If you have to ask whether or not your dog is getting enough exercise, the answer is no, he is not.
Most of us realize and admit our dogs don’t get enough exercise, not even close. We accept that and live with the consequences. That is, we live with hyper, anxious, bored, loud, whining, obnoxious, territorial and unruly dogs. We’re OK with that, we settle for it.
Plus, if we aren’t getting enough exercise ourselves, how can we possibly make sure our dogs get enough exercise?
One of the easiest and most obvious things to do is get out there and walk more.
How far should I walk my dog?
Just as an example of how much exercise the average dog can handle, my 65-pound black lab mix has no problem running 20 miles while wearing a dog backpack. I am of course tired after running even 10 miles with no pack while Ace comes home eager to play a game of fetch. Obviously it wouldn’t be healthy for the average pet to run that far every day, but once or twice a week would be no problem for some breeds.
Ace is the most content whenever I’m training for a marathon because he goes along on all my long runs. I brought him to a weekly training group and I’d get comments like, “Can he really run this far?” My response would be, “If I can do it, he can.”
Josh and I take our dog on backpacking trips, and Ace easily covers the 10 miles or so each day while carrying his own gear. Josh and I are usually about to fall over. But most dogs can easily run as far as any person. So if you are thinking a 6- or 8-mile walk or run is too far for your dog, think again. You might get tired, but he probably won’t.
Obviously the length of walk a dog needs depends on each individual dog, taking into consideration his breed, age and health. We’ve all heard the phrase “a tired dog is a good dog,” but most of the time our dogs are not tired after a walk because they haven’t been walked far enough.
In general, dogs need a 30-minute walk every day just to get by.
But 30 minutes is nowhere near long enough. A 60-minute run every day would be ideal for most dogs. Keep in mind if you go running with your dog for an hour, he is only trotting at your side while you huff and puff.
I can cover about 6 miles an hour when I run with Ace. That’s why in the summer I like to bike with my dog so he can move at the speed he wants – fast! And this mutt is no border collie, springer spaniel or Jack Russell terrier. Some breeds have way more energy and endurance than others. I consider Ace pretty mellow as far as labs go. If you bike with your dog, you might be interested in a bike leash for dogs.
Exercise does more than anything to improve a dog’s behavior. When he’s had enough exercise, Ace is content to lie around the house and chill out. If my dog has a job to do (a structured walk), then he doesn’t feel the need to find other jobs such as guarding me, following me around, “supervising” the cats or barking at every sound that resembles a knock.
The best training tool is not showing leadership, enforcing rules, teaching commands or enrolling in an obedience class. The best training tool is to provide a dog with enough exercise.
Create mental challenges for your dog.
The walk itself is challenging for your dog if it is structured. Many people like to use the walk as a time to practice formal obedience like training your dog to heel and practicing random sits, stays, switching directions, etc. That is a great way to make your dog think.
Mental challenges for Ace include wearing his dog backpack or carrying something in his mouth. He likes to pick up random pieces of garbage – beer boxes, Mountain Dew bottles – and bring them to a garbage can.
If he is off leash, I make him heel before he’s “free.” Then I make sure to call him back to me randomly so he keeps checking in and watching where I am.
What do you do to challenge your dog?
Plan walks with your dog into your schedule.
My schedule with Ace varies from week to week, but I try to run or walk my dog for 20 minutes every day in the winter. That way he at least realizes how cold it is and won’t mind when we go inside. Dogs don’t understand time, so I doubt Ace knows the difference between a 20-minute walk and a 60-minute walk. Unfortunately, I see a big difference.
That’s why at least once a week I take Ace out for an hour or more in a quiet park where I either run with him or let him run and explore off leash while I walk. In the photo, Ace and I are at Gooseberry Park in Moorhead, Minn. Besides our walks, Ace gets an hour of agility a week and at least an hour of obedience training.
Is this enough exercise for my dog? No, but we manage. Between my Fargo pet sitting and dog-running business, I don’t always have enough time to walk my own dog.
