I have a 5month old Golden boy and have been carefully sticking to the 5 minutes per month of age rule, but he has more energy than either of us know what to do with.
My previous two were both pups so wore each other out playing together.
He has a good size garden to play in, lots of toys and chewy things and I try to give him mental stimulation too.  He has Nina Ottison puzzle toys, we do training and play games like "find it" with bits of cheese hidden around.  But by 8.00pm he is still bouncing around like a loony and I am exhausted.
My question is -- is it just "pavement pounding" that does the damage or walking of any kind?  We are a 10 min (hard surface) walk from fields so could we use up the allotted time walking there and back and also walk around the field as well?

My take on the five minute rule is that it refers to a fixed pace walk on hard surfaces, time playing or sniffing round a field, doesn't count.
I was in a similar position to you although the field was only a couple of minutes away. I would take her to the field then wander about it, zig zagging about, playing come to me games, but mainly letting her go at her pace apart from the recall games. I began to notice that she would do a zoomie when she was begining to get tired and that was our signal to go home

Thanks Jodi.  He does the zoomies in the evening too and I have worried that that is harmful, although he does do it round and round the lawn so not on a hard surface.

I've been wondering about this too.  My pup is only tiny though and does have my adolescent dog to play with, but he is very energetic.

My question is: when do you stop following the rule?  I imagine it would be different ages for different sizes as they mature at different rates - or would you just assume 12 months?

I agree.the rule is for enforced lead type.walking not having zoimies around tje garden. I think the general idea is roughly a year.the bigger the breed the more.careful I have been . The other way of tiring your pup is mental exercises , obedience training for.everyday life.short 5 mins of.that will help him tire and also you will be helping your bonding and having a well behaved dog. THe other thing that is important  particularly  with bigger breeds is no jumping in to things or out nostairs.coming down is worse then up .toy breeds it's less of problem but not something to forget.anyway that's my take on it  and personal opinion

My opinion is that it is dependent on size about how long you follow the 5minute rule, small dogs mature earlier then large ones. Giant breeds should probably be kept on restriction until 18 months I would think, perhaps a giant breed owner on here could clarify?

When I got my first golden thirty years ago, the breeder even then said to not to go on long walks until she was about a year old in order to protect the bones and ligaments and I've pretty much stuck to that with all the Goldens I've owned, it's fairly recent that the five minute rule has been talked about, but it seems to be a good rule of thumb to my mind.

Training is a really good way of brain tiring a dog, but many pups and young dogs do have manic periods in the evening whatever you do and it's usually from about 6 - 8pm. I've always felt it was something that young dogs needed in order to expend that last bit of energy before having a deep nighttime sleep.

I've found that settling the dog down with an interesting chew helps as chewing is sophorific and will help your pup to settle down for the night. Unfortunately the best attention holding chews tend to be smelly ones. I get the dried beef hide type chews from zooplus, not the light brown strips you see in shops, but things like dried scalp strips or non filled cow hooves.

The other important thing for me is not to consider neutering until at least mature if at all. Among other things it will help protect joints and ligaments if the dogg is entire. Good point about chewing , mine are raw fed so a chicken carcass or similar , hooves etc  good too

I stick to it until the dog is a year old - I follow it twice a day so by that point, assuming I hadn't already reached my preferred walking amount (which for me is around 45m), the dog would have built up to two hours' walking a day.  Plenty of any breed, of any size, and enough buildup to allow for extra.

What I tell puppy customers is that the 5 minute rule is for on-lead walking on hard surfaces - there is leeway when walking on soft ground but I also tell them not to go too nuts.  Do a long walk once a week if they want, but not every day - there are people who would cheerfully walk a young puppy for three hours or more on a the beach every day to try and tire them out!

I would add the excellent previous posts only that you do need to keep an eye on the puppy's weight, I had a GSD that I bred brought back to visit and was horrified at how fat he was at a year old, they had been following strict exercise rules but forgotten that over weighting joints can be harmful too

I stuck to the 5 minute rule with my Golden and believe it was a wise decision. He is now almost 11 years old and only retired from a long agility career last year - and that wasn't because he could no longer run, jump and weave but purely because he was no longer happy having to lower his body through the tunnels at speed.

He is as fit as a fiddle, lean and well muscled and I believe it is due to his active life style and careful preservation of his joints when he was a pup. He was a rescue at 9 weeks old so I had no idea what state his parents' hips were in but I know hip problems can be a major problem in his breed.

At 5 months old they are still very young and evenings seem to be the time when most pups get a huge fit of the zoomies - I know he certainly did. Brain training is brilliant for any dog and is just as tiring as physical exercise. It is enforced walking that is a problem - running around the garden is a different thing entirely as your pup can choose when to run, when to stop and when it has had enough whereas on a lead or a longer walk they tend to just keep up with the walker and don't get the opportunity to have a rest when they need one.

Although it often seems that they "need" a longer walk you would be better off using mental exercise instead of a longer walk.

Thank you to all who said that zoomies round the garden weren't a problem  I had been a bit worried about it but must admit they always make me laugh as well.  I challenge anyone to keep a straight face watching a Golden (or a Lab) do the "bum down zoomies".

zoomies are great whoever does them its just chaotic when its my adult gsd and flat coat together little shrimp who is 4kg does it sometime when its dinner time

Back when I had two Goldens who were close in age and played a lot together, the older one still had attacks of the evening zoomies, except it took place in our fairly large square inner hallway or upstairs where there was a 50 foot straight run from one end of the house to the other so long as all the doors were open. The younger one would watch from the sidelines until her pal flagged and slowed down, when she would pounce for a spot of mouth wrestling.

