How Much Exercise Is Good for Puppies?
Many people believe puppies should be able to run and play as much as they like. They let them jump, climb, and do everything they naturally do. While keeping puppies active is important for proper growth and development, too much excersise and the wrong kinds of exercise can damage growing joints!
How Much?
Exactly how much exercise is good for a puppy will depend on the breed and even the individual. Sighthounds typically require more and more intense running exercises to develop properly, for example, whereas most breeds do well with two daily walks of 5 minutes per month of age. A four month old puppy could manage a 20 minute walk twice a day.
Other types of exercise should also be monitored with plenty of rest periods. These include play-wrestling with other dogs, running about the house or yard, and active play with toys.
Other types of exercise should also be monitored with plenty of rest periods. These include play-wrestling with other dogs, running about the house or yard, and active play with toys.
Types of Exercise to Avoid
As well as too much exercise overall, certain types of exercise and play are bad for growing puppies. Avoid the following as best possible:
- High impact play: dogs slamming into one another can stress growing joints.
- Stairs/Jumping: puppies can easily injure or stress joints by going up and down stairs or jumping down from furniture. This is especially true of dwarf breeds like Cardigan Welsh corgis! Teach them to use a ramp, help them off of furniture, or don't let them on furniture at all. Carry puppies down stairs. While moderate use of stairs later in life is good for dwarf breeds, they can damage puppy joints and backs.
- Ball-fetching: fetching balls causes short, quick stops which have high impact on growing joints. You can start teaching a gentle retrieve by rolling the ball slowly away, but wait for throwing balls and toys until the growth plates have closed!
- Hardwood/Tile/Laminate Floors: hard flooring doesn't provide the grip nor the surface texture differences needed for proper puppy joint development. Place non-slip mats down where puppies will be spending a lot of time, and limit time on hard flooring.
Types of Exercises to Encourage
So what CAN you allow your puppy to do?
- Play and movement on uneven surfaces helps develop joints properly. While grass is better than a flat surface, sand, pea gravel, clumpy dirt, and leaf litter/twigs provides much better opportunities for puppies to fully use their limbs for proper growth. Longer grass can also encourage them to pick up their feet, crawl and explore, and use their bodies to their fullest, but watch for ticks in especially long grass.
- Obstacles provide puppies the chance to explore and play in a safe manner. All obstacles meant for going over should be no higher than their wrist and should not easily roll about if stepped on. Obstacles meant for climbing can help puppies learn confidence, but monitor them closely to avoid falls or jumping off.