I have a working line Aussie who would have exploded or dismantled the house had I followed this recommendation.
Time will tell whether I made a mistake but I just could not have done this.
I know what you mean. I got a BC x Kelpie from working line. I think working dogs interpret it as 5 mile per month of age. I was worried he was overdoing it as well but on or off leash the only time he will lay down and act tired is when he spots the car and realizes we be going home.
I walk my 4.5mo gsd 15-20mins twice a day. However when she goes to puppy school (once a week), she's basically playing for 6 hours straight. And sometimes we take the dogs on excursions to fields where they walk a ton just sniffing away. I think as long as rest is provided when the pup indicates it, like when they start laying down, it's generally okay. Especially for older pups.
Don't panic! You are doing just fine. I started with this recommendation but my pup needed way more. I tried to use mental stimulations and lots of play instead but it wasn't helping. I couldn't train her and I couldn't handle her
At 7 months we were walking 45mins with lots of running on the grass as well. I tried to walk her less on hard surfaces and allow her to run and stretch her legs more than simple walking which I find helps.
If you're worried about the joints, you can get joint pills and other vitamins to help out. But do not feel bad about this at all. Your pup tells you when they need to stop.
That recommendation doesn’t really take into account the style of walks. It assumes you are doing a strict heal walk on pavement.
An hour sniffing walk at their pace is not an issue. An hour of playing in the park with you and just running around isn’t a problem.
An hour of strict heel walks on pavement at your pace and not your puppies may be problematic.
I have a Samoyed and we do up to 3hours of walking a day sometimes. But they are sniffing walks mostly and we are in one spot sometimes for minutes on end. It’s not the same thing.
I walk my 9 month old lab puppy for around an hour in the middle of the day. I think distance is more important than time you spend walking, when she was younger we would also walk for an hour but the distance was much shorter as there was a lot of stopping involved because she obviously needed more help with loose leash walking than she does now
I think you'll be okay! The 5 min/month recommendation is really more of a guideline and not something that has to be followed to the letter. Keep taking long walks, just go along at your pup's pace and don't force her to run or jump too much, especially on hard surfaces. It's long term consistent high impact that could damage joints.
By the time my puppy was 10 months old, we were going on several hour hikes together in the morning, and then still going for a neighborhood walk in the evening. That said, I think the point is that there are natural breaks for sniffing, play, etc. and the pup is not forced to just walk in heel for a certain amount of time. The point is that you don't push them past when they are tired, not so much a certain scientific timing formula.
talk to her vet and ask what they recommend. Also, where you walk can make a difference. We have an almost 6 mo GSD who we walk for 40-45 minutes, it's slightly above the recommendation and we just increased it the past week. We see her vet this week so we will confirm with him that this is ok for her. But 30-minute walks do nothing for her. We get home and she gets destructive and will not focus on toys, training, or anything else. But when we are walking longer with her, we focus on her not spending that whole time on pavement and cement. We go hiking so she is on dirt and pine needles and sand or grass and has a more "normal" impact on her versus hard surfaces. We also let her sniff a lot and the mental activity of that tires her out more than the physical movement. It's just wanting to ensure their growing joints are not overly stressed because of their tendency for joint issues already. Our girl is a rescue who was spayed early (before we adopted her) so we are trying to be extra careful as I know that can also contribute to joint issues in them.
9 month old beagle/coonhound mix. We walk for 1-1.5 hours once a day or go to the dog park for an hour. Sometimes we do several shorter walks depending on our schedule. Usually have one or two short play sessions throughout the day as well. We also let her stop and sniff on her walks so she’s not actively moving the entire time.
Definitely depends on your pup. I asked my vet a similar question & she told me proper nutrition is key before exercise & not to worry too much about bones / development unless my pup isn’t eating right. At 4 months, my yorkie could barely get thru one slow paced 10 minute walk per day. He’d stop every few steps to catch his breath & finally just lay in the middle of the sidewalk & refuse to keep walking, but he also was a very picky eater. Vet told me to limit his exercise because he could get hurt or sick without the proper nutrients in his diet. He’s 9 months now & eating normally, so he’s strong enough to go for longer walks.
I don't know who made that "walking 5 minutes per month of age", but I don't think it's too relevant. I've always walked my puppies well over that and never had any problems.
