How long should I walk for?

[WhenEnoughIsEnough]

We have a 7 month old male rottweiler. We have always walked him from as soon as he was able to go out obviously building up his time.

He is now 7 months old and has 2 walks a day that are about 1.5 miles each however it doesn't seem enough for him as though it doesn't satisfy him.

The walks are lead walks that are round housing estates a field and country lanes so quite varied terrains.

I can't let him off the lead at the moment because we are still not 100% confident with his recall and I would never have a dog off the lead that I can't trust 100% to come back on command.

We also have a 18ft long garden which he plays in for around 2-3 hours a day.

He is constantly stimulated at home with games, training and playing in general.

The vet has said that what we are providing is more than adequate but like I said he doesn't seem satisfied at the end of the walk I tried taking for longer walks for a week and I was doing 3 miles twice a day and he still was the same it's like he could just keep going and going.

I guess my question is how long would anyone recommend a 7 month old rottweiler walks for?

Just to add the walks take around 45 minutes in time so he is being walked for 1:30 a day in total.

Is there anywhere safe to let him off the lead? A secure field or use a long line?

Whilst the on lead walks sound fine mine (different breed) really loved to potter about sniffing and running off lead much more than any on lead walk.

Unfortunately there isn't anywhere that is secure other than our garden. I have got an extendable lead that I do let him full use of but I still don't think that it's the same as being off lead.

Being able to run about off lead seems to make a big difference to my dog. Have you searched for any secure fields to hire near you that you could use occasionally?

The problem is 7 months is that kind of age when recall goes anyway given that they are starting to get teenage selective deafness.

I would google secure fields in your area, or ask on FB. Mine didn't have good recall until she was about 10 months, so I know how hard it is. Luckily we knew of a couple of secure areas where we could let her off.

The bad news is that you are walking him too long and the wrong kind of walks for his joints. The rule of thumb is 5 minutes for every month of age so at 7mo it should be 35 minute walks, ideally off lead so he can choose to stop, lie down, etc. At 7mo I would only be doing one 35minute walk, and I would try to do a couple of much shorter ones as well every day.

Is he being socialised with other dogs? Puppy class is a great way to expend some energy. Training is also a brilliant way to keep their minds active without overworking their bodies.

Good ideas about asking around locally for secure places.

He does still attend a local puppy class and he is great with other dogs but when we bring him home he is still full of energy!

Oh also thankyou for the advice about walking I had no idea I was walking him for too long like I said I even told the vet and they didn't mention anything.

I did have a rottweiler before but unfortunately she had juvenile arthritis so her excercise regime was so different.

We also do alot of training with him and he is very receptive to training (apart from the recall at the moment).

I'd do as previous posters have said. Shorten the walk to no more than 40 mins. Do lots of training/brain exercises - not just sit, stay ect but more interesting thing like find ( I hid a ball or treats under pillows and get pup to find them. Taught her to catch so she now has most of her dinner biscuits that way! Leave - I can put whole bag of food on floor now and mine will not touch it if she's been told not to! Kongs are great for keeping them occupied - I buy cheap sandwich filler paste and put it in with a few biscuits and freeze them and takes pup ages to get through them. Be creative and come up with new and more challenging things each day. With regards to being off lead I have to say I'd bite the bullet and do it sooner rather than later. Mine was off lead from day one and has been fine. If in doubt try running in the opposite direction to your dog and that often works! Have high value rewards for coming back and being him back often every 2 mins or so. So he not only associates coming back with treats but also with being let go again. Don't put him on the lead every time you call him back or he might start associating it negatively.

Most importantly relax and enjoy him!!!

My 6 month old terrier gets around 90 minutes of off lead walking a day ( between 4 and 5 human miles) and is still a bundle of energy at the end of it. He spent half an hour tearing round the garden as soon as we got home today.

Have you tried a training line - it's a 10m not extending lead which gives them a lot of freedom to poke around and you can use it to practice recall whilst out and about with real life distractions. I use it when we're walking in areas with other dogs as my pup wants to play with every dog he sees. They're safer than extending leads ( the mechanism in those has been known to fail with tragic results).

At 7 months you want to be doing about 35 minute walks... and you're not going to tire him out by walking him anyway, and you don't want to try to either, or he'll be just as active, but fitter and you'll end up in a cycle of walking more and more and risking damaging his joints as well.

What you want to be doing with him is keeping him busy mentally - scentwork is good for that and giving him jobs to do while he's following you round the house (I'm assuming that's what he does, mine still does and he's 5, lol) emptying the washing machine, picking things up and bringing them to you and eventually putting them away are good ones.

If he's a typical Rottie boy, impulse control games will be a good idea.