How much exercise does your young adult doodle need?

[Jessica & Lucie]

I have to admit, I've been wondering if my doodle gets more exercise than she needs. I realize this might sound a little crazy at first, because isn't more always better? I really prioritize Lucie getting her full exercise every day, and I think its possible that I worry about it more than I should, because perhaps she would be fine with less...so I wanted to get some other opinions on what you guys think is the right amount of exercise. I also realize that the more she gets, the more she needs, and her endurance may always exceed mine!

Currently Lucie and I spend a minimum of 2 hours a day outside exercising. This is usually in the form of a 1 hour walk (with about 20 min off leash on trails in the woods) and 1 hour in the evening (45 minutes of running off leash in the woods + 15-20 minuts of fetch in a huge field - her favorite). Needless to say we both sleep well at night! On the weekend things are a little different and she usually spends more time outside playing and less time walking.

I care a lot about keeping Lucie happy and giving her a high quality doggie life, but I am wondering if she is at an age where this much exercise is still necessary or is there an age where they need less? The friends I've asked think I'm a little crazy and she gets more exercise than any dog they know... but as you all know most dog owners are not like doodle owners!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I guess my two don't need that much, nor do they get as much as some. A 10 mile run/walk would probably put my two into cardiac arrest! I run/ walk with them for 2+miles, plus the dog park, a few times a week. And with the heat now, they are spent by the end of our 2 miles. But otherwise they are getting their exercise chasing eachother in the backyard. Murphy swims everyday and we do spend some ball time with them, but not everyday. We are gone 12 hour days together at least one or two days a week and we have a sitter who comes in who runs them out back, let's them swim if they want, then it's back to sleep till we get home.
Yes, it's long days. And no I can't bring them to doggie daycare 2 times a week. The hours never work out (6am-7.pm )
And at $50 for two a day, that is just not feasible. So they rest in the lap of luxury, in an air conditioned house with music playing, lots of chew toys and are very well behaved from the looks of things when we get home. Also 5-6 days a week one or the other of us are home off and on during the day. So they get good stimulation when we are home.
I can't afford to feel guilty. It is what it is, and other than a 10 min zoomies session a few nights a week, they are otherwise pretty chill.

[Julie & Bear]

Wow! You guys exercise ALOT! I need to get out more. We took Bear to the Bark Park near us and walked the trails last Saturday and he loved it, but he slept the rest of the day! We went back the next day and he kept sitting down and then layed down right on the trail. I'm sure we were quite the site carrying a dog in the park. I guess we need to start slow!

[Bonne Bouche]

I think it is important to note that (I believe) most of the responses come from doodles 1-2 years old. It is NOT appropriate to walk/exercise young puppies under 1 year old to this degree. We didn't take BB on walks over 1 mile until he reached 1 year. We didn't take him on walks over .5 mile until he was about 7-8 months. When he was young, we did LOTS of little walks. and lots of short plays/romps. Extended reptetative movements for puppies can cause joint problems later in life. Bear is adorable, and all dogs have different preferences for activity level and type of activity that they enjoy ;-] Have fun finding your fit/routine with Bear ;-]

*note: I may be extra conservative with my age/distances, but that was just what I decided was my marker from my own research.

[Julie & Bear]

Thanks Carla! Bear is 10 months and we probably did close to or even a little less than one mile even though it took about an hour. We walked slow. In our own yard, he loves to run and gets these giant spurts of eneregy and just starts to run the yard like crazy. I read not to run your dog until at least 15-18 months but I don't see how we can contain him or keep him from running like this. He only does it for a couple of minutes. Should we be discouraging this behaviour for his own benefit down the road?

[Bonne Bouche]

naw. that is totally fine. BB LOVES to run -- he sometimes gets this excited look in his eye and SHOOTS off! The "don't run with your dog" thing is just because when dogs jog beside people it becomes repetitive movement in a straight line. when dogs run on their own, its in circles, and back and forth with fits and spurts. AND at least with us, BB goes into OVERDRIVE and then he slows down a bit, etc. So everything is varied. I've never heard that "free" running has been associated with joint issues. Only the running/walking that accompanies a walker/runner/biker.  :-]

[Julie & Bear]

Good to know! I know that look in the eyes you are speaking of. You can just tell when they are going to go nuts. We aren't runners in any sense of the word, so it appears Bear is safe with us! Thank you!

[Jessica & Lucie]

Thanks for everyone's responses! I did forget to add that Lucie is 3, when she was a puppy we spent a lot more time at dog parks rather than on walks/running, as I was careful not to over do it when she was still developing.

It sounds like doodles have a wide variety of exercise needs, I guess mine just likes to keep me very fit! Some days I wish she were a little more of a "couch potato" but there are benefits too, I never have to worry about going to the gym! I have always thought that Lucie was a particularly high energy doodle, and the exercise seems to be what keeps her well behaved so I think we will keep doing it for now.... she definitely notices if we skip a walk or if I try to shorten it. I consider her exercise to be my part time job :)

[Marcy, Apollo & Phoebe]

I don't know if I could keep up with such a schedule, but it sounds fun! Apollo is 8 months old, so we take short walks and let him romp in the backyard. I'm actually looking forward to him getting older, so that we can exercise a bit more together. Even our short walks motivate me to stay active.