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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on January 19, 2012 at 7:47pm

At six months your dog can walk as much as you are willing to walk, the more time the better for both of you :-)  That said, if 20 minutes is what you can fit in your schedule it will probably do.  Aim for twice a day and maybe you can try for longer walks on weekends.  A lot depends on the particular activity level of your dog.   If your dog has a high activity level and it's exercise needs are not met, it will show up as behavior problems, then you'll know he needs more.   No amount of training can make up for lack of exercise in young dogs.

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Permalink Reply by Ozzie & Bebop on January 19, 2012 at 8:24pm

Thank you Anna.  This makes sense :)  I noticed around a mile (25-30 minutes) he loses focus and will occasionally stop, so I wasn't sure if I was trying to do too much!  Now I do a solid 20 minutes, which is "structured and by my side" walks. So far we don't have any behavior problems, so I'll continue to do at least 20 minutes and gradually increase time/distance so he gets the proper exercise as he gets older.  Thanks again!

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Permalink Reply by Megan C on January 19, 2012 at 10:04pm

You have to work up to the greater distances but our guy who is 5 and a half months does around 1-2 miles every day or about an hour to an hour and a half.  Today he walked 1 mile to the dog park, played on and off for about 30 minutes and then walked back and still had the energy to run after the cats when he got inside the door before settling down with a chew toy.  Just watch Bebop.  When we were first taking walks instead of walking a straight line I would walk up and down side-streets near our place so if he looked tired we were still close to home.  

I kind of judge it by how he acts after the walk whether he needs longer/shorter walk next time.  If he is racing around our place and barking at the cats I then know he needs more exercise.  

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