It is hilarious watching zoomie attacks, just the sheer joy the dog seems to have from running at top speed.

> "bum down zoomies

MY US contacts call them " Butt tuck zoomies", so strange how they tuck their bottoms under when doing it.

Mine still does it now - especially in really long grass. He likes to add a game of chicken in with it too - stand still and he will miss you but move at your peril He only took me out once and then I learned to trust thaht he would miss me but you can feel his hair brushing your leg as he passes.

The bum tuck zoomies make me smile every time. When he was about 8 months old I took him to a one off outdoor recall training class to just brush up on his recall with distractions. The trainer was rather "odd" and also didn't really like big dogs - the others were all small dogs but I thought it was worth staying to see how we got on. It had rained all day and was surprised that the class was still on as there were huge lakes of standing water on the field. We spent the first half hour just watching all the small dogs doing their bit and Harley and I just stood watching. We finally got a turn at a recall right at the end of the class - I rather suspected that if I hadn't asked when it would be our turn that we may well have been "forgotten".

We were then set up to fail All the other dogs did recalls from 20 odd feet away - ours was about 50 yards. Harley did an amazing wait but when I released him his pent up energy and patient waiting got the better of him. He took off at great speed, bum down head up and literally hurtled towards me. I suddenly realised he was going so fast that I couldn't see how he would stop in time. I literally shouted STOP to him and he did his very best to do his emergency sit but aquaplaned on a puddle and ploughed through the mud and water in a semi sit position but crashed into my knees. I fell flat on my back into a puddle and he thought we were playing a game and leaped on top of me. My daughter was in fits of laughter and totally unable to come to my rescue - I was crying with laughter, soaked to the skin and had liquid mud forced through the neck of my coat and right down my back. Every time I tried to get up a very large, happy, wet, muddy dog leaped on me again. I eventually managed to stop laughing and get him off me - he had a huge Golden grin on his face.

The trainer and other dog owners looked horrified - which made me start laughing again as it's almost impossible to be serious when one resembles the creature from the black lagoon. She came up to me and said that she didn't think we were suited to the class and to please not return the next week.

I had already decided I wasn't going to return after the first ten minutes of the lesson but did say to her that he surely had earnt some points for enthusiasm. She wasn't amused.

That's a brilliant story Harley, I can really see it happening.

It's funny about long grass zoomies. My current golden loves a good charge about in long grass, but it has to be of a certain type. She's also one that hurtles towards you at 90 miles an hour with a big grin on her face daring you to move.

We met a couple with a male golden who told us when their dog was six months old he charged towards the wife and didn't manage to do the swerve past and crashed into her legs breaking one of them in two places.

One of mine took me clean off my feet, well foot actually, I ended up in a sort of weird splits arrangement face down in the grass. Now this is not a position I would willingly attempt and it took me a while to figure out how to get up! The oldest knocked my six foot son over, but they were having such a good time we had to laugh! I do like to see the bum tuck zoomies, it's like they're having so much fun they can't help it. They also like to play hide and seek in the bushes on the garden!

Glad you've mentioned the up to your limit part. Am following it with my small/medium sized breed pup,was absolute nightmare at beginning as we could only get half way down our street and back. Now at nearly 9 months old I have been worrying as following this rule he can have 2 40min walks per day. If we continue to up it by 5mins a month up to 12months he would get fitter but 2 hour long walks a day seems a hell of a lot for a young dog, no matter what size.

Zoomies in the house resemble a wall of death in this house....when I sense it's starting I have to quickly put down anything I am holding and brace myself,trying not to get run over...especially hilarious if have guests,lol!

Zoomies at very high speed in our pack, when I go out with my 2 friends and their 5 assorteds then we all cling together literally as the magnificent 7 head towards us, people watch in horror or amusement at the sight of 3 older ladies holding each other up

My two year old BSD has zoomies, mostly after his evening meal. I know running about after being fed is not good but short of tying his feet together I don't know how to stop it. My last GSD used to be the same as a puppy then poo and calm down and my older BSD used to when younger but grew out of it.
Many years ago I had a large, male, long coat GSD who looked huge compared to five foot me. I trained him for obedience and he used to come in so fast I used to stand against the wall in the training hall to stop him knocking me over. I eventually realised that he did stop, just. In obedience competitions there were occasions when I have seen the judge put there hands over their eyes and then looked really surprised to see me still standing. He did get marked for 'up the jumper presents'. Nowadays this seems to be what obedience dogs are trained to do. Definitely born before his time.

Really good to know the 5 min rule can be 2 X day- especially in summer when wanting to meander round villages.  Fortunately mine is tiny so can carry him too, unlike AnneC unless she's a bodybuilder lol.  I've just bought a baby wrap sling (TX for idea ff) but yet to try it doubt it'd work with a 5 month GR though.

Zoomies I love them - mine do it twice a day- am & pm - as they're quite small there's enough room in the house. 

My collie X whippet had zoomies every night until the night before she died at just short of 17!!!

Dont know about a sling I wouldd need a wheelbarrow! Lol.

Annie C- wheelbarrow

Used a sports bag with the top of one end cut out to carry our BH pup around on short walks, as he got weightier OH & I would take a handle each!!