Length of Walk

[Sue]

Hi Fellow Puppy owners,

Just wondering how long you walk your dog for? I have been taking my puppy ( 15 weeks) out for about 25-35 mins walks and am now wondering if this is ideal or too long /too short....
Also...how are your puppies on their walks? Lexee is great some days and then others it is like she hates them....

Pls let me know your experiences...thank you

[linda giorgi]

Morgan is going to be 15 weeks.She is a standard ALD. What about your Lexee?  I walk her every night for about 20 minutes. She likes to lead me if I give her enough lead. I put a harness on her. I do not use a collar. She would choke herself. I am happy she lets me walk her for now. We start training next week. My other problem is biting.... 

[J Love]

Following the replies, Sue. My puppy is also 15 weeks and we are doing about 20 minute walks 2-3x a day. Based on his energy level, I am confident he could walk longer (if it isn't especially hot). However, I am worried about what classifies as "too much."

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

That's great that she will walk well for that long at only 15 weeks! I remember we did a lot more fetch and play dates than official walks when Rip was young - we kept em short and sweet as possible. And we made sure he got out a lot of energy before even going on a walk. It took a lot of training for him at that age (I actually hired someone to teach me how to teach him to walk on leash) cause he would jump and bite the leash, or stop, or pull...we tried to be patient and only reinforce the good walking. Sounds like you're doing great though, I'd just keep everything on your terms (she is allowed to stop n sniff if given a release word) and end it before she starts hating it. :-) good luck!!

[Sue]

I think she might be "hating them"...I will shorten them up as I don't want to discourage walking as it is something I love doing with my dogs...

Cindy - did the training work or is it just time that makes for a better walker....Lexee walks well 70% of the time and the other 30% I think is because she is tired or frustrated of being restrained.... 9/10 when we get back from a walk she does the zoomies in my fenced in backyard...

thoughts anyone??

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Both the trainer and time, lol ;) Rip was our first family dog and I wanted to start off on the right foot. It truly helped us...
Zoomies sounds like Lexee is celebrating her off leash freedom which makes me think yes, your walks are currently ToO structured for her now. Sounds like she may want to share control of the walk with you, which is fine and keeps it positive for you both long as you release her with a cue word as I mentioned before (learned this trick on Doggy Dan, the online dog trainer, actually!). You can give her a longer lead when you release her as well. This way she won't get frustrated/hate it, and you maintain control but still give her free time on your own terms. You should be the one to initiate this as well. Check out DD when you've time, highly recommend!

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

With as spazzy as Moose can be he usually gets zoomies before and after walks and I usually just go with it. I'm not sure how big lexee is expected to be by with my boys my fear was that I needed them to not be pulling on the leash before they were full grown because Loki is 85-90lbs and Moose is expected to be around 100-120... I'd rather not eat dirt LOL! So i don't mind if he's expelling energy other times as long as he behaves for a walk. I sometimes take training treats with me and we stop to "do tricks" to add some fun to a walk to break up the structure.

I absolutely agree with Cindy that you can give them a longer lead but only when you release them. For me I say ok and give them more lead but when I say "walk with me" Loki knows to come back to my side, Moose is working on it but when they do, especially Moose I give him a treat. :) good luck!

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

Hi all! Moose is now 5months old but when he was around that age I really played it by ear. Some days he would wander around for 30mins and other days ten mins was more than enough and he would just want to sit and look around. I think a lot of it depends on the pup too because Loki my older doodle hated walks until about 6months old. He would do his business and the do everything possible to get back inside or if I insisted on a walk he would just flop onto the grass like a dead fish. I'm hoping some experts weigh in here but I think more of the concern is them running and over using their joints at such a young age so I suppose if they are just slowly wandering around smelling things that's not harmful at all were as if they are trying to pull you across the yard that could be? Lexee is super cute btw :)

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Yes I remember the running caution too, as they will feel compelled to follow you regardless of their exhaustion or bodily wear and tear - whereas when they free play/ run independently, they are able to pause for rest breaks. No running/repeated jumping until their bones have fully grown/formed, right? About walking time limits, I'm not sure other than looking for signs of fatigue/overheating/paw pad issues...

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

Correct about the growth plates. My vet recommended 18months until they can run with me, they are both F1 Bernedoodles. I'm not sure for other breeds/ sizes though. I think the smaller the dog the sooner the growth plates fuse.