New puppy owners are often confused about how much exercise their puppy actually needs.
Today’s article looks at puppy exercise requirements.
We’ll talk about how often your puppy needs to be walked and how often.
And we’ll look at other types of puppy exercise, such as playing with people and other dogs
What! No Walk?
Most people associate dogs, with walking. What could be more natural?
Indeed, part of the aim of ‘getting a dog’ for many people is to enjoy the shared experience of taking the dog for a walk.
So it can come as quite a surprise to new puppy owners to be told the they are giving their puppy too much exercise, or walking the puppy too far.
You may even have heard people say that a puppy should only walk for five minutes for every month of his age. That means just ten minutes a day, for an eight week old puppy.
“What kind of a walk is that!” You may ask.
And “where does this ‘five minute rule come from? What is it trying to achieve? And is there any evidence to support it?”
The Five Minute Rule
The idea behind the five minute rule is that excessive exercise may damage the growth plates in your puppy’s joints, and so possibly contribute to joint problems like hip dysplasia, possibly pre-disposing the puppy to arthritis in later years.
Evidence to support this rule is lacking. Though we do have some evidence about the influence of exercise on small puppies, a study carried out in Norway showed that puppies who had access to steps in the first three months of life, were more likely to suffer from hip dysplasia later on.
Still, to many new puppy owners, the five minute per month restriction seems pretty extreme. And while many experts and dog breeder do promote the five minute rule, there are others that take a different view, and don’t worry about overexercising puppies provided they are not allowed to become exhausted.
Flat faced breeds such as the Bulldog may need less exercise, especially on hot days.
So who is right?
Cutting through the Confusion.
Being given conflicting opinions can be very confusing. So let’s take a look at what we actually know about puppies and exercise.
You can then make a decision on how you want to approach this subject.
Do puppies need walks?
Let’s forget about what we want to do for a second. The first question to ask, is do puppies actually need to go for walks.
The answer to that is no. Puppies certainly don’t need lots of formal exercise, and provided that your puppy has an outdoor area to run around and play several times a day, he does not actually NEED to be taken for a walk.
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This applies to puppies right up to five months or so of age. Don’t forget, puppies do need exercise, they just don’t need to go on a hike!
So if puppies don’t need walks, are walks harmful?
Are Walks Harmful?
The jury is still out on this one, but many breeders do insist that walks can damage a small puppy’s joints. This refers to formal walks where the puppy’s owner dictates the distance, duration and pace of the walk.
This is different from a puppy that is playing in the garden at home for the same length of time, but that can stop whenever he wants to and have a break.
While there is no clear evidence, for the five minute rule, it is most unlikely to do your puppy any harm. It makes sense to play it safe for those first few months of your puppies life, as they only come around once, and there will be plenty of time for action later.
Let’s recap that rule:
Puppy Exercise Requirements
- 2 months old ten minutes walking a day
- 3 months old fifteen minutes walking a day
- 4 months old twenty minutes walking a day
- 5 months old twenty-five minutes walking a day
- 6 months old thirty minutes walking a day
Other Types of Exercise
Puppies love to play. They especially love to play with other dogs, and with enthusiastic humans.
But puppies are not terribly good at keeping a sense of perspective or figuring out when they have overdone things!
So, with other types of exercise, whether it is ball games, rolling around with next door’s poodle, or playing tug with your kids, you need to supervise.
Step in if your puppy is getting overexcited or exhausted. Keep games short and sweet, and give the pup plenty of opportunity to stop for a nap or a drink and a rest.
Summary
Looking forward to long walks in the countryside is all part ad parcel of getting a puppy. It can be frustrating to discover that you shouldn’t be taking your puppy on long walks yet.
But you know, there are many years of healthy life ahead of your new puppy, and these early months pass quite quickly.
If you are reading this and are horrified to discover you have already broken the five minute rule times a million, don’t panic.
You are not the only one to make this mistake, and most ‘over-exercised’ pups probably come to no harm.
Just dial back on the hikes for a while and give your puppy a chance to ‘grow into’ his bones.
