Exercise!

[Leanne]

Just wondering how much exercise people do with their dogs? We are still restricted due to age (nearly 6 months now! Which in my head is the magic number for all sleep issues to miraculously disappear ?)

Weirdly the breeder does the exercise in blocks of 2... so I thought it was 5 minutes per month of life per day... she does it per walk!

At the moment we have a 15 minute stroll in the morning - lead only.

20/30 minutes in the evening that’s off lead in the woods. So still over the level of exercise he ‘should’ have but frankly even with 6/7 training sessions a day (some that are a decent time span) the boy needs to run!

 

[Joy]

There's no evidence for the '5minute rule' as far as I can see. I think it was orobably started as a way of ensuring people didn't walk their puppies to the point of exhaustion. The rule doesn't appear to include running around in the garden and when you think that some people have very small gardens, whereas others have huge lawns/ paddocks it makes a nonsense of it.
I took Molly out three times a day as soon as she was old enough and by six months of age this was for about half an hour each time (we have a small garden). However each time I drove her to an off-lead area ( recreation ground or beach) and we didn't actually walk, we ambled about at her pace, did a little bit of lead walking practice every so often, watched the world go by, played with toys etc - so like people with big gardens do at home.

 

[Boogie]

I use the five minute rule - simply as a check for myself that I’m not overdoing it with their growing bones. If it’s an entirely free run then I add some. So Spencer, at 17 weeks gets 20 minutes lead walking a day. Also no stairs apart from stair training which is very short, controlled and only two or three times a week.

Tomorrow is his first ever free run - hurrah! He’ll get half an hour but no lead walking for the day, his training is a bus or train ride, or a cafe time on free run days - before the free run, nobody likes muddy dogs lol

.

 

[snowbunny]

There are many different interpretations of the five minute rule, and it's not based on scientific research. It's really more about common sense, and this chart does a better job of that than a magic number: NEW EXERCISE CHART

The article it comes from is worth a read, too: Puppy Fitness That Fits the Puppy

With W&S I stuck to five minutes per month, twice a day. It was almost all off lead. Because we had a lot of snow, sometimes it was shorter if they were getting too cold, or if the snow was too difficult for them.
With Squidge, I pretty much threw it out the window. She could mooch for 20-30 minutes on the beach from as soon as she was able to go out for walks. She was always the one setting the pace, and we did a lot of sitting and playing in place, rather than it being about getting from A to B. when we got back to Andorra when she was a little over 4 months, she'd come out with the other dogs sometimes for 45 minutes, or even up to an hour, but it was the same thing; we'd take it really slowly, let her go at her own pace, stop here and there for little games etc. Not only was it great for getting her to experience the different environments, it was really good for her learning at a really young age about wanting to hang around with me, even in these exciting places, because I was doing fun stuff with her.
Sometimes we'd have an on-lead walk down to the telecabina station (just under 500m away) and then we'd hang out there for ten minutes, calmly watching people go by with all their ski gear, before strolling back.
So we were very often over the 5 minute rule for being out, but we were doing an awful lot of sitting and watching or playing games in that time. I think it's important to start that stuff as early as possible out of the house.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

I'd be interested to hear how much exercise people do with their ADULT dogs - once all puppy/growing bone concerns are out of the equation.

When Carbon first came home with me as a foster, I described him as a calm/low energy boy. I know now that was down to the Leish and particularly the anaemia that was a complication of the Leish. He went through a few weeks there were 15-20 minutes was his limit before he needed a little sit-down. Having Paul join us as a second foster got him through his lowest energy point. He's a competitive boy and he wasn't going to let Paul outdo him (much) and he gained in stamina.

Now is a whole other story. Carbon needs 2-3 hours a day of exercise - usually a good 2 hour romp in the morning and a more leisurely stroll in the late afternoon/evening. We also usually have a training or just being silly with toys session indoors once or twice a day as well. If I have to skip a day (or 3 days this week, poor Carbon ) he doesn't get destructive or naughty. He has a LOT of patience with no activity, but I can tell he's not all that happy. Mainly because he tries to stand on my face when he's got ants in his pants.

I would call him a high energy field-type dog. Does that mesh with others' ideas of a high energy Lab, or are my ideas skewed coming from a Rottweiler background?

 

[Jen]

Stanley has always required not very much exercise really. When I said I was getting a Labrador everyone said I’d have to walk him miles and miles and I really don’t.

Don’t get me wrong - he can go miles and miles but Stanley much prefers company and interaction/training than walks.

He gets 3 x 45 minute walks through the week when he’s on his own for a while. On a weekend when he’s always with us he sometimes just gets half an hour then we just play and have fun and he’s more than happy.
He’s even happy just to cuddle up on the couch with me and chill, as long as he’s got company he’s perfectly fine. I think we’ve been quite lucky really.

 

[Boogie]

Tatze gets an hour and a half every morning, in the woods or round a reservoir - and half an hour through the park late afternoon, she snoozes the rest of the time unless Spencer forces some play out of her.

 

[Stacia]

Rourke gets 20 mins in the morning and an hour plus in the afternoon and has always had this amount even when younger, he doesn't seem to need half the exercise my German Pointers needed. Perhaps Carbon is making up for lost time when he wasn't well!

