questions on conditioning

[wheezie]

first off i dont have a standarrd APBT i have a BYB big boy that was sold to me before i ever got any knowledge of this breed, but i still want him in the best shape possible. my boy just turned 12 months old so im excited to put all his energy to some use lol. i will be ordering a 25 ft lead and harness tomorrow from stillwater for his walks. in the begining of his conditiong how many miles should we go? he is already used to 2 or so a day. i am completly new to doing drag weight but would like to incorporate that into his work outs also. and lastly i know he is going to need days off for rest, im wondering how much rest... can he still fetch play with his nearly industrutable ball? any and all sugestions are greatly appreciated.

[Old Timer]

first off i dont have a standarrd APBT i have a BYB big boy that was sold to me before i ever got any knowledge of this breed, but i still want him in the best shape possible. my boy just turned 12 months old so im excited to put all his energy to some use lol. i will be ordering a 25 ft lead and harness tomorrow from stillwater for his walks. in the begining of his conditiong how many miles should we go? he is already used to 2 or so a day. i am completly new to doing drag weight but would like to incorporate that into his work outs also. and lastly i know he is going to need days off for rest, im wondering how much rest... can he still fetch play with his nearly industrutable ball? any and all sugestions are greatly appreciated.well if he is used to 2 miles a day keep him at that till he thins out some and can go the distance with out being to tired.the object is to build up everything with out damaging the dog in the process.you can never go to slow when starting a animal on a program.wait a while on the dragweight untill he gets in better physical condition then again start very slowly.with a animal like your that is larger and never had any real conditioning i would work him every other day meaning one day work one day off then work my way up from there untill you can get 5 good days worth of work and let him rest on the weekends.now you may also have to change the feed to a higher protein higher quailty feed unless you have already done so or already feed him like that.make sure he is 100% in good health,take him to the vet and get his heart listened to,his lungs,have the vet look at the joints,make sure he is parasite free and such.kind of like you would a athelete before they start a sport or something else strenious.play is always good but again don't over do it,might be a nice idea to warm him up with some fetch then go for your walks.remember start off slow and build up slow if he shows signs of getting to tired cut him back and let him rest,give plenty of water after he has cooled down so he doesn't bloat and don't water him prior to the excersice for the same reason.

[wheezie]

i truley appresitae your reply, one thing that i am having the most trouble with is his weight i took him to the vet for his frontline and heart worm medicine yesterday, while i was there he was weighed, they told me he was at a great weight and looked great, i still think he looks chubby. he curently gets 16 ounces of chicken and 2 cups of inova evo a day. heres a pic of him froma while ago (hopefully i can get my camera fixed tomorrow)


http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n132/wheeziewayne/granddog002055.jpg

[Old Timer]

well all and all he isn't that fat,just thin him downa little and when he starts to build muscle that will burn off the excess and he will be mostly muscle with a nice covering of fat.the reason i said thin him down is just like with a person they can't do as much work efficently but all and all he ain't that fat i have seen worse.now compared to a game dog he is a hog but for his size he is doing pretty good and will look great once you get some muscle on him.

[MIKA]

Great lookin dog! I think you are on the right track. When he starts toning that little fat you're gonna be proud.

[pitbullcliff]

I would say in that pic he looks fine for being a puppy . Pups are supposed to have some fat on them.

Walk him as much as you can handle. Don't worry you won't be able to out walk a dog so start hiking with that boy. Just make sure if you are doing most of his walking on cement or asphalt, make sure to check out the pads on his feet when you are done. Because you want to make sure he doesn't tear or cut the pads on his feet. If he does give him a few days rest so the pads can heal.
And like the other guy said hold off on the dragging weights for now. Though you can get him used to having the harness on.

[JAGER]

Though you can get him used to having the harness on. good idea . get him use to a harness .get him in shape by walking him, flirt pole, tug o war, fetch and a bunch of other "fun" little things will get a dog in shape pretty quick ( i know i did for jager ) and one of the most important things is what your feeding him . As far as wieghts im not an expert on so i'll keep those .2cents in my pocket