Good morning! I have a big worry, amongst many other worries concerning my puppy, so thought I’d approach the forum for some help/guidance/calm. My puppy is excitable and loves to run and jump. She just has amazing energy which I’m grateful for but I worry about her young joints. We exercise around the yard, nothing too strenuous just chasing the ball or frisbee to get the zoomies out. But sometimes the zoomies take hold and she’ll just run and spin for a bit. We try to curtail any jumping as that worries me most. We’ll also go down to the beach, on leash, where we’ll walk for exercise and sometimes jog a little to chase birds. The beach walks happen only maybe twice a month. I try to be sure she naps several times a day for rest in between all the fun. I’m so lucky to have a happy, energetic puppy ... it’s just knowing how much exercise is safe keeps me awake at night. Could you please tell me ... am I worrying too much about whether to let her run and play and just be a puppy? If she has a strenuous day we pretty much take the next day a bit quieter. I would like to take her on a leashed hike/walk one day the end of August (she’ll be 5 months). Should I add that to my worry list? Thank you for your help!!
Generally they say to walk a puppy for 15 minutes plus 5 minutes for each month of age, so 5 months would be a walk of 40 minutes. Avoid any stairs if possible for the first 6 months. If the puppy is playing in a garden off lead then they will be able to stop themselves and lie down when they feel tired. Walking on lead they will keep going as they will be scared to be left behind. I think 5 months is far to young to be going on a hike as it will be significantly longer than 40 minutes. I think people don't usually take their pups out hiking until over 1 year old but I'm not 100% sure.
I go buy the 5 minutes per month of age so for my puppy who is 5 1/2 months she has 5 minute walk to the park in the morning where she runs around off lead or on long lead then 5 minutes back home and 15 minutes in the afternoon. Although we sometimes have to skip the afternoon walk due to the weather being too hot which is not a problem I anticipated living in England.
The type of exercise you want to avoid is 'forced' - either because it's on leash or because the pup feels under pressure to keep up with you (or be left behind). A pup left to their own devices to entertain themselves (not playing roughly with dogs for ages) should moderate things fine and be able to go at their own pace. See: https://www.avidog.com/how-much-exercise-do-puppies-need/ The research doesn't really support hugely underexercising puppies. In fact this paper found that "Factors associated with a decreased risk of developing HD included off-leash exercise from birth to 3 months of age, birth during the spring and summer, and birth on a farm." So - under-exercising your pup predisposes them to hip dysplasia.... but there is a happy medium, of course.