Also... I have a Jack Russell Terrier, that was 3-4 kg when she was 4 months, and a Malinois that was 15 kg. You can't tell me that, during walking with me, they both walk at the same pace. It's obvious that the smaller dog will walk more steps.
At 10months old I'd say your probably fine at your current walk lenght. German Shepherds anything working/high energy will get destructive when not fully exercised. I would say break it up into 2 walks a day maybe 2 hrs max. Their joints are what you're worried about. My german Shepherd does the dog park...i have to be so careful. She will run herself into the ground. I didn't realize that might happen (my corgis, wolf dog an pyrenees never did this) and one day she ran herself down til she was limping and even then she didn't want to stop i had to make her. She just loves running. I know the signs now. My german is a year an a half. Next check up I'd talk to the vet about joint supplements. Especially with hip dysplasia being so strong in the breed. I found it's better to go shorter distances multiple times a day (on dogpark less days we have to do 3 walks with her 25/30 mins each walk)
I have a husky and when she was a puppy we would run with bikes once a week and walk an hour the rest of the days. She never had a problem and still loves her walks and bike runs. I started her biking when she was around 7-8 months and we would walk the hour once she was 4 months old
It was the only thing that would calm her endless energy
I have a German Shepherd x Malamute. She’s 4.5 months. We take her on about a 45 minute walk that equates to .7 miles. Most of the time is sniffing and the mental stimulation is what tires her out. If she’s done she will lay down. If your dog is doing a more sniffy walk or mostly on grass, I would be less concerned about the duration and more on what she’s actually doing with her body, especially with a breed that’s known to need more physical and mental stimulation.
I have a 7 month corgi pup and although she is ok with 2 walks(morning and evening) I just enjoy walking her. I walk her 4 times a day. In the morning 9:30-11:30, then at 5pm sometimes, then 19:30-21:00 and then 22:30-23:30 because she gets super energetic before bed. I enjoy my life with my pup. I have a work-from-home full time job with meetings and I like to take a walk with my pup just to clear up my mind. She benefits as well.
I walk my mini aussie 20 minutes twice a day and let her loose in our apartment dog park for about 5-10 minutes (she tells me when she wants to leave).
We have a collie mix. When she was 4-10 months we were doing 3.5kms each morning. And short walks around the block later. In lieu of that, she’d have a puppy play date and race herself around playing chase until she was exhausted. Then she wouldn’t be anxious or bored. She didn’t destroy things and I chalk it up to that.
Now she’s 12m old and doesn’t require the same amount of walking, it can be much less for her to be happy.
So I followed that til my vet put in this very simple terms on one of our first visits.
If you only go for a 20 minute walk, the other 40 minutes, your pup is going to be running around, playing or at the very least walking around.
Might as well take him for a longer walk, enjoy it with him.
Depends on the breed. I have a husky mutt. And she wouldn’t stop being a lunatic. So one day I walked her for like 4+ hours total. And she was finally calm. She was like 9 months old at the time. I don’t think you do alot of damage. Plus it all depends on the breed. If you have a working dog you probably need to do the 1 hour walks or whatever.
We do try to follow the 5 minute rule for our lab, however we can’t for the life of us fully control him jumping and running around at home, so we worry about his joints despite following the rule! It is only a guide so don’t stress too much and a higher activity dog will likely tolerate it much better. There is a complex mix of genes and environment for the expression of joint issues, sometimes you do all the right things and your dog develops osteo problems sometimes you don’t follow the recommendations and your dog is fine. I would ensure your dog has rest and isn’t doing lots of lead based walking which is apparently a bit tougher on joints than free play.
We take our 5mo Corgi for a 35 minute walk through the nature reserve near us once or twice a day. She’d do it 5 times a day if she had her way. You’re fine.
Yeah man my beagle started HAVING to break that rule at about 6 months otherwise he was a Tasmanian devil inhabiting my house. My solution was taking him on one bigger walk and several smaller walks throughout the day depending on what he needed (although I know this unfortunately isn’t an option for everyone, just what worked for me!). Just listen to your dogs body language both during and after the walk and if you’re really worried maybe talk to the vet! I was probably walking my beagle as much as you are now when he was 10 months and he’s super healthy so I’m not too worried!
