How Often Should You Walk Your Dog?
Dog walkers, this one is for you!
How often do you walk your dog? We have a 13 year old Border Collie, named Tanner (I’ll post a picture below), and he usually gets a walk as soon as I get up, and then once our workday is over. Other than that, we just take him out a few times in the front of our place.
He seems pretty happy with that, but I’ve never really thought about whether or not that is too much, or not enough to be walking him.
Dogs need to be active to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, there is no perfect answer for how much activity your dog needs; it depends on a lot of factors like age, breed, size, etc..
While you may need to check with your vet to see specifics about your dog, there is a nice rule of thumb that is easy to use. According to Dr. Whitey Miller, who is the chief veterinarian at Petco, the average dog needs around 20-45 minutes of moderate exercise, twice a day. Depending on the breed however that number can go up. She says, “active-breed dogs like border collies and Australian shepherds can need two to three hours of exercise and activity each day, and very small or aging dogs may get all the exercise they need just from walking around the house.”
Since our sweet boy is 13, he’s pretty easy. You’d never know he is that old, cause he still loves to walk twice a day, but anything more than the usual activity level leaves him pretty pooped!
The good news is, now that the weather is getting nicer, it’s been easier, and more appealing to get outside and enjoy it!
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