How much is too much?

            This answer varies on several factors the age of the dog, the breed of the dog, and the individual dog’s needs and health.  So, let’s look at each part individually.

            Age of the Dog-Young puppies are at a point in their lives where they are growing very rapidly, and excessive exercise can damage growth plates and bones.  So, what is too much for puppies?  A common rule is five minutes of exercise per month of age, up to twice a day.  For example, if your puppy is three months old, you can exercise him or her for 15 minutes up to twice a day.  This doesn’t mean that you should be kenneling your puppy all the rest of the day and not allowing it to play or act like a normal puppy.  What this means however is you should not be doing any more than two 15-minute walks a day if your puppy is 3 months old.

            As your dog ages you can increase the amount of time the dog is exercising if the dog needs it.  The other factors above also dictate how much exercise your dog will need as an adult however some general rules are at least 30 minutes of exercise per day and up to two hours per day.

            Breed of the Dog-Certain breeds such as Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, German Shepherds, Terriers, and other working breeds generally need more exercise than other non-working breeds.  Breeds like Basset Hounds, Greyhounds, certain Toy Breeds, and certain Large Breeds require less exercise in general.  This is where researching your breed before purchasing or adopting a dog is important.  If you are not an active person and get an active breed either you are going to have to change your ways, or you and the dog are going to struggle co-existing for the rest of the dog’s life.

            Individual Dogs-Each dog has their own individual needs for exercise.  For example, I have owned Border Collies for over 20 years and have had 6 different dogs over those years and each of them had very different exercise needs.  One dog was so lazy that she would barely get off the couch to go on a walk with the other dogs.  Most of them were moderately active and a one-hour free run in the fields satisfied their needs.  However, I have had two that were very active dogs and were constantly on the go 24/7.  All these dogs were Border Collies and some of them were even related but had drastically different personalities and exercise needs.  Again, researching your breeder and your needs will help you get the best puppy for your needs.  If you are rescuing a dog, you are going to need to spend some quality time with the dog and other dogs to see the differences in exercise needs.

            Health of Dog-Some dogs have medical conditions that may require less exercise like hip dysplasia, heart conditions, respiratory conditions, diabetes, and certain breeds with brachial cephalic conditions.  Old age and arthritis can also affect dogs and how much they can or want to exercise.  Consult your veterinarian if you are not sure how much exercise your dog can do with its current health conditions.

What types of exercises are good for dogs?

            There are many different types of exercises that can be done with your dog’s however not all dogs are going to like all of them.  This is where trial and error with your dog will help to find out what your dog likes and does not like.  So, if there are several things on this list that your dog doesn’t like no worries just keep trying things to find out what they do like.

  • Walking the neighborhood
  • Hiking in the woods or fields
  • Running
  • Biking
  • Roller Blading
  • Swimming
  • Fetch
  • Tug
  • Daycare with other dogs
  • Obedience Work
  • Dog Sports such as confirmation, rally obedience, agility, and nosework

There is one word of caution with all dogs and all exercise routines and that is if you are not careful you will build a marathon runner.  Most people I talk to exercise their dogs to get them “tired”, so that they are well behaved in the house.  So sometimes people will exercise their dogs to get them tired however what happens is the dogs start to build endurance to the exercise.  Therefore, the owners start to exercise them a little more each day to get the same amount of “tired” from the dogs.  Unfortunately, what will eventually happen is your dog will require 4, 6, or even 8 hours of exercise to get the same amount of “tired” from the dog.

So, my suggestion is that you either exercise your dog for roughly the same amount of time each day or if you are walking or hiking try to exercise your dog the same distance each day.  You can vary a little bit between days however try not to steadily increase the time you are exercising the dogs, or you will build that marathon runner, which unless you are one yourself becomes a whole new problem.