Are we walking Archie too much?

Hi Everyone

We take Archie out for about 30-40 mins on a morning and about 1 hr on an evening. Its normally a bit more on a weekend. These walks include lead and off lead time. But over the last few weeks my sister has been taking him out for about 30 mins - 1 hr on an afternoon too whilst she has been off work. He has so much energy and even after walking him he never seems to be tired when we get home and still plays and runs around. Do you think this is too much for him?

TIA
Danielle & Archie

5 mins per month for 2 -3 times a day is fine so really depends how much off lead time is he getting , i used to do around double a that age so 20 mins on lead and 20 off lead , remember Tilly had to get her exercise too

Seems a lot for his age. Do you play games with him at all as mental stimulation is as essential as physical.  

He is off the lead more than he is on it, as where we live is only 5 mins walk to the park which we take him to. He never seems to stop much when he is off the lead, so much energy like i say. Yeah we are constantly playing with his toys with him ans we take his ball out on walks with us, he loves to chase it

A general rule of thumb is 5 minutes per month of age 2 - 3 times per day. We just have to be careful with the formation of thier little bodies and try not to overstrain their ligaments etc.

I had the same situation with Bacchus. He got much more than the recommended 5 mins per month of age but like you we are 2 mins from the meadows so it was nearly all off-lead so he could go at his own pace ( which involved mainly sniffing every blade of grass) and stop if necessary.

I walk my 5month pup 30min walk plus i play spring pole with him,i know you should wait longer to play spring pole but 5mins or so is fine

Broxi wrote:I walk my 5month pup 30min walk plus i play spring pole with him,i know you should wait longer to play spring pole but 5mins or so is fine

Definitely not recommended for spring pole at 5 months , you could do pup some serious damage

The 5 minute/month rule is really for lead walking on hard surfaces (pavements etc). So at 4 months, you can walk your pup to the park (10 minutes), let him run around for a while, making sure that he can flop down & rest whenever he wants, and then walk back home (10 minutes).

Broxi wrote:I walk my 5month pup 30min walk plus i play spring pole with him,i know you should wait longer to play spring pole but 5mins or so is fine

If you know that you should wait for a while, why are you using it now?

Yeah Archie deffo gets more time off the lead than on, so he can go at his own pace, if we are out for an hour he is only on the lead for 15-20 mins at the most. He loves to run and roll around in the long grass too  

reuben wrote:I had the same situation with Bacchus.  He got much more than the recommended 5 mins per month of age but like you we are 2 mins from the meadows so it was nearly all off-lead so he could go at his own pace ( which involved mainly sniffing every blade of grass) and stop if necessary.

Is Bacchus ok? Like health wise? Just with everyone saying you can damage them  but like i say he is hardly ever on the lead and runs all over and never rarely stops

Dave wrote:

Broxi wrote:I walk my 5month pup 30min walk plus i play spring pole with him,i know you should wait longer to play spring pole but 5mins or so is fine

Definitely not recommended for spring pole at 5 months , you could do pup some serious damage

What is a spring pole? Never heard of it before

DaniMc84 wrote:

reuben wrote:I had the same situation with Bacchus.  He got much more than the recommended 5 mins per month of age but like you we are 2 mins from the meadows so it was nearly all off-lead so he could go at his own pace ( which involved mainly sniffing every blade of grass) and stop if necessary.

Is Bacchus ok? Like health wise? Just with everyone saying you can damage them  but like i say he is hardly ever on the lead and runs all over and never rarely stops

Yeah he's fine but I never overdid the on -lead walking. If aything he got less than his 5 mins. per month on lead-walking. As we stay literally 2 mins. from the meadows he was off-lead nearly all the time which is fine. I'm also a great believer in giving a puppy as much freedom as possible, when it's safe to do so, as I've experienced dogs who are hardly ever off-lead and find it such a novelty that they are reluctant to return to their handler. Bacchus never demonstrates any reluctance to have his lead back on as he has always been given lots of freedom.

Yeah thats the same as Archie, we just have to tell him to stay and he stays and waits to be put back on. On a morning he is never on the lead as we take him to the field behind our house and let him run around and on a night like i say 15-20 mins at the most he is on for  Bacchus is gorgeous btw

Dont get me wrong iv only just made the spring pole home made the other day and hes played on it twice,i only make him run abit with me not proper twist and turns.

As far as walking goes of course you need to be smart but theres so so many people out there thats never even heard about the 5mins walk per month of age its not what many vets would even tell you.people just take there dog out walks and dont think about that sort of thing.

Thats what i thought, he loves his walks and gets so much free time i can't see there being a problem its not like hes being forced to walk for hours on end. When we see he is getting tired we head home  what is a spring pole?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iRIXlISL9g
This will give you an idea of a spring pole.

Oohh i don't like them

DaniMc84 wrote:Yeah thats the same as Archie, we just have to tell him to stay and he stays and waits to be put back on.  On a morning he is never on the lead as we take him to the field behind our house and let him run around and on a night like i say 15-20 mins at the most he is on for  Bacchus is gorgeous btw

Thanks Danielle, he is coming along nicely.
You and I are so lucky to be able to let our dogs have a bit of freedom.

We sure are  there's nothing better than giving your dog freedom, it makes Archie so much more well behaved

No I must admit I have never been tempted to invest in a spring pole. We do have lots of tugs of war however  

Just looking at that video,i dont use spring pole on my pup  it is something i tend to do when hes older but i havnt did that yet,i just got the games mixed up

Also,even tho that dog is having fun and should be fine,i would put it at a height where hes legs dont dangle but rather just on his feet when hes stood right up

Broxi wrote:As far as walking goes of course you need to be smart but theres so so many people out there thats never even heard about the 5mins walk per month of age its not what many vets would even tell you.people just take there dog out walks and dont think about that sort of thing.

Vets are not experts in exercise regimes. A pup should not be given too much on lead, hard ground exercise - that is accepted by most people nowadays.

DaniMc84 wrote:Oohh i don't like them

Why? If the dog is mature enough (ie at least 18 months old), andthe dog's back legs are on the ground at all times, then there is no harm in them.

Broxi wrote:Just looking at that video,i dont use spring pole on my pup  it is something i tend to do when hes older but i havnt did that yet,i just got the games mixed up

I'm sort of guessing then that you have confused Spring Pole with Flirt Pole, flirt pole basically being a pole with a lure on the end of it that the dog chases ??

Dave wrote:

Broxi wrote:Just looking at that video,i dont use spring pole on my pup  it is something i tend to do when hes older but i havnt did that yet,i just got the games mixed up

I'm sort of guessing then that you have confused Spring Pole with Flirt Pole, flirt pole basically being a pole with a lure on the end of it that the dog chases  ??

Yes

But i dont over do it on flirt pole either,only been twice on grass to see if he likes it and he does