Our rescue GR pup is about 4 1/2 months old and I need to know how much exercise he should be having. I have read many articles about not exercising them too much but am unclear how much is too much as I am also aware that too little exercise is also bad for them. At the moment he has a walk in the morning of about 25 minutes of which 15 mins is spent off the lead and the rest of the time on a retractable lead. He has another walk of about 20 minutes in the afternoon where about 5 minutes is off lead and rest on a retractable. In the evening he has a 10 minute walk on a short lead to practice his lead skills. He also spends time playing in the house or garden at various times during the day. Have I got the exercise right or is he doing too much or too little and at what age should I start taking him for long walks. We have no idea where he was bred so have no details of parents hip scores and we SO do not want to get this wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated. What age does he stop being considered a puppy?

The general rule of thumb for breeds which are known to develop joint problems is the '5-minute rule'; ie, 5 minutes exercise per month of age. So a four-month pup would get 4 x 5 minutes = 20 minute walks, so what your pup is getting sounds just about ideal. :) Make sure that some of the walk is steady lead walking, learning to walk at heel, not with the lead extended. :)

Hi
The general rule of thumb is 5 minutes walk per month of age. Dogs are considered adults at 12 months of age BUT how they actually mature and develop varies from breed to breed. Generally speaking a Golden isn't mature and is still developing until 18 months of age as far as body goes.In fact you will find most don't fill out and look adult until they are 2. (As far as mind goes, they never mature, LOL!) Personally I would think your pup is having a little bit too much exercise. At 4 ½ months a Golden is so very much a baby.

Thank you for your replies. Is  the 5 minute per month rule per day or per walk?

Per day.

Remember the growth plates on large dogs do not close until betwen 15 - 18 months of age and therefore I personally would not consider allowing my dogs to have unrestricted exercise until they were 18 months of age.

Yes I agree with Tohme -couldn't speak for other breeds but for Goldens this is what I have always done.

I've always used it as per walk. You can also walk him 5 minutes to the park (or wherever) let him run for 5 minutes, sit with him on a bench for half an hour to watch the world go by and see different people, and traffic, give him another 5 minutes running then a 5 minute walk home. It's getting on for an hour's outing, but only 20 minutes has actually been exercise.

It's vital that he gets out and about and sees as many new things as possible. Make sure he has several hours' rest between walks though!