Am going to sound like a crap and irresponsible dog owner now but

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how on earth do you get away with only 5 mins walking for every month of their life? My golden is now 18 weeks and I am aware of the dangers of over-walking a pup, esp this breed and feel awful about this but there is no way I can walk her for only 25 mins a day. She would go loopy. As it is, I am clicker training to wear her out mentally but still am doing 2 15 - 20 min walks off the lead in the woods every day and another couple of 5 min round the block.

I feel so bad but she has SOOO much energy and seems to really need the exercise and could do with more. I have a tiny paved garden so although she has constant access to it through the day, she doesn't get much exercise in it. A question for all owners with a decent sized garden - do you count the walking time as additional to the free play/running in the garden? What can I do to wear her out if not walking? She becomes very mouthy and over-excited (just playing but it still bloody hurts!) when she has so much energy and its starting to cause a lot of tension with my husband - she always seems to go for him .

Advice (yet again ) please?

Just to recap, my late dog was a lab cross rescue dog who came to me at 2 years old so I never had this problem. We would walk for miles every day, come hail or shine, so I never had this problem.

I guess she is on 3 meals a day? So I would give her meals in kongs - that will take her much longer to eat.

Clicker training in 5 minute burst several times a day (up to 6 at least)

Tuggy games, scent games, rawhide chews. You can take her swimming that is great exercise and does not hurt the joints. There are some great doggy hydropools around.

If she does play tuggy it is very easy to get her to help around the house. Train her to take the washing out of the machine. Close cupboards and doors.

Teach her to fetch named objects again not using much physical energy but really does tire themout.

Split the 25 mins walk into two sessions. Now it is hot it is harder but take her our in the car if you go out.

She should still need quite a lot of sleep at the moment as she is still a baby so crate her for sessions during the day to make sure she does get this. Sometimes the manic behaviour is over tiredness like kids.

Minimu, I feed her twice a day - at 7.30 am and 5 pm with food treats in between as training rewards. Is this wrong? I do about 3-4 lots of clicker training in 5 min bursts so could up that. Am also using the clicker on walks at the moment for lead and recall training. Have just started the name game ie fetch the ball, fetch your cat etc so will persevere with that.

When we go to the woods, I always go in the car so she has almost the whole session off the lead.

She is now zonked on the rug after a 5 min final walk on the lead. Can you give me any advice re the garden issue please? Would free time in the garden count as 'walking time'? Thanks so much yet again - am so glad to have access to so much information [smiel]

I would not worry about the exercise time in the garden. Having said that if the dog is chasing a ball in the garden for hours on end then obviously that is too much charging around. Their is no point in restricting exercise if they are running up stairs and jumping on the sofa at home so it is really a balance.

The other thing also is that dogs need to be bored. They need to be able to settle on their own without need for any attention. So teaching them to have time on their own without any stimulation is important.

Thank you I work 3 days a week, so she does have to occupy herself and settle (even though I come back at lunch time every day to play with her). She doesn't go upstairs - they are very steep so she has chosen not to attempt them which is good with me. Will follow the advice you have kindly given and keep fingers crossed!

Kennel Club does actually say 5 minutes per month of life twice a day if that makes you feel any better....

Really? I always thought it was in total. Twice a day plus the other training with clicker would be MUCH more realistic for my dog. Even if its once, I'll try out the ideas from Minimu.

Why don't you try walking her with you on a bike. It keeps them going at a quicker pace - something between a trot and a canter, as it were - but doesn't tire you out too much.

Oh I could do the bike as I am in Holland and we have bike paths everywhere and its fab for cyclists. But the point is, I love to walk - its not me I'm worried about as I would walk for miles every day - its the puppy

Yep, that's what it says here

I was going to say the same as daisy - we did 5 mins per month twice a day.