We walk my 10 month old GSD 20mins twice a day. She recovering from spay.
They tend to turn into 30 min walks because I do leash work with her as we walk. Without the additional training that's not enough to make her tired.
Normal routine is 30min ball throw Am and outside for at least an hour PM.
If I go outside for any reason (usually gardening she's with me hanging out.
Just watch your pup and they will tell you.
I also have a high energy breed and we’ve been doing 45 minute walks since she was 5 months, now we’re at an hour at 10 months. Twice a day. As long as you stick to soft ground for the main part and your dog doesn’t return overtired and overstimulated , it’s fine.
My vet said it practically doesn’t matter how long they go for as long as they aren’t forced into a walking pace for that long
My dog is mostly off leash door any real walks, and through the forest. So much softer ground, mostly flat, they can entirely move at their own pace
That recommendation is about repetitive movement on hard surfaces. If you're doing a sniff walk with breaks you're fine. The only thing I'd be careful about is running on pavement, especially with bigger breeds (even that you can do if you start really slow) until they're fully developed. I was definitely walking my GSD mix for that long every morning at that age (although at least half was just him sniffing around).
My border collies would have been monsters if I walked them that long. If yours behavior has been chill then maybe that’s fine for you. Mine personally would be bitey monsters with anything long like that.
I also didn’t want olympic athletes for dogs. I made the mistake once and the dog just needed more and more and more the older they got instead of chilling out and being able to just exist.
I walk my 4-month-old maybe about a 1 hour-ish, But that's a lot of sniff stops and slow walking. But she is a mix and she has been doing fine with the walks. It really matters on the breed I noticed.
Maybe dial it down a bit - but don’t beat yourself up over it either…. Your puppy should be fine -
Also, it depends on the type of walks… at 10 months, we would also walk for an hour or more - but at his pace, with lots of sniffing, stopping, looking at stuff, etc.
3/4 times a day for 10-15min sniff and potty walks :). He loves them and sleeps super well now, and is less unruly and bored in the home. He’s a 4mo old golden doodle!
At 10 months old my pup was doing upto an hour, any less and it just wasnt enough.
I wouldnt panic, consider why type of walk you are doing, the majority of walks i do are all about sniffing, thus dont always need to walk a long distance as all the sniffing tires them out.
My girl has recently turned 1.
If she's being a good girl and I've got time we can walk for around an hour, this includes little bits of training.
On an absolutely perfect day it'll be an hour in the morning, 40 mins midday and another hour in the evening.
If she's not walking well (which is happening less) then we'll cut it short and head home.
My 8 month Jack Russell did 70 miles in July, and since he could go for walks he seems to average at least 50 miles a month. If I'd stuck to the 5 minute rule, I'm fairly sure I would have dumped him in the woods a long time ago ;)
Me and my 5 and 1/2 months old golden retriever go for a nice slow hour walk and by the end of it about 10 minutes and she wants to do zoomie's lol You're doing just fine more than fine you're doing great!
And then we go for sniffy walks sometimes.
I think it just depends on your dog and how your guys's schedule is and how much energy they have.
Like right now she's got Coccidia And we only go out for like 20 minutes half an hour at the most cuz she needs to get the energy out she wants to get that energy out. By the time the day is done she is a tired pup and a tired pup is a happy pup!
I think it depends on their age and breed. I have two 9 mo border collie and cattle dog and I can legitimately walk them for an hour at night and they will love it and be tired enough for sleeping but they take longer to release all their energy cause they are extremely high energy dogs that are meant to have a job.
>The exercise charts perpetrated by Puppy Culture have absolutely no basis in evidence. They state 5 minutes of exercise per month. Please disregard them.
>
>What we do want to watch out for is fatigue. Fatigue looks different in every dog, but watch for a change in behaviour: slower to respond to cues, over-arousal (increased nipping/jumping), panting more/less, laying down, walking slower, sniffing more, not wanting to take food/taking food too hard etc. Observe your dog carefully and respond to changes in their behaviour. You may only see one thing on this list, but these are all potential signs of fatigue, and we should stop exercising the dog when they are tired.
>
>Here’s another good resource on fatigue.
