walking amount

Hi we have a 14wk old pup bilbo he's beautiful if a handful. We also have adult lakeland at the moment there both getting three 30 mins walk a day feilds vet said its fine.morn -lunch-night.pup comes back and has half hour sleep then is raring to go again. Keep reading to much walking not good for them. And that they will just keep going. Wondering should we increase walks to 45 mins or less..always had lakelands and terriers this is our first staffie pup and we have fell in love with him to be fair.would not want to hurt him for world.vet said need lots excercise as tired dog happy dog but then on here I read not good for there bones. Thanks for any replys

It is recommended they get 5 minutes per month of age, 2-3 times a day. So I would say 15-20 minutes max for your little pup. Over doing their length of walks is not very good for their joints

Certainly don't increase them! Your pup should be getting about 20 minutes lead walking, three times a day, plus some off lead play/running around as long as he's allowed to stop & rest whenever he feels the need. However, if you have an older dog that he plays with, he may not stop until he's exhausted. So you will have to step in before that & make him rest.

If you over exercise you may damage the growth plates, and over stretch the ligaments, leading to permanent lameness.

Thank you guys this is what was worrying us even though the vet said its fine. I should maybe point out that his pic in my profile pic is him at 8 wks he's a big chunky lad now at almost 11lb in weight very little of it fat and vet says bundle of healthy and he thinks will be big lad.we will drop it down to three 20mins and more training play when bored. We don't just walk we walk and sit by river and have a coffee while he relaxes.we don't do off lead play ou:-bd tside as he's not brill at recall yet. (Got sit paw and down to fine art for treat though)as say first staff and they are nothing like our other terriers at all. He's my loyal leg warmer and foot licker. Lakeland are quite independant .he loves people. Thank you for advice will take it and use it..

Yep 5 mins per month so you do not over do her/his muscles and joints. I walk Roxy for 20min walks 3 times a day.

Thanks all. Not sure he was chuffed with less walking but I got him a stag antler thing and he was happy pup for half hour.

At the risk of going against the general grain of advice, I give Wrig alot more exercise than 5min per month. At 4-5months he's getting at least an hour or more at the beach on weekends (off leash walking / play / chasing sticks etc). During the week, he'd only get maybe 1/2hr due to lack of available daylight before/after work, but then he is off leash all day on the farm anyways. *None of this is walking on cement though, so maybe that is why only 5min per month is recommended. If I followed that, he'd be bored and destroying things. You can generally tell when they get tired.

Don't increase the walks! At 14 weeks 30 minutes is already a bit too much! Too much exercise can damage their growing joints and really hurt them later in life! You should walk 5 minutes per month of age so at 14 weeks he should be walked 15-20 minutes two or three times per day plus some off lead time where he can run around but can stop to rest/lay down/ take a break whenever he wants.

Thanks guy I'm gonna book vet and speak to them.he is a strong pup. And it is grass walking he does so will see if makes difference.

Wrigley wrote:At the risk of going against the general grain of advice, I give Wrig alot more exercise than 5min per month.  At 4-5months he's getting at least an hour or more at the beach on weekends (off leash walking / play / chasing sticks etc).  During the week, he'd only get maybe 1/2hr due to lack of available daylight before/after work, but then he is off leash all day on the farm anyways.  *None of this is walking on cement though, so maybe that is why only 5min per month is recommended.  If I followed that, he'd be bored and destroying things. You can generally tell when they get tired.

gimli wrote:Thanks guy I'm gonna book vet and speak to them.he is a strong pup. And it is grass walking he does so will see if makes difference.

Off leash is different to on leash walking ... generally a pup will lay down and take a rest as needed when playing off leash, so more time is fine (so long as we step in and stop them if they are tired and still going regardless). So off leash all day on the farm and running around on the beach are fine.

On leash, the lay down time doesn't happen, it is 'constant go' and often at a reasonable pace, so it is very important that we regulate that time appropriately for them ... it doesn't matter whether the walking is on the grass, dirt or pavement, too much is still too much

Just to clarify we do take breaks and sit and have coffee I did say in my origanal post so bilbo laid out relaxing 10-15 mins and then walk back we don't constantly just walk. We stop to meet ducks and other dog walkers for chat.our older dog is a relaxed walker lol stops at every person and tree.it's a not a full on charge ahead walk but a relaxed one.. Sorry for confussion I will ask vet.