Ideally, I would like to exercise my dog for an hour every day. In reality, that doesn’t happen. Obviously in North Dakota when it’s -20 for days at a time, it’s not always possible to be outside as much as we’d like. It’s also easy to use the cold – or the heat – as an excuse not to walk when really it’s life, not the weather, that’s in the way.
How do you provide exercise for your dogs? When was the last time you and your dog walked for more than an hour?
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I’ve been taking Jake to trick class, after his class yesterday he was OUT! I try to keep him mentally stimulated and that seems to wear on him pretty well.
Walter on the other hand, is really good at entertaining himself. He requires a lot less physical exercise and mental stimuli for him to be happy.
Oh I feel like a real lazy dog mom now! We go out to go potty and run back in because we are cold and low to the ground here at my house. I know that is not like a 6 mile run at all! And yes my dogs are cranky and fighting and obviously not getting enough exercise, etc. Come on springtime! When we do hike during the spring, summer and fall out here it is in the Delaware Water Gap in the Pocono Mountains. We have 4 dachshunds and a cocker spaniel that drag us up and down the mountains and cry when I have to stop to breathe and shake the burn out of my rickety legs! I wish I was a runner! My boys would LOVE it.
My husband thinks I’m crazy but during the week Biggie either goes to day care for the day (where he plays ALL day and comes home exhausted) 1-2x a week, or we go for a 2 mile walk to the dog run. At the run, he plays for 30-45 minutes. I do this pretty much every morning unless it’s pouring out, and we’ve been doing it in the below-zero temps as well. Thankfully we haven’t had an weekday blizzards and the “below-zero” temps are not too far below zero…
I think the dog-run-days are just enough to keep him calm and well-behaved; in the evenings he only gets 2 relief walks. I am lucky enough to have a flexible enough job where I can usually go in on the later side, so I get up early and spend quality time with him in the AM, while hubby does the relief walks in the evening.
On our morning walks I do try to work on good heeling and sitting at the corners and the like, it keeps him mentally stimulated and when we are in sync it really feels like we are dancing. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of times when I ask myself who took my wonder dog and substituted this stubborn, deaf, obnoxious puller instead.
Gus gets 2-3 hours hikes several times a week and walks a minimum of 1.5 hours every day. Fortunately, our weather cooperates most of the time so we are able to get out and get him out!
Apryl, that’s awesome! Good job with Gus!
Haha, nice work Biggie’s mom. You are really dedicated to him. You do much better than me!
I’m sure your dogs love it when they do get out for those hikes, Lori. I can just imagine you and all those dachshunds and your spaniel. I bet the dachshunds have tons of energy!
Vee, that trick class sounds cool. We don’t have a class like that here. What a great idea.
Wow! As a non-dog parent, this is a really good thing for me to think about. I’ve never had a dog as an adult. (we had a miniature poodle when I was a kid) Before we ever get a dog, we would seriously need to consider the time and energy we would need to put into exercise for the dog! It wouldn’t be fair to the dog if we weren’t willing to do that for him/her!!
Very nice post, and I like how you included that it’s not just the distance that you walk, hike, run or bike, but that it is also important to mentally challenge the dogs too. I know my guys come home from training classes where we did much less physical activity in proportion to the mental exercise that they got, and they are still exhausted. Both are necessary in my opinion.
It is a daily challenge to keep Jack occupied and calm. I have never seen a dog with so much busy energy! I try and walk him at least an hour every day, and do obedience training on walks and throughout the evening, but that can get a little boring during the winter when we can’t be outside for long. Your post is correct – it is life that interferes with the quality time spent with our canine friends. And, to be completely honest, sometimes it is hard to do what you know THEY need, and ignore what you want to do!
I know, I totally agree, Jen. Good for you for getting out for an hour every day. That is way more than most people.
Pickles and I take a structured walk every morning – usually 40-45 mins and it is not near enough. She is still rarin’ to go after these walks, but they certainly are better than nothing. We also play random mental games off & on, such as “find it”, the famous “guess which hand”, and normally have some run around time out in our field. All this helps, but she could handle a lot more.