If you have any concerns about his joints or legs, just pop him along to your vet.
He’ll most likely be able to put your mind at rest.
Maia says
Hi this is an old threat but i was wondering, we do short walks with our 3 months old puppy. But once a month we go to my parents were she can run around and she is enjoys it so much, this time, we did not realize an hour had passed and we had to stop her Would that be a bad thing for a pup, to run around for an hour?
Sarah says
Hello ,
I hope people can still answer.
We have an 10 week old Boerboel mixed with American bulldog.
So he is a loveble lump.
We are using a crate.
My question is does the walk rule apply to all dogs.
He is rather large?
And when do I know to stop letting him out in the middle of the night?
Very grateful for any advice.
Helen says
Hi, I’m sure you’ve figured this all out by now, but have only just discovered this site… no harm in sharing own experiences, etc and hopefully offering some help or at least reassurance. I’m no expert but have got a 4.5month Bernese puppy and I’d say the rule of thumb applies even more seeing as they have such large frames to protect during growth. However, every dog is different and apparently I have a slightly more energetic berner pup than most so we have just gone with what she wants really. Lots of off leash or loose leash walks on the beach and short walking tracks so that she can go at her own pace, stop, run, sit, rest, splash, etc… The only on leash training was during puppy preschool really but she’s still pretty good on leash when need to use it in more public spaces and walking around town. In terms of overnight – the larger the breed the longer they can be expected to hold it in for overnight, so I’d be hoping you’re not longer getting up in the night any more. We know that we were incredibly lucky with only 1 night of getting up, and then holding it in with no probs and sleeping through, but we pen trained rather than crate trained due to a UTI meaning she needed to pee on a puppy pad during the night for about a week. As soon as the UTI had cleared, she didn’t have any night time accidents and has been sleeping in her playpen ever since. She has a crate in there but barely steps inside and really hasn’t taken to it. Having read up though, lots of people seem to drag out the waking time by 30 minutes each night to gradually reduce the need to go toilet until morning. Hope puppy parenthood is going well for you. It’s exhausting isn’t it.
John Boutwood says
We have a 7 month old chocolate Labrador. Is a 35 minute walk a day sufficient.
Marc.M says
Hello,
i just got a small 6 month labrador mix loulou race and she is a adorable female but the problem is that i am taking her out to pee and poo but no luck in that and after arriving home she directly do it in the house or on the bed or on the couch.
my question is how can i stop that and teach her to do it outside and not inside the house.
Many thanks in advance
Deb says
Take her out everytime she wakes from a nap, after playing, after eating and any other excitement. If you crate her at night she should eventually sleep through the night as long as you toilet her last thing at night, during the night as needed and first thing in the morning. Sleep near the crate as you will wake to toilet her as soon as she starts sniffing around. When I first had my puppy I was literally taking him out into the garden every 1-2 hours but he was more or less house trained in 8 days. There was the odd accident (usually when a human forget to take him outside) and I used a specifically formulated cleaner to remove the odour of urine so that my puppy didn’t go and wee on the same spot again, as this stops it from becoming a habit. It’s also important to give your dog the command to ‘wee wee’ or ‘poo poo’ as you place her/him on the grass during this intensive training. It really does work!
Rachel says
That’s awesome:) I hope I have the same success with my puppy when I bring her home. What is the formulated cleaner you used? I am worried about my hardwood floors.
Dana says
Marc M
We have a 3 month old labradoodle. The first week we brought her home we used to take her out into the garden every 15 minutes and she had a little pee most times. Whilst she was peeing we praised her and said pee pee good girl and gave her a treat immediately after. Within a week she was asking to go out for a pee by staring at patio door. Occasional accidents still happen but it is a lot better. Perseverance is the key.
And I agree with everything Deb said avove
carol says
Great article. My pup is just 8 months and her first official sidewalk walk was two weeks ago. She had to learn to loose leash walk first and to heal. We only go a couple of blocks a couple times a day and that seems to satisfy her walking need. Playing in the backyard and obedience training wears her out.