Exercise. We all have to do it. Consider yourself lucky – with a puppy at home, you finally have the perfect motivation to get yourself off the couch and up and moving a little. But how much exercise does a puppy need and can you over-exercise a puppy?
Well, come rain or shine, our dogs love their walkies, and they’ll happily remind us. Regardless of their breed type, age or size, all dogs and puppies need to get out and about for both their physical and mental health and so do you. How’s that for a win-win situation?
We’re going to tell you all about puppy exercise in this article. Keep reading as we’ll be covering:
- The benefits of puppy exercise
- How much exercise does a puppy need?
- Different exercise tips for various breeds
- Can you over-exercise a puppy?
Oh, and we’ve even included a handy puppy exercise chart for you to check out.
If you’re not sure how much you should be exercising your puppy, you can always get expert advice from our team of Zigzag puppy coaches inside the Zigzag puppy training app. Download a trial today, and you’re just a hop, skip and jump away from a puppy coach in your pocket. Don’t believe us? Check out what the top dog training and behaviour organisations say about us.
When can I walk my puppy?
Puppies are susceptible to diseases, especially if they haven’t had all of their vaccines. They will get some immunity from their mothers; this is what protects them during the early life stages. Your puppy can be walked after their second vaccination round, which is usually 3 weeks after the first.
However, this does not mean that your puppy should be kept indoors, or unsocialised until this point. If you have a secure garden, then it is a good idea to use this to allow them to explore and experience the outside world. As well as socialising them with friends, and family, so that when they start their walking, they are too overwhelmed.
How do I exercise a puppy when it can’t go outside?
It can be frustrating for owners to try giving their puppy enough exercise and stimulation when they can’t go outside. However, there are plenty of activities that you can do with your puppy to make sure they are being socialised and well-stimulated.
Here are a few ways you can do it:
Playtime – lots of it
- Once you have puppy-proofed your garden, it can be used as the perfect space to let your pup run wild. If you live in a flat and don’t have access to a garden, then choose an area of our home, or a designated room, that your puppy can use instead.
- Giving your puppy their dinner in a Kong toy, or using a fun food dispensing toy can also be a brilliant way of helping them to focus and makes dinner time even more fun!
Socialisation and mental exercise
Socialisation and maintaining good mental exercise are great ways to tire your pup out, and when they are young, they can soak up information like sponges!
Start to incorporate some “normal” daily life tasks with them at this point, such as:
- Teach them about getting in the car. The early stages of their life, are considered a great time to introduce your pup to travelling. Do so slowly, by getting in the car with them and then giving them a treat just before getting out of it. You can slowly build this up to a short drive down the street and back.
- This is a great time to get your pup used to wear a harness and lead. Granted, their harness may be a bit too big for them to begin with, but as they grow, it will fit. So, it’s best to get them used to it sooner, rather than later.
- Giving your pup as big an opportunity as possible to learn how to sit, lay down, and stay is vital for their development. Starting this as early as possible will make sure they have the best chance to pick up and learn more commands along the way.
Lots of love and affection
Puppies are little bundles of energy, but they also love to have plenty of cuddles and downtime with their owners. Giving them much needed attention and affection will not only help you build a strong relationship with them, but will also help them trust you even more.
The Benefits of Puppy Exercise
Exercise has loads of benefits. Loads. Without exaggerating. Here are all the perks that exercise brings to your puppy’s life, and you can do these without overexercising your puppy, we promise.
1. Puppy exercise is important for physical health
Bit of an obvious one, but it’s true. Whether for humans or puppies, keeping our bodies moving helps us keep fit, our joints supple and muscles toned. Exercise also helps with digestive problems and constipation and helps us manage our (and our puppy’s) weight. A porky pup isn’t a good look. So anyway, as you can probably see already, the physical benefits of exercise really are endless.
2. Exercise is great for your puppy’s mental health
Yes! Exercise is essential for our puppy’s’ mental health too. Since it helps maintain energy levels, it releases loads of endorphins that help keep our pups balanced and calm.
3. Exercising your puppy has behavioural benefits
Going on walks regularly has a huge impact on your pup’s general behaviour. A well-stimulated and exercised puppy will be much less destructive at home, which we bet is something you’re happy to hear. It also helps reduce all sorts of unwanted behaviours such as excessive barking, hyperactivity, rough play and biting or just generally looking for mischief. If your pup is showing signs of any of these, it can be a good indication that extra exercise is needed. However, make sure to know when you might be over-exercising your pup since this can also lead to unwanted behaviours. In other words, somewhere in the middle is a good place to be. Keep reading and check out our puppy exercise chart!