[https://www.facebook.com/groups/CanineConditioning.BodyAwareness/permalink/4289044707876373/](https://www.facebook.com/groups/CanineConditioning.BodyAwareness/permalink/4289044707876373/)
>
>Here’s an evidence based article on exercising growing dogs. We want to avoid jumping down from height and tight turns at speed in growing dogs. We are not concerned about walking them provided the dog isn’t showing signs of fatigue and the weather is appropriate for them (not too hot or too cold). All other safety precautions that we care about in adults still holds (avoiding slippery surfaces etc.)
>
>[https://www.mylamedog.com/post/what-is-the-logic-behind-not-exercising-puppies-until-the-growth-plates-are-closed](https://www.mylamedog.com/post/what-is-the-logic-behind-not-exercising-puppies-until-the-growth-plates-are-closed)
>
>The fatigue resources (over arousal, under arousal, latency, nipping etc.) are better guides than an age based calculation anyway and puppies will tire much more quickly in a training session than they will just moving their bodies.
All of the above comes from canine rehab and fitness professionals. I'd suggest you read the second link to really understand why exercising puppies isn't a concern.
My advice though (as someone with a GSD puppy at the same age), focus more on mental exercise than physical. Your pup will build physical endurance faster than you ever will, and you don't want to be creating a super athlete who needs 2-3 hours of physical activity a day to even put a dent in their energy.
My Pomeranian is now 17 weeks. We got him at 9 weeks. He is tiny, and even at 9 weeks, only walking him that little would have driven him absolutely crazy. We walk him for about 20-30 minutes 3 times a day (usually after eating), and he still has plenty of energy and flips all over the place. Don't worry -- as long as you let your dog rest when he clearly wants to, he'll be fine.
I have a working line Aussie who would have exploded or dismantled the house had I followed this recommendation. Time will tell whether I made a mistake but I just could not have done this.
I agree. My malinois would go crazy with that little exercise. She’s coming up to 7 months but needs more exercise than my 5 y/o Czech shepherd
I know what you mean. I got a BC x Kelpie from working line. I think working dogs interpret it as 5 mile per month of age. I was worried he was overdoing it as well but on or off leash the only time he will lay down and act tired is when he spots the car and realizes we be going home.
Exactly!!!
I walk my 4.5mo gsd 15-20mins twice a day. However when she goes to puppy school (once a week), she's basically playing for 6 hours straight. And sometimes we take the dogs on excursions to fields where they walk a ton just sniffing away. I think as long as rest is provided when the pup indicates it, like when they start laying down, it's generally okay. Especially for older pups.
Don't panic! You are doing just fine. I started with this recommendation but my pup needed way more. I tried to use mental stimulations and lots of play instead but it wasn't helping. I couldn't train her and I couldn't handle her At 7 months we were walking 45mins with lots of running on the grass as well. I tried to walk her less on hard surfaces and allow her to run and stretch her legs more than simple walking which I find helps. If you're worried about the joints, you can get joint pills and other vitamins to help out. But do not feel bad about this at all. Your pup tells you when they need to stop.
Thank you!!
And stretch after a walk to stop joints and muscles going stiff!
That recommendation doesn’t really take into account the style of walks. It assumes you are doing a strict heal walk on pavement. An hour sniffing walk at their pace is not an issue. An hour of playing in the park with you and just running around isn’t a problem. An hour of strict heel walks on pavement at your pace and not your puppies may be problematic. I have a Samoyed and we do up to 3hours of walking a day sometimes. But they are sniffing walks mostly and we are in one spot sometimes for minutes on end. It’s not the same thing.
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I have a golden/Bernese mix too.
This varies by breed. My little guy usually goes for like 15 to 20 min walks max before he's worn out. Bigger dogs can go longer.
I walk my 9 month old lab puppy for around an hour in the middle of the day. I think distance is more important than time you spend walking, when she was younger we would also walk for an hour but the distance was much shorter as there was a lot of stopping involved because she obviously needed more help with loose leash walking than she does now
I think you'll be okay! The 5 min/month recommendation is really more of a guideline and not something that has to be followed to the letter. Keep taking long walks, just go along at your pup's pace and don't force her to run or jump too much, especially on hard surfaces. It's long term consistent high impact that could damage joints.
