Have read the previous entry back in june.  I have taken my dog too far then. (border collie 15 weeks) I didn't realise that not much exercise meant barely anything at all.  We do have a garden and a field attached.  We walk her around the field several times a day.  My normal short walk is about a mile - 20 minutes.  I am horrified that that may have done some damage. (she has done that about 3 times) The other thing I learnt this week that she should be carried up and down steps.  We have steps up to the front of our house and several up to the back garden.  she is in the back garden most of the day though she tends to use the montbretia plants by the side of the steps as a slide. 
She is coming up to 4 months. How much exercise should she have?  The Carol Price book 'understanding the bc' says not to take them over a mile even at 18 months.  We have a lane outside that is a few hundred yards long - that seems to be about it then.  I can't even take her up to the post office without carrying her part of the way.  Won't carrying her everywhere be a problem later on? 

At 4 months she should have a maximum of 20 minutes a day. You won't have done her any harm if you have taken her round the field 3 times only, it takes constant over exercise to to do any damage. When my pup was 4 months he went out for one walk a day. By then he had just gone off lead so it was free running. The rest of the time I spent training him. He would usually do about a half hour training session once or twice a day but that depends on your dog and their concentration span. Indy had no off switch (still doesn't) so he could train for hours, whereas Spy who is 14 months can concentrate for 10 mins at the most. In other words, less physical exercise, more mental, and keep the training sessions as long as she can cope with. :) Welcome to the barmy world of owning a collie!

So what do you think to the no more than a mile up to 18 months?  If your dog is off the lead then it would do miles more than yourself on a 20 minute walk.  That's  big difference to 20 min on the lead. 

i don't think border collies are prone to hip problems , stairs wouldn't be too much of a problem for them. No walks up to a mile for 18 months for a BC? HAHAHAHAHA. I've seen bc's that were a year old and could walk 10 miles then do agility work and run in the field for another hour. How are you going to get good socialization if you only bring them out once a day for 20 minutes.

Don't be such a worry wart , my 4 month old golden would walk 5 miles if i let him. I never tend to use any exercise rules just walk em till they are tired. My golden that is turning 2 soon already had his hips checked and they are excellent. I used to walk 3 times a day 20 minutes with him around 2 blocks when he was 4 months old.

Manny, the average hipscore for border collies is 14, only marginally better than labradors - even they are better than golden retrievers, though.

10 left 9 right , 19 is the average for my breed and clear of HD

That is what I thought - I can't see any sheep farmer keeping their dogs shut up in the farmyard until they are over 18 months old.  Surely their training on the hills would start well before that.  Yes I do worry - that is why I am bombarding the board with questions.  In between playing and training my dog - oh and I do try to do a bit of work inbetween - the dog is taking top priority at the moment.  Sorry to be a nuisance.

They do indeed start sooner but are not usually started out on the hills and given free rain :)

HMMM what you have seen Manny and what should happen with BC's may be 2 differrent things. My dogs are perfectly well socialised without having to have walked miles and miles although by 18 months old I must admit I'm not so strict on their exercise as by that time they have usually been hipscored and have gradually been allowed to build up good muscle tone. It is a myth that collies need an excessive amount of exercise, yes they enjoy it and benefit from a resonable amount but a collie that only has physical exercise is a very very fit hooligan. It is recommended Collies are hipscored for a reason as they are prone to Hip Dysplacia
Edited to add mean score is now 13

The avergae Hip score for Broder Colies is the same as my breed which is 13 or 14, but there have been scores to the full range from 0 to 106 (my own breed has rasnged from 0 to 61), so to say as a breed they are not prone to Hip problems is not true.

If you use the 5 minutes for month of life for lead walking you won't go far wrtong as that would be half an hour at 6 months and an hour at a year.  I think few pet owners walk much more than an hour or two which would be fine for an 18 - 24 month old dog.