Morning is the best time to fit a walk in for me too, right away. Otherwise I get too distracted and put it off.
It is so true – we can tell if our dogs don’t get their exercise for more than a day or two – it can get crazy with two 5.5 month GSDs! Thanks for stopping by our site! We will keep up with your postings.
For Tammy the non dog owner!
There are some dogs that you are not supposed to exercise much. One breed from what I understand is the great dane. Maybe lazy as I am, I should trade in my crazy weinerdogs for some danes?!
I have a friend who has a boxer, a cocker, 2 rotties and a doberman. Her dogs all take turns walking on a treadmill. The rotties pull sleds around with heavy bags of rock salt on them for “work”. Her dogs even let her cut their nails! Heh! I am impressed!
I have been extremely lucky. We just adopted a friend (Ruby)for our Bruno. Both of our dogs are great in that we can let them outside to run and play on our 5 acres and really not have to watch them. Although I still do watch. Because the amount of enjoyment that I get out of it is probably almost as much as they do. I watched them for about 45 minutes this morning. Chase, tackle, chase again etc. Then it was 15 minutes of digging in the snow. Then they came to the door and wanted in. Soon they were both sleeping on the couch together. Although Bruno is ready to go again in a flash. He doesn’t think he needs sleep unless there is absolutely nothing else to do.
Great advice. People wonder why their Dogs are playing up and when you ask about exercise they think a quick walk is sufficient.
Sounds like ace gets some fantastic exercise, you both sound an awful lot fitter than me. Just thinking of running for 10 miles brings me out in a sweat.
Just to let you know, I have added you to my just updated blogroll.
All the best.
Another important post!
We walk our golden retriever for at least an hour a day, unless it’s too cold, then we do about 30 minutes.
We walk him in the evening, between 5-7pm. I really want to make a habit of walking him in the mornings as well, so he doesn’t nap most of the day. A 20-minute walk every morning would complement greatly with his longer evening walk.
Plus my golden has gained weight lately, ever since he was operated two months ago. We change dhis kibble to ‘light’, but he has still gained weight, so I think I really should start walking him twice a day… it would be good for me too!
Hey Lori,
Great danes are not “lazy.” Sure, they might require less exercise than a German shepherd, but they require a long walk every day because of their size. After that, they are content to relax once they are 2 or 3 years old. A great dane pup is nowhere near low maintenance and they stay pups for a good two years. They are wonderful, gentle dogs but they need exercise like any other dog.
By the way, a treadmill is a great way to get a dog extra exercise. I don’t have one, but I’ve thought about it.
Christina, I can only imagine what it’s like to live with two German shepherd pups! Ha!
Shane, your dogs are lucky to have such a big yard and each other to chase around. I’m sure they still like to go for walks whenever you are willing, though.
Thanks for adding me to your blogroll, Three Dog.
Mayra, I need to get into the habit of two walks a day as well. You are lucky your husband is willing to walk the dog.
I love Great Danes actually! I have heard that they do require less exercise than other dogs, but I’m guessing as pups Lindsay’s right!
We’ll just have to do our research before we would decide to get any dog, and be sure that WE (the humans) are up for the exercise too!!
Oh yeah our dogs get to go just about everywhere with us except work. We have just started working with them on a leash. Due to the fact that they are new members of the family they have gotten a bit spoiled. So it is time to start the learning process.
We take our dogs out daily for a walk in the African bush. If we’re out for at least 30 minutes, we’re all good, but as it’s the bush, there’s so much to explore. Our Rhodesian Ridgeback adores when we take her to the huge rock formations and she gets to jump from one cliff to another, and it seems to tire her mentally too. She also adores going with us on trail rides, but since she is just a pup, we try to take things easy until she’s about a year old, so as not to provoke any hip problems. Our older dog is an Azawakh cross whom we adopted at the age of seven. A 10 min run next to my horse is amply sufficient to wear him out physically, although I am sure he could be trained for more.
Nice site by the way, will try to check in from time to time. Greetings from West Africa!
Hi Esther! Thanks for visiting my site. I love Rhodesian ridgebacks. They aren’t very common around here and most people don’t know what they are. They are very pretty dogs.