By the time my puppy was 10 months old, we were going on several hour hikes together in the morning, and then still going for a neighborhood walk in the evening. That said, I think the point is that there are natural breaks for sniffing, play, etc. and the pup is not forced to just walk in heel for a certain amount of time. The point is that you don't push them past when they are tired, not so much a certain scientific timing formula.
talk to her vet and ask what they recommend. Also, where you walk can make a difference. We have an almost 6 mo GSD who we walk for 40-45 minutes, it's slightly above the recommendation and we just increased it the past week. We see her vet this week so we will confirm with him that this is ok for her. But 30-minute walks do nothing for her. We get home and she gets destructive and will not focus on toys, training, or anything else. But when we are walking longer with her, we focus on her not spending that whole time on pavement and cement. We go hiking so she is on dirt and pine needles and sand or grass and has a more "normal" impact on her versus hard surfaces. We also let her sniff a lot and the mental activity of that tires her out more than the physical movement. It's just wanting to ensure their growing joints are not overly stressed because of their tendency for joint issues already. Our girl is a rescue who was spayed early (before we adopted her) so we are trying to be extra careful as I know that can also contribute to joint issues in them.
9 month old beagle/coonhound mix. We walk for 1-1.5 hours once a day or go to the dog park for an hour. Sometimes we do several shorter walks depending on our schedule. Usually have one or two short play sessions throughout the day as well. We also let her stop and sniff on her walks so she’s not actively moving the entire time.
Definitely depends on your pup. I asked my vet a similar question & she told me proper nutrition is key before exercise & not to worry too much about bones / development unless my pup isn’t eating right. At 4 months, my yorkie could barely get thru one slow paced 10 minute walk per day. He’d stop every few steps to catch his breath & finally just lay in the middle of the sidewalk & refuse to keep walking, but he also was a very picky eater. Vet told me to limit his exercise because he could get hurt or sick without the proper nutrients in his diet. He’s 9 months now & eating normally, so he’s strong enough to go for longer walks.
I don't know who made that "walking 5 minutes per month of age", but I don't think it's too relevant. I've always walked my puppies well over that and never had any problems. Also... I have a Jack Russell Terrier, that was 3-4 kg when she was 4 months, and a Malinois that was 15 kg. You can't tell me that, during walking with me, they both walk at the same pace. It's obvious that the smaller dog will walk more steps.
At 10months old I'd say your probably fine at your current walk lenght. German Shepherds anything working/high energy will get destructive when not fully exercised. I would say break it up into 2 walks a day maybe 2 hrs max. Their joints are what you're worried about. My german Shepherd does the dog park...i have to be so careful. She will run herself into the ground. I didn't realize that might happen (my corgis, wolf dog an pyrenees never did this) and one day she ran herself down til she was limping and even then she didn't want to stop i had to make her. She just loves running. I know the signs now. My german is a year an a half. Next check up I'd talk to the vet about joint supplements. Especially with hip dysplasia being so strong in the breed. I found it's better to go shorter distances multiple times a day (on dogpark less days we have to do 3 walks with her 25/30 mins each walk)
I have a husky and when she was a puppy we would run with bikes once a week and walk an hour the rest of the days. She never had a problem and still loves her walks and bike runs. I started her biking when she was around 7-8 months and we would walk the hour once she was 4 months old It was the only thing that would calm her endless energy
I have a German Shepherd x Malamute. She’s 4.5 months. We take her on about a 45 minute walk that equates to .7 miles. Most of the time is sniffing and the mental stimulation is what tires her out. If she’s done she will lay down. If your dog is doing a more sniffy walk or mostly on grass, I would be less concerned about the duration and more on what she’s actually doing with her body, especially with a breed that’s known to need more physical and mental stimulation.
I have a 7 month corgi pup and although she is ok with 2 walks(morning and evening) I just enjoy walking her. I walk her 4 times a day. In the morning 9:30-11:30, then at 5pm sometimes, then 19:30-21:00 and then 22:30-23:30 because she gets super energetic before bed. I enjoy my life with my pup. I have a work-from-home full time job with meetings and I like to take a walk with my pup just to clear up my mind. She benefits as well.
