feed a dog? and walk a dog?
thinking of getting a new pup and have never had one before
thnx x
lara

Feed...once or twice depending on how you want to, a puppy will be fed on 3/4 meals aday.  Walking, 2-3 times aday, one of these walks to be a free run depenind on breed!

The number of meals depends on the age: an 8-week puppy will need four meals a day (8am, 12 noon, 4pm and 8pm is a typical routine), changing to three meals a day at about 12 weeks and 2 meals a day at 6 months. Most people nowadays keep a dog on 2 meals a day thereafter, though some still drop to a single meal when the pup reaches a year old.

Number of walks - at least twice a day, preferebly more. Walks start off being short (about 5 minutes per month of the dog's age is a good rule of thumb) - a three-month pup (about the age when they can start being taken out for walks) will have several 15-minute walks, whereas a 12-month dog will like an hour or so twice a day.

Walks depend on the breed as well.  For example; a 6 month old doberman needs about an hour, even at that young age, to keep the energy in check (although obviously you don't want to go overboard with running around and so on).  By 18 months, you're looking at 2-3 hours every day.  My boy is 18 months, and could easily do that twice a day!

On the other hand, heavier breeds such as Rottweilers - and similar breeds prone to things such as hip dysplasia - should have much less; by a year, rottis should only have half a mile a day. 
So it really is quite breed dependant.

Nikirushka, most people who have posted on this forum who have dobermanns have said that mental exercise is as good as, or even better than, physical exercise for their pups, for tiring them out. They do not recommend endless free running until the skeleton is complete (about 18 months).

Just out of interest, what is the breed average hipscore for dobermanns?

The BMS is 10 JG. There is no way that I would recomend an hour for a 6 month Dobermann though, not all in one walk. Half of that would be about right.

Regards, John

Ah, the same BMS as dalmatians, then. There's no way we'd recommend that much exercise so young, either.

thanks everyone for your replys! im getting a shih tzu soon and im making sure i know everything about them before i get one x