How much exercise ?

As some of you know i have an 18wk puppy and was wondering just how much exercise to give him ?
At the moment he gets walked in the morning for 30 mins + plus run around on the field time on a 20ft recall lead 30 mins or so then a 40 min walk at around 7.30 at night is this enough for now or dose he need more ?
i know as he gets older he`ll need more but just wondering if that ok at the moment ?

I THINK dont quote me on this but isnt it 5mins per week of age? Or something like that .. His probably having a little too much for 18weeks they say too much for a young pup can put strain on the muscles .. My two at tht age had 3-4 small walks a day so they could rest in between proba about 15mins per walk they had.

Sure someone with better advice will helpyou

My 2 only have an hour walk a day but they do alot of mental work which tires them out just as much as their hour walk

I do have very lazy dogs though once we are out they love to run but at home they love to sleep

pups will go till they drop but you have to becareful because of their joints

ok thank you guys

I think 5 minutes per week is correct for a pup. When they grow up 2 walks for 45 minutes each is the minimum

yeah I'd agree that sounds more than I was advised.
My vet said no more than 20 mins ish at a time until she is one year old as their bones are growing so quick. But she did say you could take her as often as you need with a rest in between.

She is seven months now, and we do two walks a day at the moment of around 20mins with a few mins off lead running about and that seems to be plenty for Dora. We also do a lot of training while we are out and a little around the house every day.

She normally has a mad moment when she tears around the living room for 5-10mins most evenings but other than that she is quite chilled out the rest of the time so i think we are getting her exercise/mental stimulation about right at the moment.

I guess it depends how energetic your dog is. But I would say that if you start by doing loads of exercise early on you may find that you have to stick with it later as they will get used to it...? Don't quote me on that! My trainer did say though, that you don't necessarily need a extremely fit dog - just a healthy dog.

Personally I don't really want to fit in 3 walks in a day so I'm sticking with two for now and then we'll increase then length once she is older when necessary.

Also today Dora had puppy training in our local park where she got exercise and training. She came back really knackered and I'm debating about doing the second walk today.

When Tyson was a puppy, I stuck to the 5 mins per week of age. We now walk at least an hour inthe morning and the same in the evening and it still does not seem enough as he will play at the park until he drops after a walk.

I think it depends on your dog.

Agree that it depends on the dog. My two get two 45 min walks a day plus loads of playing and it seems to suit them well, but every dog will be different to some degree.

staffy-lover89 wrote:I THINK dont quote me on this but isnt it 5mins per week of age? Or something like that .. His probably having a little too much for 18weeks they say too much for a young pup can put strain on the muscles .. My two at tht age had 3-4 small walks a day so they could rest in between proba about 15mins per walk they had.

Sure someone with better advice will helpyou

It's 5 minutes per month! So a 5 month old pup should be getting about 25 minutes!

BUT.

It also depends on what sort of exercise. He shouldn't get more than 25 minutes lead exercise per day, but free running on grass is ok as long as he doesn't over tire himself. On lead walking not only tires a dog very quickly, it's often difficult to see when a pup gets tired because he'll still keep walking with you (no choice, really, as he's on lead!), whereas if he's running free he can lay down & get his breath back whenever he's tired so he'll regulate his own exercise.

Although excessive exercise can damage a pup's growth plates/tendons, too little free running exercise leads to poor muscle development, which in turn can lead to the joints not being properly supported with muscle & eventually joint stifness & arthtritis - maybe even hip dysplacia.

Caryll wrote:

staffy-lover89 wrote:I THINK dont quote me on this but isnt it 5mins per week of age? Or something like that .. His probably having a little too much for 18weeks they say too much for a young pup can put strain on the muscles .. My two at tht age had 3-4 small walks a day so they could rest in between proba about 15mins per walk they had.

Sure someone with better advice will helpyou

It's 5 minutes per month! So a 5 month old pup should be getting about 25 minutes!

Arr!!! See this is why i say dont quote me i could be wrong haha knew it was 5mins per something lol

For a puppy they should get 5mins walk for every month they are 4 times a day so at 18 weeks you could give 4 x 25min walks this is to prevent damage to developing muscles and skeleton if they are off lead the time would be less as they'd cover more ground

Marty wrote:if they are off lead the time would be less as they'd cover more ground

Free running, off lead exercise (on soft ground - grass, sand etc) is ok. They can take much more of that without harm to their development than lead work.

GSD owners are actually encouraged to let their pups run off lead on soft ground as much as possible to strengthen the muscles that support the hip joints, and therefore help to stop HD developing/getting worse.

Would it be possible to get a small table/summary here? I am getting confused... as I am about (in a week time) getting my soon to be 8wk old puppy.
I know she is not allowed to be out until properly and fully vaccinated.... but
what about being at home?
I guess she will self regulate the amount of time she spends moving around..... right?
Also... what about when she is 10/11 weeks? It makes almost 3 months.. according to the previous posts this means 15ish min of walk (per day or per time you take it out?)
Please enlighten me..... So much to know..... and she is about to come... I feel same excitement/anxiety of when we were expecting our daughter..... you are scared to do everything wrong....

It's sometimes easier to say 1 minute for every week of age, 3 or 4 times a day.

Before she's allowed out she can play as much as she (or you!) likes in the house & garden as long as she is allowed to crash out any time she wants.

Thanks

Reading all this i'm confused.... I'm with the above somebody needs to develop a table. My little pup is going for her first walk on Wednesday, and i've no idea how long I should be out for lol.