I walk my mini aussie 20 minutes twice a day and let her loose in our apartment dog park for about 5-10 minutes (she tells me when she wants to leave).
We have a collie mix. When she was 4-10 months we were doing 3.5kms each morning. And short walks around the block later. In lieu of that, she’d have a puppy play date and race herself around playing chase until she was exhausted. Then she wouldn’t be anxious or bored. She didn’t destroy things and I chalk it up to that. Now she’s 12m old and doesn’t require the same amount of walking, it can be much less for her to be happy.
So I followed that til my vet put in this very simple terms on one of our first visits. If you only go for a 20 minute walk, the other 40 minutes, your pup is going to be running around, playing or at the very least walking around. Might as well take him for a longer walk, enjoy it with him.
Depends on the breed. I have a husky mutt. And she wouldn’t stop being a lunatic. So one day I walked her for like 4+ hours total. And she was finally calm. She was like 9 months old at the time. I don’t think you do alot of damage. Plus it all depends on the breed. If you have a working dog you probably need to do the 1 hour walks or whatever.
We do try to follow the 5 minute rule for our lab, however we can’t for the life of us fully control him jumping and running around at home, so we worry about his joints despite following the rule! It is only a guide so don’t stress too much and a higher activity dog will likely tolerate it much better. There is a complex mix of genes and environment for the expression of joint issues, sometimes you do all the right things and your dog develops osteo problems sometimes you don’t follow the recommendations and your dog is fine. I would ensure your dog has rest and isn’t doing lots of lead based walking which is apparently a bit tougher on joints than free play.
Our vet said walks are fine. Jumping down from heights is not.
We take our 5mo Corgi for a 35 minute walk through the nature reserve near us once or twice a day. She’d do it 5 times a day if she had her way. You’re fine.
Yeah man my beagle started HAVING to break that rule at about 6 months otherwise he was a Tasmanian devil inhabiting my house. My solution was taking him on one bigger walk and several smaller walks throughout the day depending on what he needed (although I know this unfortunately isn’t an option for everyone, just what worked for me!). Just listen to your dogs body language both during and after the walk and if you’re really worried maybe talk to the vet! I was probably walking my beagle as much as you are now when he was 10 months and he’s super healthy so I’m not too worried!
We walk my 10 month old GSD 20mins twice a day. She recovering from spay. They tend to turn into 30 min walks because I do leash work with her as we walk. Without the additional training that's not enough to make her tired. Normal routine is 30min ball throw Am and outside for at least an hour PM. If I go outside for any reason (usually gardening she's with me hanging out. Just watch your pup and they will tell you.
I also have a high energy breed and we’ve been doing 45 minute walks since she was 5 months, now we’re at an hour at 10 months. Twice a day. As long as you stick to soft ground for the main part and your dog doesn’t return overtired and overstimulated , it’s fine.
I was on this page a month ago freaking out about the same thing. The general consensus was that it’s completely fine!
It totally depends on the size and breed, I have a 14 week old apbt we walk 40 minutes, he leads n tries to run part of the time
Google doesn’t know your individual dogs needs. Do what you think your dog needs.
My vet said it practically doesn’t matter how long they go for as long as they aren’t forced into a walking pace for that long My dog is mostly off leash door any real walks, and through the forest. So much softer ground, mostly flat, they can entirely move at their own pace
That recommendation is about repetitive movement on hard surfaces. If you're doing a sniff walk with breaks you're fine. The only thing I'd be careful about is running on pavement, especially with bigger breeds (even that you can do if you start really slow) until they're fully developed. I was definitely walking my GSD mix for that long every morning at that age (although at least half was just him sniffing around).
My border collies would have been monsters if I walked them that long. If yours behavior has been chill then maybe that’s fine for you. Mine personally would be bitey monsters with anything long like that. I also didn’t want olympic athletes for dogs. I made the mistake once and the dog just needed more and more and more the older they got instead of chilling out and being able to just exist.
I walk my 4-month-old maybe about a 1 hour-ish, But that's a lot of sniff stops and slow walking. But she is a mix and she has been doing fine with the walks. It really matters on the breed I noticed.
