Enough exercise for a collie?

[Sparkle79]

Is 3 walks a day (morning, lunch, evening) 30 minutes per walk or thereabouts, on-lead but at dogs pace with lots of sniffing... enough physical exercise for a 2 year old border collie?

Not my dogs, but my friend has had several collies. During the week they get 3 walks a day, 1 brief, and 2 medium length - with time off lead. They have 2 dogs usually which enables a lot of running playtime and company. But they probably only get 1.5 hours max exercise during the week. They take them out longer at the weekend. They are in good condition and not anxious or under worked/exercised.

No. It's really not. My bordercollie is 8, still needs an hour off lead absolute minimum, plus the sniffy walk, plus an evening stretch. He also has full garden access all day. And mental games too ( hide and seek, sprinkles, parcels and boxes to open). Also two people wfh all day. So never alone.

If it's a temporary thing ie a few weeks, it would be ok.
I'd also say that 'dog's pace' for a collie is probably about 10km/hr speed, not the slow ambling sniffy type walk an old lab might want for example.
So a good run a day, which can be done safely with a proper harness, would be ok I think when teamed up with a nice walk, outdoor time and mental stimulation.

I think a lot of these posts are trying to prove a point and exaggerating. Any questions about border collies are met with this on mumsnet. If you aren’t already a member I would recommend border collies uk Facebook page which gives a more balanced view. I spoke to a border collie rescue for advice on training when we first got our pup. She was very adamant about them needing quiet space to rest. People run and run them so they are hyper. When I said I leave her in the kitchen at times to allow her to switch off a bit. She said even in the kitchen there is a residual energy there. She needs a quiet dark room (like a barn would be) to get time to rest.

If it’s you that’s the issue... then yeah, I’d try and get more regular offlead exercise.

Sniffy walks are actually great, but, healthy dogs do need some actual exercise and letting off steam time and unless you’ve a huge garden that’s unlikely to be enough.

Thank you, I will look at that Facebook group.

I do find sometimes when you mention a problem and then mention the word collie some people automatically assume you're an idiot who didn't know a single thing about the breed and aren't equipped to cope with one.

But you are asking a very basic question tbh......and deep down you know that 3 x 30 mins on lead walk is not enough for a collie.

I agree they do not need hours and hours of exercise and do need to be taught to relax. However 3 x 30 mins is just not enough for a collie. Unless you are doing loads of training that is using up physical energy like agility.

I’m not sure what the issue is with her being off the lead but I’m sorry you’re finding that hard. Our collie is quite dog…. ….intolerant is probably kindest way of describing it?! Not remotely vicious but doesn’t suffer fools (bouncy dogs with poor manners and recall) badly and can be a bit snappy to get her space. Our local playing fields are where everyone takes their dog for a walk and I was finding it really stressful. However I have found another really boring park about 5 mins walk in the other direction, at the end of a very quiet cul de sac and it’s literally just a long narrow open space with some trees which backs onto a duel carriageway. I’ve never seen another soul use it at any other time so I use it to run around the park whilst doing couch to 5k and she runs as much as she wants. You can also see people coming so if I do need to put her on the lead I can.

Try getting a swingball for good border collie exercise in the garden. I agree they also need down time, very much so. But they mature slowly, 2 is just a big puppy really. I think off lead running about is a must. They don't seem to do well jogging, they are more short fast sprint dogs.
Sprinkles all over the garden (grated cheese, small treats) to search out over 20 minutes or so is a good border collie brain work thing. So it wrapping in brown paper a bonio or something.