How far walks should 5 months old puppy should go?

[MoonStr80]

I have a question should their be a minimum time or how far I should walk Johnnie?

[Ritz459]

Let your dog tell you. When Chloe was around five months old, I would walk her for a mile and she did fine. If Johnny starts getting tired, turn around and head for home. From the looks of him in your siggy he is a Labby mix, so a mile walk should be fine.

[Rivsky]

Isn't the rule of thumb no more than 10 minutes for every month of age - hope I've got that right, if not someone please correct me. Of course if your dog tires before that time you don't force them to continue.

[calgal]

I'd say first off not to walk on hot asphalt at all. Next I would not make the walk but about 1/2 mile a day until the pads get caloused.

[Sentry]

We mastiff owners have a saying...never walk your puppy father than you'd want to carry them,LOL
5 months is petty young so I'd start with ten minutes and see how he does then slowly work my way up.

[Swiftwind]

I'd say an average of 10 to 15 minutes would be a good length of time for a walk. It will probably be a walk at a slow-ish pace, because if he's like other pups he'll want to stop and investigate every single smell and sight!

[saden99]

A puppy could care less about walks. A walk for a puppy is just another way to be around you.

If you want to walk the puppy just to go on a walk then I suggest doing it on days that the weather is nice. At 5 months if it's above 90 degrees F then take the puppy out for 10 minutes...but not any more. If it's perfect weather(around 60-75 degrees F) then take them out for 10-20 minutes. If it's cold then take them out for as long as you can stand it.

A puppy has fur for a reason and the cold is easier to adjust to than the heat. When a dog is cold it has fur to help keep it warm and walking around in general raises body heat. When it's too hot outside the puppy doesn't shed its fur WHILE it's body heat is rising because of the walking. The only way to keep them in equilibrium would be by giving them water.

A puppy can generally get exhausted quickly(you wouldn't think it) and a walk is a nice way to do this. That may sound nice...but it isn't. It's better to exhaust a puppy through playing because the puppy is bonding with you and learning new things. On a walk the puppy isn't really bonding with you because they don't understand the importance of a walk as much as an adult dog might.

Which is why you find yourself taking your puppy out to use the restroom more than you would take out a 3 year old dog.


So I would say about 10-15 minutes depending on the heat/cold. Use your best judgment. Going on a walk until the puppy says "No!" can actually be teaching the puppy that they are in control of the walk. THEY say when the walk begins and when the walk ends. You can't allow that. Setting a time-frame keeps you in control. Walk for 6-7 minutes then turn around and walk back for a good 12-14 minute walk.

If your puppy does decide to plop his/her butt down and say "We're done!" only 5 minutes into the walk then perhaps you should think about playing with the pup more.

Walking a puppy for exercise isn't the best thing to do because just like for humans, walking a dog doesn't do much in the way of exercise. Running/Jogging is ALWAYS better exercise than walking/power walking. Again...playing something like fetch with your puppy would be good for exercise and training. "Get it!" "Sit" "No!" and "Drop it". Maybe even "Stay!"...but I couldn't teach Junior "Stay" until I pulled out the treats

[LilHeather]

I turned around everytime I felt that Rocky was getting tired and started giving me that look. Never heard of a rule of thumb.

[Tarte]

My 4 month old did about a mile walk along the beach the other day, she whined a few times, so we would either stop for a couple or I picked her up until she was ready to chase some birdies. It just depends on the dog.