The number of walks that we must take with our dog throughout the day is directly proportional to its age, breed, state of health and, of course, to our available time. We must bear in mind that not all walks are going to be long, many of them will be simply for you to relieve yourself outside the home.
Dogs need a routine when it comes to outings, so they can get used to holding their urine and feces until the time of the walk. We will see when, how and how many times it is advisable to take a puppy for a walk, depending on the factors indicated.
How many times do you have to take a puppy for a walk?
Puppies do not need to take long walks so their walks are simply limited to the home environment. Remember that you should not take a dog for a walk until it has all its mandatory vaccinations and / or recommended by the veterinaryn, since it could contract dangerous diseases.
Puppies do not need to go for a walk until more or less three months of life, since they do not have all their vaccinations it is better to have it at home and let them just play and have fun (if we have a private garden where there are no other animals, they can also use it).
Puppies over three months old and with their vaccines in place, can now begin to enjoy the outside world, meet other people and puppies, play around the nearby parks and, above all, discover the world.
However, we should not oblige them to take long walks, we must let them decide how much they want to walk or play, without forcing them.
It is recommended to go out at least four times a day. And all the exits must be at least twenty or thirty minutes, except one that must be at least one hour or more.
As an example these would be some very good walking routines:
- 30 minutes when you wake up in the morning, to pee, poop and take a breath.
- 30 minutes at noon to pee, poop and take a breath.
- 60 minutes mid-afternoon, to pee, poop, play, and socialize with other puppies.
- 30 minutes at night, to pee and poop before bed.
Obviously if you can make more outings or increase the duration of them, it would be much better. Dogs love to be on the street and enjoy nature.
How many times should an adult dog be taken for a walk?
If it is a healthy dog that does not require special needs for prostate problems such as incontinence, it is common to take them out at least four times a day, just like puppies.
Although here if we must apply a little common sense and assess the age of our dog. If our dog is young and strong, we can and should exercise it daily to maintain good health.
During the daily walk we must walk and not be sedentary, as for example we would be with the walk of a puppy. However, if our dog is older, we must treat him like a grandfather and give him calmer walks, without pressure.
As an example, these could also be good hours:
- 30 minutes when you wake up in the morning, to pee, poop and take a breath.
- 30 minutes at noon to pee, poop and take a breath.
- 60 minutes mid-afternoon, to pee, poop, play, walk, exercise, and socialize with other puppies.
- 30 minutes at night, to pee and poop before bed.
Remembering that young dogs need to burn off their excess energy on a daily basis, so going for a jog or bike with them is an excellent option. We should not force the older ones, some days they will want to walk and walk and others just enjoy lying on the grass in the park.
Tips for walking your dog
It is a very common and widespread mistake to go for a walk in a hurry or in a bad mood. The walks are the best moment of the dog throughout the day, it is his special moment so respect him and forget about everything else, focus only on your dog.
- Let him sniff as much as he wants, there is no rush and he loves to sniff things.
- He walks calmly and without haste, he can notice your stress, nervousness or anger and he will not feel happy.
- Try going to a dog park where, in addition to running, you can socialize with other dogs and make new friends.
- Avoid taking walks in the same place, dogs love to discover new routes to walk, explore new smells, etc …
- Your dog’s walk is a magical moment for him to enjoy his outing, share that magic and pamper him and play games. Make him feel how lucky you are to have him by your side.
- Stimulate their smell with search games, you can leave pieces of sausage hidden behind some trees for them to look for and eat. You will have a great time!
- Do not scold your dog if he growls at another dog, your dog does not have to like all the dogs in the world. If you know someone they don’t get along with, just sit down and wait for them to pass or walk away. Focus on enjoying the ride, not teaching education.