My labrador is nearly 3 years old and is working breed. He gets about 2 hours of exercise per day( some off lead). I would like to know if this is sufficient or should he be more active?
Hi Royston, welcome to the forum I'd say that sounds about right, is there something in particular which is making you doubt it? Pippa has written about how much exercise Labs need on our main site - her article might be of interest to you.
I think it also depends on what they are doing the rest of the day. When they're not working, some days my labs only get a 20min whizz around the woods, but they do spend the rest of the day pottering around the smallholding (or, more likely, snoozing in the summerhouse!). If they are left alone all day while you work, then they will need more stimulation.
Hello Royston. Our 20 month old boy gets on average this time of year about an hour off lead, a training walk on lead as he has some leash issues and a late evening short walk before bed. When at home we have periodic sessions of play, nosework, training and brain stimulation toys. He sleeps when he wants an sometimes likes to just chill out chewing on one of his chewies. Rest of the time he potters about wherever I am when I'm home. Of course when weather is better and days longer we spend more time outside. However saying this we are retired which makes a big difference. We try to balance physical exercise with play and mental stimulation without overdoing it. At the end of the day, every dog is different. You seem to possibly have doubts that your dog is getting enough stimulation, hence the question, but think about what else you can manage to fit in for him besides physical exercise. There is lots of information on both the forum and Pippa's Labrador site which can be of help to you.
