Hi, I am wondering if my poodle is being exercised too much? My husband takes her and our two other dogs, a collie, and a border terrier, for a long walk every morning. The walks are off road and usually last one and a half to two hours. She is extremely energetic and never seems to be tired! Is there such a thing as too much exercise at this age?

Far too much for a pup. The average she should be walking is 5 minutes per month of age per DAY. So at 6 months she should only be getting 30 minutes. 

Totally disagree with the 5 minutes per month statement. The main thing is for a pup is that it is not walked so much that it is shattered, one long walk like that is probably too much though, far better a half hour walk, then sleep then another walk, it is essential that they get to sleep so not on the go all day. But excersise is good for a pup, especially a big breed like a standard. Controlled walking, controlled galloping and periods of rest are best. And keep an eye on how the dog is developing all the time and adjust accordingly.

The reason for the average of 5 minutes per month for puppies is to prevent damage to the growth plates of the long bones especially in a large breed like a standard poodle. Once these are damaged they do not regenerate or repair. It can leave dogs with permanent joint & bone damage

It's not 30 minutes per day, but per walk & then graduate the number of walks as the puppy gets older.

I was always told it was 5 minutes per day. Until they were old enough to take longer walks. Damage done to the growth plates is permanent. Big breeds take longer to develop than small breeds so really shouldn't be over-walked. But that's beside the point. Even if the pup is given the 5 minute per month walk more than once daily it is being over walked by a long time on it's morning walk.

I've always understood it to be 5 mins per month per day, up to twice daily depending on the breed (i.e. predisposition to joint problems etc).  So for standard poodle I would think that 30 mins twice a day would be fine - I couldn't find last year's average hip score for the breed but 2003's was 15, so not too high.  I've not heard of a SP having hip dysplasia before, but I'll admit to not knowing that much about the breed's hereditary problems.

I did once ask a dobe owner/breeder how much my then 8-month old dobe should be getting and he said half hour to an hour a day running around was fine, so it does vary with the breed.

Thank you all for your replies. Of course I am now worried that we've overdone it. What would be the signs? Or is it something that won't show up until she's older? I must say she is never tired!!

Unless any damage done to the joints is severe it won't become evident till she's older, I'm afraid. In the meantime, stick to walks of 5 minutes per month of age, no more than twice a day.

>I couldn't find last year's average hip score for the breed but 2003's was 15, so not too high.

In 2005 the BMS for standard poodles was 14 (scores ranging from 4 to 74), with labradors at 15 (scores from 0 to 106). So care certainly needs to be taken in not over-exercising them.

I think it can depend on breed as 5 minutes per month per day would be fine with my pups until say four months, but not enough for them at 6 months or more, where 5 minutes per walk twice a day would be fine, giving half hour twice a day for a six month old Elkhound would be fine and be needed to work off their energy.  By a year I would do up to an hour per walk.  After a year as much as I can find time for, but a minimum of an hour a day.

By six months my breed would have done 80% of their bone growth, and full height at around 9 months, another larger breed would still be at the fast growth stage.

Your standard poodle wont be tired until its about 2 years old :D :D :D :D  Do be careful how much excercise you give it though.  Poodle puppies dont seem to tire the same as other big breeds and it would be very easy to over excercise it.

Thanks Fifi! As I write she is tearing around the house like a thing possessed - chasing the cat, who has her absolutely taped and winds her up beautifully. I've not had a poodle before (usually Borders, lurchers and collies) and I've never come across anything quite so full of energy! Absolutely adorable though.

Same here as the rest of the guys said, 5 mins per month of age!

Poodles are absolute nutters and I love the breed for theyre fun loving attitude! :d

Keep the walks to a minimum (twice a day, 15 mins in morning, 15 mins in evening)) and take peoples advice as you dont want an arthritic poodle at 4 years old! but stimulate him/her in other ways, playing loads of games, hide and seek, catch, fetch in the garden, treat orientated training, maybe a boomer ball would be best!! :d :d Loads of fun and tires em out quickly!

Our girl Mitz is an SBT and would have suffered from bad bones if walked to early or even allowed to walk up or down stairs while she was a puppy So we kept to the 5 min rule and she is fantastic now, never had any bone problems or posture problems and doesnt even have the bow legged thing some staffs who were walked too early have! so it is worth it! :) :)

As Rach85 has said the easiest way to tire out a dog (or a human) is to excercise the brain, so although you're not taking the dog for long walks stimulating it mentally has the same effect.  There is apparently a very good reason for this, the brain consumes a lot more energy than you'd expect so the dog gets physically tired quite quickly just from playing games that are stimulating and make them think.