# How long should you walk a puppy



## Molson

Hi, I am getting a 4 month old puppy today and I was wonder how often and how long should he go for a walk. Also how often.


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## Mosby's Mom

I don't think there is any one answer to this. Is walking going to be the only form of exercise the puppy gets? Then you probably need to walk more. If you have a yard to run around in, plan on playing lots of fetch, etc. then you can probably walk less. Mosby, at 6 months, gets a 45 min to an hour walk each day, plus several shorter walks, plus fetch and run around time til he's tired.... but he's also a REALLY active dog!


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## Sammy&Cooper

cooper (5 months) gets a 30 min walk everyday plus at least 2 other short 10 min walks, we play fetch every evening for about 30-45 mins, we do training all throughout the day, and he plays in the yard with my other golden and all they do is run (they basically tire themselves out lol)


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## Jige

Where are you getting your pup from? They would be able to tell you how much exerise your pup has been getting.


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## monarchs_joy

Personally, I think it depends on the dog and everyone has a different opinion on this. Whatever you do, I would be careful not to start with too much too soon. Golden's are at a high risk for injury to their hips, elbows, knees, etc., so you want to be careful not to push the puppy too far or too fast. I really like Rhonda Hovan's Slow Growth Plan. We didn't follow it for feeding guidelines, but I have mostly followed the exercise guideline, which basically says to start small with 1/2 mile or so 4-5 days per week and only increase 1/2 mile every two weeks. We started at a 1/4 mile or so and have been slowly building ever since. She cautions that if you fall behind on the walking, don't rush to catch up. Pick up where you left off, don't jump ahead, and if you stop for a while back up a few weeks. The point is to build slowly and at the puppy's pace. Your puppy will dictate some of this too. Not all of them walk nicely on a loose leash right out of the gate, some stop and sniff more than others, etc. The exercise guidelines are on the last pages of the following:

http://www.weebly.com/uploads/2/0/2/9/2029053/slow_grow_plan.pdf 

Congratulations on your new puppy! They're so much fun


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## mooselips

My pup is 4 months old, she walked 45 minutes this a.m.

And if we get the chance we'll walk again this evening.

Plus playing in the yard sometimes today....


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## toliva

At 4 months, we walk _about_ 45 minutes a day but I vary it depending on how much other exercise he will get. For example yesterday our lawn was fertilized and I didn't want him playing on it, so we did 2 long walks. On a really nice weekend day where I know we will romp a lot in the back yard, I won't walk as much. On class days, we do little walking because the class training is hard work and he is already tired out from that and playing.

We also followed the exercise guidelines in Rhonda Hovan's Slow Growth Plan, and at our puppy's age & fitness level he has no problem walking 2 1/2 to 3 miles.


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## Wyatt's mommy

Molson said:


> Hi, I am getting a 4 month old puppy today and I was wonder how often and how long should he go for a walk. Also how often.


There is no across the board answer here. every puppy is different. You want to walk him so he does get his exercise and more importantly socialize. You will soon know if he is getting enough exercise by his behaviors. Some dogs need more than others. If he is still rambunctious and won't settle easily it is because he needs more exercise. sometimes you can just throw the ball in the yard for awhile to tire him out or do short training sessions. But if you indeed want to take him hiking or longer walks at that age, feel free to do so.


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## channy2409

from 9 weeks my goldie was walked twice a day and just over a mile each time


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## Mollymoo

Molly is just over 5 months and gets a 30 min walk every day plus lots of ruff and tumble playtime through the day with our other dog she is very laid back for her age but I'm sure if I offered another walk she would go but I want to build muscle slowly it is just spring in the uk so she will probably get more walks whe the weather improves and once her recall is abit better we will go swimming more at the beach. What is too much exercise at this age?


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## cubbysan

Personally, I would never walk a 4 month old puppy very far. Their joints and bones are growing. At that age, I let them tell me how far they want to go, and never force them further. It is bad for their hips and they can get stress fractures. Personally 1 mile is too far.

If it is just in the yard, then that is different.


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## Molson

Thanks everyone for all the responses. This will help us out. So far things are going well. He hates the lead, but he gets better each day. Again thanks for help.


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## mooselips

hahaha I just learned rule #1...do NOT walk a 4 month old pup in the park on a windy day!

I felt like a Yoyo!!!


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## JeffP

When Kirby was 8 weeks, he was walked about 10 minutes, twice a day...about 3-4 blocks each time, taking my daughter to and from the school bus. We gradually increased his twice/day walks and added off leash time in a nearby field at the end of the day. Now at 7 months, he is walked twice/day for about 30 minutes per walk (about a mile each), with 30 min to an hour of off leash time in the evening. This isn't counting time in the backyard.


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## cubbysan

Some say a good rule of thumb is 5 minutes for every month old they are.


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## Brodie's bud

Hi, I am getting an 8 week old golden and I was wondering long the walks should be and how many times a day I should walk him?


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## Anne Y.

We walk our 12.5 week old pup 6-8 times a day but very short distances. Anywhere from 3-6 city blocks at a time. It works for us, he still has energy to run and play here at home but he's sleeping more through the night now that we're taking these walks and he naps pretty hard now.

We also live in an apartment in an urban environment, so these walks are all the outside time he gets. I think walking depends on how much yard time a dog gets as well as other factors, i.e. Energy level, etc etc


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## Audog

Due to a ligament injury, I can only walk about a mile before pain is severe, however my 4 month old, Nigel, seems to be ok with a 1/2mile or so walk twice a day, weather permitting. He still has energy to play at home, but does nap pretty well after walks. I don't want to stress him, but I think his limit is greater than mine.


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## Good as Gold

I have a four month old and this is what we've been doing: Until he was 16 weeks, we just played in the backyard with little sprints of him following me around or him deciding to zoom around, and in house fetch games. We also had five minute walks in the neighborhood, and LOTS of car rides to any place we could take him and carry him around in for socialization. This was pretty tiring all by itself. Now that he is fully vaccinated (and the Northeast Ohio weather has improved), we've worked up to better exercise. Some days we walk an asphalt trail in a community park for about 30 minutes. Other days we go to a county metropark where he can walk on a limestone trail and then run free (dragging a 26 foot leash) over open fields. This is everyone's favorite. We just walk, he runs ahead or runs behind, dragging the leash in case he gets into trouble and we need to get him. Since he's so young, he mostly just runs after us if he thinks we get too far away, but we practice recalls quite frequently (in anticipation of the day he will be braver!) I love this exercise the best because he sets the pace on his own, rests when he wants, and the varied terrain works him without joint stress. We probably do this for about 45 min. to an hour total. At some other point in the day, we either walk him in the neighborhood for 15 minutes or take him somewhere else to interact. Even just walking around Home Depot for 15 minutes counts as exercise. So on a good day, I'd say we have a mixture of exercise types totaling two to two and a half hours.


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## tuckthepupnyc

At 4 months, we walked about an hour a day. Now at a year, we walk 2 hours a day and he loves it!


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