i have a four month old puppy. i have read that most people dont tend to exercise them on the lead until they are 7 or 8 months (ie dont take them to the park, woods etc), just allow them supervised play time in the garden/house. Is this so?

No, this is quite untrue. Most people take their pups out on lead walks as soon as the vet says it's okay after their injections are complete (usually around 12 weeks). Prior to that they will have been carried out and about as much as possible to see traffic, crowds etc etc.

However, lead walks at this age are for training and socialisation purposes, not for exercise, because they can get enough exercise playing in their house and garden. Walks (two or three a day) last roughly 5 minutes for every month of the pup's age, so your 4-month pup would have a couple of 20-minute lead walks every day.

If a pup is restricted to the home for several months it will never develop properly mentally, I'm afraid.

My puppies go out on the lead as soon as innoculations allow and go off lead at the earliest date, idealy first time out but certainly within the first week out. The AMOUNT of exercise is strictly limited to avoid possible hip damage. Roughly 5 minutes per month of age.

Regards, John

<<<<<<<<<<Roughly 5 minutes per month of age.>>>>>>>>>>>
OMG, I was thinking it was 5 mins for every week the other day when I saw a 16 week old rottie bitch out for a walk(absolutly adorable dog, but I DO NOT WANT ONE YET :D)
I was mowing a front lawn, and met it, fussed it, spoke to the owner and her daughter, and then they went on their way. at LEAST 1 hour later,When I was on another lawn up the road I saw them on their way back :( :( :( :(
Lea :(

I was up at one of the local lakes a couple of weeks ago.Saw a family with a little cross breed pup..couldn't have been more than 12 weeks old and they had just walked round the lake....about an hours walk with my lot who walk fast!!
Archer

The only restrictions that most of us put on our pups is that they should be exercised for a limited length of time each day...approximately 5 minutes per month they have been alive ...i.e at 4 months they should have 20 mins exercise per day ,6 months 30 mins etc.Exercise should also be not stressful on bones and joints so no pulling or running up and down steep hills atc
Archer

I own a 7 1/2 month dobermann.  I was really worried about the exercise.  The thing is I would take him out and let him off the lead but he never really ran about he would walk just in front of me, I would try to limit the time.  My breeder said that he would be okay as long as I was not running constantly with him.  Now I take him out for about an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening.  The morning walk is to the woods but the evening is on lead, but I still think I would be told that this is too much.  He only really runs around if he meets another dog, but often the only dogs that will play with him are puppies.  The other thing with the exercise is that if you had two puppies I am sure they would run around all day together!  When my sister brings her puppy beagle round, the two of them play constantly chasing, and rolling around.  I think it is very hard - my dobe loves to go out.

>The other thing with the exercise is that if you had two puppies I am sure they would run around all day together!

Not necessarily true, because the presence of the other pup isn't a novelty! My two litter-brothers would play hard for a few minutes then potter about separately or go to sleep together. The pottering about separately was the nightmare bit, because that's when you needed to be in two places at once, and have at least 3 pairs of eyes!

I understand that it is a novelty - but I still would think that two puppies would run around together all day alot more than my lone dobe.  I am sure he would play alot more if he had another puppy to play with!  Not obviously as he matured, but probably until he was about 2 years old.

>at LEAST 1 hour later,When I was on another lawn up the road I saw them on their way back   

Lea, sometimes it used to take me an hour to do a fifteen minute walk with Fagan when he was a babe - everyone stopped me to stroke him and I used to spend ages talking to people :rolleyes: 

I have this trouble with Delta ;) Luckily, I now take her up to school and back, a journey of about 25 minutes all told and we don't tend to get stopped by many people as they are all in a hurry.

On a Saturday though, it is a completely different thing...we can be in town and walking the two Mals for an hour easily though they are only actually walking for about 25 minutes ;)