 

[VanillaBean]

We started off with the 5min rule if it was on lead. But even then it would normally only be about 5-10min walking. Most of the time was off leash, but at her pace. And like @snowbunny mentioned we used to sit and watch the world go by. Saying that we still do that now. Stairs and jumping etc. was a nono in our house. Because our living are is upstairs, I carried Vanilla for months. Getting in and out of car, she would jump on my chest/over the shoulder. Then I would lower her down....call me OTT...
Her walks/outings was morning and evening before/after work. during the day she had play time with the puppy sitter.

Now that she is older her outings consist of a walk in the morning for about an hour. This can either be on leash/off leash or a mixture. Depending on weather and light. This is about 5amish.
Then she will get a play when I get home for about 30min or so and a small outing if I have to pick up OH. Then another outing in the evening for about 1-2hours, depending on mood and weather. So in all working days is between 2-3.5 hours.
Weekends, days off or holiday a whole lot more.

Keeps me busy...but enjoy it.

 

[snowbunny]

I would call him a high energy field-type dog.

Heh, my highly-strung field dogs are far more able to chill out than my solid-as-a-rock show type dog. They've just learned that skill better. Also remember that actual field dogs can be expected to do an awful lot of nothing so have to be able to switch off between excitement.

My lot get a couple of hours a day, split into two or three. They are almost never on lead, certainly not here in Spain, but in Andorra they have a short lead walk to and from the off-lead area, and every day on a rotating scheduleI take one of them for a walk around the village so that they get some exposure to that. During normal walks, the older two will run around sniffing for scent trails if they're allowed to, whereas Squidge generally stays by my side bugging me to do things with her
Sometimes walks are just sniffy "dogs being dogs" walks - although they do need to stay close - and sometimes they are a lot more interactive. That's often down to how fried my brain is!

 

[Plum's mum]

Plum (nearly 2 years) gets 1.5 - 2 hours (almost entirely off lead) a day during the week (divided by two) and more at weekends. But she's pretty good at chilling too. She also has a time in the evening when she likes to play tug or catch or just chew her toys.

We're on hols at the moment so she's doing a lot of swimming and additional walks as we're taking her everywhere with us.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Heh, my highly-strung field dogs are far more able to chill out than my solid-as-a-rock show type dog.

Sorry, I realise now I shouldn't have linked the 'field' with the 'high energy'. I definitely know that field does not equal high strung, just as much as show doesn't mean couch potato. I meant more his body type and keenness to do 'fieldy type' things like @Beanwood discovering he loved whistle pips!

 

[kateincornwall]

Sam was high energy when out and about . All his walks were off lead in woods or beaches , half an hour to an hour every morning and double the amount in the afternoon . As a puppy I did limit him but I don't think I ever stuck rigidly to the five minute rule .
Nelly has one short 15 minute walk every morning , she goes to school with Silas during term time and then , as today , she will happily rock up an hour or even more in the afternoons . For a very small dog she will go for some distance , in fact its usually me being mindful of her joints and calling a halt !

 

[Atemas]

Red at 21 months does a walk/run of 75 minutes early morning mostly off lead. Lunchtime/early afternoon she does 50 minutes mostly off lead and then a 15 minute on lead walk early evening. She is very chilled the rest of the time. I think we have it just about right for her. We did stick to the 5 minute rule as much as we could until she was 6 months but DH felt she was ready for longer walks and she was. We were also more mindful of her joints until she was a year old. When we go camping she gets more exercise generally.

 

[Ashley]

We stuck to the 5 min rule until around 6 months. That's around when I added a morning off leash walk and longer evening walks. I think Quinn is mid-range energy...she's energetic on walks, but she is no different on days she doesn't get much vs days she gets hours of exercise. During the week Quinn gets approx. 30 mins off leash in the morning, either a 1 hour on leash or 30-45 mins of ball play/walk mid day and between 30 mins to an hour evening walk that is a mix of on/off leash/swimming. Length of walks vary by weather. It's been SO humid here, that mid day walks have to be short. Weekends we usually go for one long morning hike (1-2 hours) and a short evening stroll. Quinn is also just as happy to hang out at home and in the yard all day, as long as games and training are involved, otherwise she gets a bit bored.

 

[Hollysdad]

Holly will take all the exercise we can give her. Normally I walk her after breakfast and come home for lunch. A normal walk is 5-7 miles, 2-3 hours with stops for play and training. I crawl back to the car exhausted, she bounces back to the car ready to do it all over again.

 

[Xena Dog Princess]

I pretty much stuck to the 5 min rule when Xena was a pup because it helped me keep an eye on the time - but I added a short 15 min neighbourhood walk in the evening.

Now that she's grown she gets 60-70 mins in the morning, usually a game of footy in the garden (weather dependent), and a short evening walk when OH is off shift (so he can stay home with the kid, I try not to bring her out with me because it's not worth the moaning). Xena's a chill pooch, and I'm eternally grateful. I love a good walk, but moderation is the name of the game here

 

[Jacqui-S]

We do half hour in the morning then 30-45 mins afternoon or evening as an ideal but sometimes we are bad and doesn't get the later walk.
weekends it's a longer walk maybe 60-90 mins instead of the two shorter.
she's is very adaptable.
knew nothing about the 5 minute rule as a pup......

 

[Naya]

During the week, Harley gets 45-60 mins off lead late morning with my dog walker, then when I get home we do ‘find it’ games and training. Around 8.15pm she gets an on lead walk for 30-45 mins around our area.
On a weekend she gets around 1-2 hours off lead around, lots of training / fun games throughout the day, then her normal evening walk. If we have friends around, she refuses to go for an evening walk (worried she will miss out on something ?).