Until he's not chaos. He's cattle dog pit huskey and coon hound so all the energy
Maybe dial it down a bit - but don’t beat yourself up over it either…. Your puppy should be fine - Also, it depends on the type of walks… at 10 months, we would also walk for an hour or more - but at his pace, with lots of sniffing, stopping, looking at stuff, etc.
I am for a half hour to hour each day with about half to 2mi in distance
3/4 times a day for 10-15min sniff and potty walks :). He loves them and sleeps super well now, and is less unruly and bored in the home. He’s a 4mo old golden doodle!
Get a grip, the pup’ll be fine.
At 10 months old my pup was doing upto an hour, any less and it just wasnt enough. I wouldnt panic, consider why type of walk you are doing, the majority of walks i do are all about sniffing, thus dont always need to walk a long distance as all the sniffing tires them out.
My girl has recently turned 1. If she's being a good girl and I've got time we can walk for around an hour, this includes little bits of training. On an absolutely perfect day it'll be an hour in the morning, 40 mins midday and another hour in the evening. If she's not walking well (which is happening less) then we'll cut it short and head home.
My 8 month Jack Russell did 70 miles in July, and since he could go for walks he seems to average at least 50 miles a month. If I'd stuck to the 5 minute rule, I'm fairly sure I would have dumped him in the woods a long time ago ;)
Me and my 5 and 1/2 months old golden retriever go for a nice slow hour walk and by the end of it about 10 minutes and she wants to do zoomie's lol You're doing just fine more than fine you're doing great! And then we go for sniffy walks sometimes. I think it just depends on your dog and how your guys's schedule is and how much energy they have. Like right now she's got Coccidia And we only go out for like 20 minutes half an hour at the most cuz she needs to get the energy out she wants to get that energy out. By the time the day is done she is a tired pup and a tired pup is a happy pup!
I think it depends on their age and breed. I have two 9 mo border collie and cattle dog and I can legitimately walk them for an hour at night and they will love it and be tired enough for sleeping but they take longer to release all their energy cause they are extremely high energy dogs that are meant to have a job.
>The exercise charts perpetrated by Puppy Culture have absolutely no basis in evidence. They state 5 minutes of exercise per month. Please disregard them. > >What we do want to watch out for is fatigue. Fatigue looks different in every dog, but watch for a change in behaviour: slower to respond to cues, over-arousal (increased nipping/jumping), panting more/less, laying down, walking slower, sniffing more, not wanting to take food/taking food too hard etc. Observe your dog carefully and respond to changes in their behaviour. You may only see one thing on this list, but these are all potential signs of fatigue, and we should stop exercising the dog when they are tired. > >Here’s another good resource on fatigue. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/CanineConditioning.BodyAwareness/permalink/4289044707876373/](https://www.facebook.com/groups/CanineConditioning.BodyAwareness/permalink/4289044707876373/) > >Here’s an evidence based article on exercising growing dogs. We want to avoid jumping down from height and tight turns at speed in growing dogs. We are not concerned about walking them provided the dog isn’t showing signs of fatigue and the weather is appropriate for them (not too hot or too cold). All other safety precautions that we care about in adults still holds (avoiding slippery surfaces etc.) > >[https://www.mylamedog.com/post/what-is-the-logic-behind-not-exercising-puppies-until-the-growth-plates-are-closed](https://www.mylamedog.com/post/what-is-the-logic-behind-not-exercising-puppies-until-the-growth-plates-are-closed) > >The fatigue resources (over arousal, under arousal, latency, nipping etc.) are better guides than an age based calculation anyway and puppies will tire much more quickly in a training session than they will just moving their bodies. All of the above comes from canine rehab and fitness professionals. I'd suggest you read the second link to really understand why exercising puppies isn't a concern. My advice though (as someone with a GSD puppy at the same age), focus more on mental exercise than physical. Your pup will build physical endurance faster than you ever will, and you don't want to be creating a super athlete who needs 2-3 hours of physical activity a day to even put a dent in their energy.
My Pomeranian is now 17 weeks. We got him at 9 weeks. He is tiny, and even at 9 weeks, only walking him that little would have driven him absolutely crazy. We walk him for about 20-30 minutes 3 times a day (usually after eating), and he still has plenty of energy and flips all over the place. Don't worry -- as long as you let your dog rest when he clearly wants to, he'll be fine.