4. Regular exercise helps with socialisation
Exercise and being outside gives puppies the chance to socialise with a variety of people and other dogs. Since we want our puppy to feel confident and navigate the world in the best way possible, exercise outside is vital – especially in less confident pups. They just need some time to shine.
5. Puppy exercise works wonders for bonding
There really is no better way to bond with your pup than enjoying a pleasing stroll. It’s a great time to spend quality time together and do a bit of training while you’re out and about. Get a head start and read our Lead Training a Puppy guide – you’ll find everything you need there.
How much exercise does a puppy need?
So how much exercise does a puppy need? And can you over exercise a puppy?
When it comes to pounding the pavements, there’s a very simple rule of thumb to follow that tells you exactly how much exercise a puppy needs and will protect your puppy’s joints as they fuse and develop:
5 MINUTES OF WALKING FOR EVERY MONTH OF YOUR PUPS AGE. MAXIMUM OF TWICE PER DAY.
Okay, so here it is in simpler terms. For example, a 4-month-old pup can walk 4 x 5 minutes which is 20 mins. In the end, this sums up to 2 x 20-minute walks per day.
A 5-month-old puppy can walk 5 x 5 minutes which is 25 mins, so 2 x 25-minute walks per day should do the trick. Simple! Here’s our puppy exercise chart to help you.
Puppy Exercise chart
| Puppy age in months | Walk Duration (maximum twice per day) |
| 2 | 10 minutes |
| 4 | 20 minutes |
| 6 | 30 minutes |
| 8 | 35 minutes |
| 10 | 50 minutes |
| 12 | 55 minutes |
As your puppy grows older, you will be able to enjoy much longer walks together, or even have a running companion.
Don’t forget that exercise isn’t limited to a good walk for puppies. It also includes anything that gets their heart pumping, such as ball games, tug games, and chase games.
Puppy exercise tips for different dog breeds
Different breeds of dogs have different needs in terms of exercise amounts and activity types. These needs can vary due to genetic differences in energy levels, shape and size. For example, some dog breeds can be more prone to developing arthritis, such as:
- Rottweilers (hips and elbows)
- German Shepherds (spine, hips, elbows)
- Bernese Mountain dogs (hips and elbows)
- Labradors and the crosses such as Labradoodles (hips and elbows)
- Springer Spaniels (hips and elbows)
- Golden Retrievers (hips)
As you can see, it’s essential with these breeds to stick to the recommended walking times whilst their joints are developing. This will reduce the risk of arthritis from affecting them in the future.
Some small breeds are also prone to joint damage – it isn’t only the large breeds with all the trouble. Here are some breeds you should have a particular lookout for:
- Daschunds
- Pugs
- Poodles or any hybrid poodle breed such as Cavapoos, Cockapoos and Maltipoos.
- Shelties
With these dog breeds, keep walks short and more frequent. Try to stay on softer ground like grassy areas or beaches, and keep the hard concrete pavements to a minimum. Oh, and remember to leave long distances or jumping out of your daily walk itinerary.
Breathing problems in some breeds such as Pugs, French Bulldogs, Boxers and British Bulldogs also have some special requirements when it comes to exercise. These breeds often have very flat faces and can struggle to take in oxygen, so make sure to never push your puppy to exercise for longer than they are capable. Take it slow and steady with them to build up their stamina. Refer back to our puppy exercise chart if you need to. This will tell you exactly how much exercise a puppy needs.
Can you over exercise a puppy?
So, can you over exercise a puppy? The short answer is yes. We all know everything in moderation, right? Aside from the impact on their joints that we’ve already talked about, over-exercising your puppy can have a pretty terrible impact on their behaviour, making them over-stimulated, tired and irritable. Talk about the worst combination. When it comes down to it, this can result in your puppy becoming destructive, bitey, forgetful when it comes to house training and unable to engage in any new training properly.
But you’ll be fine, simply stick to the exercise rule and provide plenty of enrichment and mental exercises. Your puppy will stay cool as a cucumber, and so will you.
There you have it, a nice and simple article on puppy exercise. You now have the complete lowdown on how much exercise a puppy needs and a handy puppy exercise chart to refer back to as the months pass by. Remember, you can over exercise a puppy!
In the Zigzag puppy training app, you’ll find loads more articles like this one, as well as step-by-step guides to training all aspects of your puppy; from sleeping schedules, toilet training, to alone training. Oh, and if you have any specific questions about your training journey, our expert puppy trainers will be thrilled if you reach out to them via a Whatsapp message, call or email. They’ll be happy to help.
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