Please can someone give me some advice on what is about the right amount of
exercise as my husband and I are in disagreement.

Our cocker is nearly a year old and at present gets about 20 mins - half an
hour first thing in the morning, then another 20-30 mins late afternoon plus
some evenings a quick 10 mins round the block for pees at night. All this
is on lead (extender) as his recall, if distracted by other things, birds, other dogs,
etc., is non-existent!

Thanks for your advice.

Hi Guest,
At a year old, a young pup tends to still be easily distracted. That's ok. I hope you're considering taking him into obedience courses, otherwise he might always be easily distracted and not listening to you. For the next year, he'll still be developing and maturing into a full adult.

It sounds as if he is getting regular exercise for walking. Then again, I'm not sure what your conflict is about. When he isn't being walked, what is he doing? If he's penned up the entire day and let out only for these walks, this is not good. But if he has the run of the house/garden and he is able to interact with others during the daytime...the amount of exercise he is getting is ok.

Other things to consider: How is his energy level? Hyper or sluggish in the household? Is he chewing up stuff out of boredom or frustration? Is he gaining too much weight?

The subject of how much exercise is enough can be very subjective. I hope this helps a bit, but need more input for specificity :-)

Thanks for your reply - to clarify a bit. The dispute is mainly that my husband doesn't think he needs that much exercise and I do. Although he's not shut up at all during the day unless one or the other of us are out for a couple of hours, he doesn't seem to play with toys much and our garden is tiny, no more than a yard really and he doesn't seem to like being out there on his own. I just think that it must be a long day with only a couple of walks and feeds to look forward too - or maybe I'm humanising too much! He seems fine, he's not destructive even when left alone and seems to have his own little routines. We are going to classes again, starting next week - although it's more for my benefit than his! He's not gaining any weight - vet said he was just right last time we went for a check up and around the house he's pretty lively until evening when he likes to snooze.

Hi Goink (interesting name, I feel as if I'm talking to an alien in space)

Well, your concern about not having enough exercise is justified. Despite yards, dogs can be just like us humans. They have to have interest in something outside. They don't exercise for the sake of exercise. My parents have a large garden with squirrels, and birds, and sneaky cats, oh my. So their dogs always had something to look forward to being outside. In fact, the squirrel would sometime peek in the doggy door if the dogs weren't out there, ready to play chase. My parents very rarely take their dogs out for walks. They don't need or want to.

I'm like you. I have to think about the interest & exercise level for my "girls." My two dogs have a postage stamp for a yard. I'm not kidding. It's about 12 ft x 8 feet. It's large enough to take a piddle break on grass and to sit out in the sun on the patio. We took care of a med sized third dog for one week & the grass has finally recovered after 2 years. :D

If its sunny & I haven't taken them out for a walk within 2 days, they bug me and bug me until I do take them out. If it's rainy...forget it, they'd rather sleep. They're about 9 & 7 years old, but they love going on rides, walks, bike rides, & everywhere else. But I can exercise them about every three days without too much trouble.

Taking your dog out for a long walk on a daily basis can keep him from becoming bored & destructive. BUT, if you get him used to that daily ritual, there might be repercussions the one time you can't manage it. If he's fine, you could taper it down to every other day. Dogs can need up to 20 hours of sleep a day. It's not deep like ours is, but you don't want to necessarily hit the pavement every single day.

It does sound as if you love going out with your dog for walks. If you like getting the exercise, keep it up. It's up to you. :D

Don't worry if everything is going smoothly. That's a good thing :D If he wasn't happy, trust me, he would let you know somehow.

He sounds as if he's happy being an only dog and yes, they do have their own rituals. As for playing, well, Chienne, my Cocker mix will ONLY pay attention to her ratty old imitation sheepskin ball. Talk about ritual. I am to toss it a couple of times away from her. It makes her extremely happy to pounce on it. Then she takes it to her bed, turns it around carefully with her mouth like a bird arranging an egg, and then she goes to sleep with it in her mouth. Nothing else will suffice. Samma the terrier has multitudes of plushy toys, but she loves to irritate Chienne by grabbing that ratty ball and pulling the stuffing out. Oh, talk about a miserable look on a dog's face. I'm always picking up the stuffing and sewing it closed again.

Good luck with your youngster & enjoy the classes. It will give him something to think about. I don't know if your instructor will tell you, though, so I will.... when you have "homework," don't overpractice. 15-20 minutes of intense work should keep it fun for him. He's smart & he'll pick it up fast. Have a wonderful time.

toodles