Oh man…we are HORRIBLE with our dogs. We try to compensate by taking the two younger dogs to daycare at least once a week. And Trooper gets agility training twice a week. I’ve started taking Timber with us to agility so that he can play in the field when we are done. But we really need to buckle down and work harder with Timber on a leash. He can be VERY destructive when he’s bored.
He he, I have to disagree, my dogs get a ton of exercise! With agility, flyball, obedience, and going to the park, I need to take a rest just thinking about it all.
Your dogs are lucky, Cynthia!
A little bit of exercise goes a long way. It not only improves a dog’s physical health; exercise is also therapeutic. When a dog exercises, endorphins are released in the brain which, in turn, allow him to feel more relaxed and calm. So the next time your dog is feeling anxious, take him for a long walk or run.
I run my year and half german shorthair pointer 6.2 miles a day. I am in training for my third marathon and we run at a easy 11 minute pace. She loves it and wants more but I am afraid to go too far with her. We are going to do our first 10k together in April.
Hey Ruth, that’s awesome that you are training for another marathon. I can’t imagine running without my dog. He goes on every single run with me. We also run at an easy pace. I do not claim to be fast! We usually do about 10-11 minute miles. Good luck on your 10K. And I’m guessing your dog can run further than 6 miles. Just don’t do too much too fast with her. She’ll let you know if she’s had enough.
my dog rudy will exercise evey day he will run in the woods for a hour and then plays catch for a hour then swims in our pund but her stell mess up the hours
In addition to a lot of exercise, dogs also need mental activities and rules, so make sure you are offering your dog enough training and structure.
Lindsay,
Thanks for this report- I was worried I was walking my Addy too much. I have three courses I use: 2 mile city street w/sidewalk, 3 mile some city streets/sidewalks- mostly wooded paths, and 5.5 miles- mostly sidewalk. The 5.5 usually takes 2 hours, but that is because Addy slows to a crawl at times- mostly up hill without a breeze. If in a rush, I do the 3 mile if it hasn’t rained in a day- which takes an hour, and worst case scenerio, the 2-mile, 30-45 min. I recently realized that when my legs and back start aching- I have to check my shoes- over mileage. Therfore, been keeping a log which really helps push yourself to do the 5.5 instead of the “weeney walks”.
It sounds like you are doing a great job exercising Addy. She is a lucky dog! I’ve heard that it’s best to get a new pair of shoes every 500 miles or so. I stretch mine out to about 1,000 miles but at that point I can really tell. I haven’t been as good exercising my dog lately as I was when I wrote this post. You’ve motivated me to make sure to get him out a little more!
Great reminder for all dog owners and those thinking of getting a dog. They definitely need their exercise!!! They love their long walks, but here is a great alternative exercise I’ve found works for my dogs on those rainy days when we just can’t get outside.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80CXzqoIixc&feature=youtu.be
That’s cute! My dog won’t chase laser pointers. My cats go nuts over that, though!
I agree with this post. Like humans I personally believe that dogs also need some good exercise. It doesn’t have to be daily if your dog is lazy but at least it’s 3-4 times a week. It’s for their own health also to avoid obesity and some health conditions that might threaten them.
And it gives them a mental workout, too!
I have been trying to lose weight and my dog loves it. We run three miles every morning at sunrise, walk two miles in the middle of the day, and another two miles before dinner. I am working my way up to four miles for our morning run. Dog provides the best motivation possible, because he gets very sulky if we don’t go out for our run. Better than having a personal trainer.
I agree! I feel guilty if I don’t get Ace out for some exercise!
I just walked my new 1yr old Black Retriever about 5 miles (2 hours) and I’m exhausted but he’s still bounding!! I have to give him at least that everyday if not more (and at least 2 or 3 separate walks) otherwise he’s just insanely hyperactive!
I take dogs running for about 5 miles and some of them are not tired at all when we get back. So I hear ya! Your dog is lucky to have someone who is dedicated to providing that much exercise. Imagine how crazy he’d be if you didn’t walk him that much!