over high grass from the get-go so that's where we went, and also into the woods. It's a great mental and physical exercise, and Tessa loved it. Also a good way to incorporate a little bit of recall, retrieving, etc as you walk the field together.

Tessa at 12 weeks old, 6 days after I got her:

And off she goes, age 4 months: