Hi,

I'm curious as to the length of walks I should give a growing puppy. My labrador is ten weeks old, and some books I have read seem to say that dogs should be given no more than a ten to fifteen minute walk at that age. My vet surprised me and said completely the opposite, by saying that it wouldn't harm my dog if I walked her ten miles a day (Of course she couldn't walk that far yet, but he was just giving an example). Now I'm tempted to go somewhere in between and take her out for about 30 minutes three times a day at this early stage, but I don't know whether to follow the advice of the books (ten minutes!) or my vet (miles!).

Hip displasia was my main worry of course, as her joints are growing fast and I thought putting too much pressure on them would damage them. I pointed this out to the vet, and he said that there should be no worry of her getting hip displasia from walking too far; Dogs have either got it or they haven't.

I'd be interested in hearing your advice and opinions on this, as to what length of walks you gave your dogs at what ages, especially when they are around the puppy stage like mine is. Thanks for any help you can give,

Tom.

I believe the general rule of thumb is 5 minutes per month. So for a 10 week puppy, 10-15 minutes would be about right :)

I think that you can do this 3 times a day on average but I am sure there will be someone along soon to either verify that or put me right :D

The general rule of thumb is 5 minutes per month of age per day.  I am astounded that your vet contradicted this advise, especially in a breed known for joint problems :(  However, you may well find that your puppy is still 'full of beans', in which case mental stimulation such as seeking games (finding small food rewards or toys by sent) or short training sessions will help tire your puppy as well as increasing your bond.

Although the tendency to HD has an inherited element to it, the condition can also be made worse than it would otherwise have been by inappropriate exercise. Over-exercise, carrying too much weight, sliding on slippery floors, going up and down stairs all put unnecessary strains on developing joints and can exacerbate problems.

Others have told you about the '5-minute' rule, and that's excellent advice. Three short walks (about 15 minutes each) per day is plenty at this age. Of course you can walk 10 minutes to a bench, sit there for half an hour to watch the traffic and meet people, then walk back - you'll have been out for nearly an hour, but the pup's only done about 20 minutes walking during that time. Hope this helps.
:)

There was an article in Dog World several years ago about a group of vets studying HD, they concluded that the inherited trait is between 20-40%, the rest is enviromental (Eg.Exercise,feeding...).

I wish I could find the article again in my pile of old DW's as it was very interesting.

I was talking to a breeder about puppies and promise.  She said she has found over the years that she has sold a beautifully put together pup as pick of litter (she doesn't show too much these days) keeping second best herself and then to meet a few months later to find that pup has been over or under fed, over or inappropriately excersised with cow hocks, slack pasterns etc, enough to make the breeder cry. 

Then the newcomer who didn't heed rearing advice moans that their pup never gets a look in and the breeder always wins.

Thanks all,

I was also very surprised with my vet's response to maximum walking times. Despite what he says, I also believe that any longer than fifteen minutes three times a day could be harmful to a pup at this age, especially with everything growing so rapidly. The five-minute rule sounds excellent, and I will follow it for now, but at what age should I stop worrying about how long I walk her for, and can just take her out for hours at a time? This is the list I will follow for now, but please tell me if any of this seems too short or too long.

10wks - 12wks (10 - 15 mins) * 3
12wks - 16wks (15 - 20 mins) * 3
16wks - 20wks (20 - 25 mins) * 3
20wks - 24wks (25 - 30 mins) * 3

At this age she will be 6 months old, and presumably growing less than she is now. From this age on shall I add ten minutes to every walk, or just not be so concerned to sticking to a rigid walking table? Thanks again for your help,

Tom.

I would think you could take her out for hours when she's around two - you don't want to get too impatient, especially with a lab.

We have a lab and were advised no longer than 30 mins a day to help prevent problems with hips. This was upto about 12/18 months. Hope that helps. This was the advice of both the breeder and the vet and they did say it's best when they are very young to do 2 10 minutes walk one in the morning and one in the evening.

we were really careful with our lab and he's in excellent shape, except for his feet (see thread on behaviour).  Friend of ours really over-walked her dog IMO and I think you can tell now, the dog doesn't have good posture and doesn't have a strong back.  I think it's strange your vet has suggested long walks, see what your breeder says and the guys that really know what they are talking about on here.  I'm remember John recommended the 5 minute rule to me and I'm glad I stuck to it.