How long should I walk my dog?

[AelinAshriver]

I'm only able to take my girl out once a day. However, I am home all day so can go whenever during school hours really.

I've been going out for between 45mins to 1 hour but someone on our walk said it was too much and we are damaging her!

She's a rescue, runt of the pack (it was a hoarding situation over 30 dogs) approx 6 years old. Vet thinks shih zu / poodle maybe

How long each day would she need walking?

What you're doing sounds reasonable to me but if in doubt ask the vet and Google the breeds

Unless she’s a puppy (under 12 months) or has some kind of health concern, 45 minutes to an hour is great.

Puppies need shorter walks up to 12 months so they don’t over do it and damage growth plates

Sorry, just read again and seen that she’s 6. No problem at all then unless a vet says otherwise.

I've got a shihtzu cross dog who's 9 now. Generally they will let you know if you are walking them too far or for too long. So when we start out he will generally be pulling on lead, enthusiastic to get places and by the end he will be slowing down, dragging his feet a bit, just seeming a bit knackered. You want to walk them so they are showing signs of being tired and "spent" but not that you have to carry them they are so exhausted.

So for example today my wee lad went out with me for about 10-15 mins this morning and we threw his ball across a green bit on our estate.

This afternoon we went to a park and he was off his lead for about half an hour and he ran like crazy, chasing birds, greeting dogs, sniffing and peeing. He was nicely tired when we got home and ready for a sleep.

This evening I tried to take him out again and he was happy to go and do some pee's and check out the houses of his arch enemies (cats) by sniffing the gates but then after 5 minutes he refused to walk any further and started pulling at his lead in the direction of going home. If I tried to go any other direction he put his brakes on and wouldn't walk. As soon as I turned for home he was happy to walk. He was just letting me know that 5 mins was enough and he wanted to go back.

It will never be ideal to walk them once a day. It will always be better to do two walks of 20 minutes than one walk of forty minutes just because it breaks up their day and lets them mark their territory. However if you can only do one walk a day then 45 mins to an hour is probably ok but let your dog guide you and if she is tired then just go slow and let her sniff alot rather than walking alot.

Some days my lad is like a puppy, full of energy, tearing about the place and other times he is like a wee old man. So they seem to have days when they are tired too. She looks lovely though.

Here's mine.

And apologies if I am stating something you already know but get some activity toys for her to do to tire her out while she is in the house. They come in many forms and you can get them from Pets at home or amazon or etsy.

Can you split the walk into two?

An hour is absolutely fine for a six year old, healthy dog.

45 minutes to an hour isn’t a particularly long walk... how would it be damaging her?

She looks a great dog. Wish mine could stand beside a cat and not even look interested.

45 minutes to an hour is fine. If anything I would increase the length of the walk or add an second shorter one on at another time of the day.

Ah fab, thank you everyone! Not sure what she is, vet just thinka there's shuh zu and poodle in her because of her coat (it was so matted, we had to get her sheered :()

Perhaps the person on the walk thought she was a puppy as she was so small - I did tell her. But she is definitely an adult. Vet says maybe 6 years old

I have a mini poodle and she has 45 min to an hours walk a day. In one hit usually. My vet thought that was quite a lot for her (she's 6kg so on the small side) but it's all on lead as she is not fond of other dogs so off lead walks in parks are a no go. She happily walks for an hour and doesn't look tired by the end. She's 2.5 yrs old.

After the vet mentioned an hour being a lot I spoke to some other dog people and they all thought it was ok. So I think you're fine.

Agree with keeping an eye on how tired they are by the end of the walk.

for those who are saying split it into 2 walks. I really think that depends on your walking options.

We have an amazing nature reserve close by, woods, fields, streams etc which the dogs LOVE walking in, so much to sniff and explore, safe places off lead etc.

It is 10 minutes walk away, so walk there, then 30 minutes round the reserve, then walk back = 50 minute walk. That is a much more fun and interesting walk than 2 x 20 minutes in local streets and green spaces.

Let the dog be your guide, she should be coming home, tired but still walking, and then have a good sleep during the day.

Enrichment toys are great too. You don't need to buy them, we do things like a cardboard packet with some treats inside (mind you ours loves to rip cardboard).
Or I stuff treats into tears in his toys and he has to ferret them out.

I'm really surprised the vet said that was too much for a mini poodle.

I walk one and he can go for hours!

Agreed @coffeecupsandwaxmelts as she does weekend walks with Dh and DD happily for 2+ hours and never looks tired. I thought an hour a day was on the lower side for her, but we have a big garden she gets into where she does go for zoomies and ball playing too.