Apologies if I'm in the wrong place, but I was just wondering, my Westie pup will be old enough to go for walks in a couple of weeks.  Obviously she can't walk as far as her Mum, but is it feasible in any way to walk them together?  Would it be too difficult do you think to walk them together for the allocated 10 minutes or so that the pup should have then carry her (is there some kind of carry-thingy i could use)?  Also, given that if we weren't out walking she would be leaping around her mum anyway, is it desperately importantthat she doesn't go for longer than 10 or 15 minutes?  i do realise that for socialisation purposes it would be better to walk them separately, but if i haven't the time (don't flame me!) what do you think of walking them together?

Well i can see no reason why not, if mum is well behaved she will set a good example for the pup to follow, make sure that if during walks you find a good socialisation oppertunity you give the pup a chance to do it on her own, either hold mum back a little or let mum greet the dogs/people first then hold her back a little and let the pup do it in her own time. If on the other hand mum is over protective it might be a better idea to take them out seperatly to begin with. As for the time of each walk 15 minutes is plenty to begin with for the puppy, why dont you walk for 15 mins then drop the puppy off at home and finish mums walk alone? It wouldnt be fair to carry the puppy around for a long time, although walking can be tiring all the sights and sounds of the out door world can also be alot to take in and the puppy might be over whelmed and decide it doesnt feel as safe anymore. Also the puppy might learn that it feels much safer to be carried past things that otherwise it would have to face then would always be looking to be picked up when it was older. it will only a few weeks before its stamina builds up and it can go a little longer each time.

Also the puppy might learn that it feels much safer to be carried past things that otherwise it would have to face then would always be looking to be picked up when it was older.

Too right! We did lots of this when our pup was young, i used to carry him about quite a bit so he'd get used to people and traffic.
Now,  he is an adult dog but if he is startled by a nearby motorbike he wants to jump up into my arms, not great as he now weighs over 20kg. Last time he took me by surprise and nearly flattened me!

>(is there some kind of carry-thingy i could use)? 

When my little man was this age I used to walk him with my others for the first 10 minutes and then stick him in my jumper.  I used to wear a fairly snug fitting, zip up polar fleece so I could put him in, pull the bottom edge up under him to form a sling and adjust the zip so just his head peeked out.  Of course I always just kept one hand on him.  He still got to experience the great outdoors and stayed nice and warm as well.  By the time he was too big to fit he was up to walking further himself.

The only thing I found when walking the pup with our older dog the pup started to cling to the older dog.  When we had to take pup on her own she was quite nervous and at first didn't want to go. 

>(is there some kind of carry-thingy i could use)?

Croft do a buggy thingy http://www.croftonline.co.uk/scp/Trolleys_Tables_and_Tops/products.asp?partno=DS2412 my sister used one for socialising her pup as she wasn't able to carry. Would get over the problem of having a small dog getting above his station by being up high when carrying.
Angela

I walk my new pups with the rest of the gang after they are reliable on lead (short walks on their own and around the garden).  I would take a rucksack worn on my front to pop her in after she had gone far enough.

You should also walk her alone though so she doesn't rely on her Mums presence.

Thankyou, some really good suggestions.  It seems such a shame that she should miss out on being outside...i rather like the thought of putting her up my jumper!

You musn't over walk your pup, it can and does cause bone growth damage, so be very careful. Pups need short bursts of energy and then rest, not continual walking. I've always walked my pups with their mum once inoculations are finished, especially for the first couple of weeks, the pup does not leave it's mum's side and she helps to give her pup confidence and also a pup will click very quickly that they are supposed to toilet on the walks too after watching what mum does, after the allocated time, I will then pick up my pup and pop it in my carry pouch for the rest of the walk, if I stop for a while I will let the pup out to play.

As the pup gets older we do much more one to one that is something that you will need to do, also as a pup gets older it will not wish to be in the carry pouch but out and running with the other dogs, you'll end up with a struggling dog so you will need to do one to one instead, but certainly for the first couple of weeks it will do your pup good to walk with it's mum for some of the way. In no way should you allow your pup to walk the same as your adult Westie, not until much older.

i got my two cockers rather close to gether (9months apart) and i was always told as long as they spend time learning and experienceing things for themselves ie some individual walks, socialising than its fine to walk them together.  the reason for this is you may not be able to keep them togther for example dog A has to go to the vet... rather than take dog B leave it at home....we did all this so our youngest got the most from its puppyhood, however they still do EVERYTHING together!!!