How far can I walk my puppy?

[Gracie123]

I have 15 week old Labernese puppy (Labrador x Bernese Moutain Dog). I know giant breeds can be prone to hip problems if walked 'too far'.

How far is too far?

I walked him around the lake at our local park today and he seemed fine (still plenty of energy when we got home) but I just checked mapmyrun and they reckon it's about 2.4 miles. Is that too far for a 15 week old pup?

It's 5 minutes per month of age up to 18 months, so for 15 weeks that's 15 - 20 minutes.

Average walking speed is about 3 miles an hour, so yes that probably is too far.

It's about building up the muscles slowly and gently so that they support the hip joint.

Giant breeds are prone to hip problems, full stop. You have a crossbreed that has his problems on both sides, as well as heart problems from the Bernese, so you should really keep a careful eye on your pup. Presuming your dog has had all its shots, 15 minutes around the park is plenty-at this age its more about introducing new experiences to your dog, than it is about exercising it.

Tanks guys. What age can he start walking that far?

It's more about avoiding stairs, jumping from heights, twisting, running on hard surfaces etc. They need a bit of stress on their joints.

I have a Bernese and they have incredible strength and endurance but they're not designed to run all day. Mine does all her ball chasing etc on grass or sand just so that the impact is a bit less. She also swims quite a bit.

A walk that length, at a walking pace, once a week or so won't do any harm. And Bernese, whilst prone to some serious health issues, don't tend to have heart problems so you don't need to worry too much about that.

Well 2.4 miles at 3 mph is what? 45 minutes? So at 5 minutes a month of age, that's about 9 months.

With giants - it's not about do they seem fine after a long walk, it's about protecting there soft bones and preventing wear on their joints, so they don't have hip and shoulder issues as they mature and age....

This is only once a week. Basically I walk around a lake with some friends and their dogs once a week whilst our kids do a sports class together.

I'd hoped to bring Cooper, as otherwise he's left at home for 1.5 hours (it's a one hour class and a little drive either side).

I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but we home educate and He doesn't get left often.

Do you think it's would be okay to do once a week (it's all grass and woodland) if we kept all his other walks short?
We take about an hour to do the walk as we have toddlers with us, so he's mostly ambling around in the bushes. I feel like he's doing that most of the day in the house anyway!