How Much Exercise Does My Dog Need?

There's No One-Size-Fits-All Number

A nine-month-old Border Collie and a senior Bulldog do not need the same walk. One was bred to run all day on a hillside; the other physically struggles to breathe in summer heat. Any blanket figure — "an hour a day", "two walks" — is a starting point at best, and can be flat-out wrong for the dog in front of you.

Four things shape how much your dog needs:

• Age — puppies and seniors have very different (and more limited) needs than fit adults.
• Breed or type — working and sporting breeds typically need far more than companion or brachycephalic (flat-faced) breeds.
• Health — joint problems, heart conditions and weight all change the picture.
• The individual — even within a breed, dogs vary. Some are couch potatoes; some never stop.

So treat the guidance below as a rough map, then read your own dog. Their behaviour tells you more than any chart.

Rough Guide by Life Stage & Energy

These figures are approximate daily totals for physical exercise, usually best split across two or more sessions. They're a sanity check, not a prescription — your vet can advise on your individual dog.

The Puppy Over-Exercise Trap

With puppies, the bigger risk is usually too much, not too little. Young dogs have soft, still-developing joints and open growth plates — the areas at the ends of growing bones. Forced, repetitive or high-impact exercise can damage them, and that damage can show up as problems later in life.

A widely used rule of thumb is roughly five minutes of structured exercise per month of age, once or twice a day — so about fifteen minutes for a three-month-old. Treat that as a ceiling for formal walks, not a target to hit.

What to avoid while they grow:

• Long forced marches on the lead.
• Repetitive high-impact activity — endless ball-chasing, jumping, running up and down stairs.
• Pushing a tired puppy to "keep up" with an adult dog or a jogger.

Free play in the garden, gentle exploring and plenty of sniffing are far better for a growing pup, because they self-regulate and rest when they need to. Your vet can tell you what's appropriate for your puppy's breed and stage — always confirm before ramping anything up.

Mental Exercise Counts Too

Here's the part most owners underestimate: a dog's brain tires them out as much as their legs. Sniffing, problem-solving, training and foraging all draw on real mental effort, and a dog that has worked their nose and their head will often be calmer than one that has simply run further.

A "sniffari" — a slow, unhurried walk where you let your dog choose where to go and sniff to their heart's content — is one of the best forms of low-impact exercise there is. It's gentle on the body, deeply satisfying, and especially valuable for puppies, seniors and recovering dogs who can't do much physically.

Other easy ways to work the brain: scatter feeding, snuffle mats, food puzzles, short training sessions, and learning new tricks. Five minutes of thinking can take the edge off a wired dog more reliably than another loop of the park.

Track Every Walk, Balance the Brain

PupPlan's GPS walk tracking logs your distance, pace and route, so you can set walk goals and spot patterns in what your dog actually needs. And because tired legs aren't enough, it includes 15 guided enrichment games to work the brain — the other half of a balanced routine.

Signs You've Got the Balance Wrong

Your dog will tell you when something's off — you just have to recognise the signals. They fall into two camps.

Too little exercise often looks like:

• Restlessness and an inability to settle.
• Excessive barking or whining.
• Destructive behaviour — chewing, digging, raiding bins.
• Creeping weight gain.

Too much exercise (or the wrong kind) can show up as:

• Limping, stiffness or soreness, especially the day after.
• Lagging behind or refusing to go further.
• Over-arousal — a dog that's wired rather than relaxed.
• Never being able to switch off and rest.

If you see persistent soreness or lameness, ease off and speak to your vet rather than pushing through it.

Build a Balanced Routine

A good routine isn't about maxing out the numbers — it's about variety and consistency. Aim to blend:

1. Walks for steady physical activity and a change of scene.
2. Sniffing time for low-impact mental exercise.
3. Training and play to engage the brain and your bond.
4. Real rest — most dogs need a lot of sleep, and rest days are perfectly fine.

Keep it broadly consistent day to day; dogs thrive on rhythm. Tracking your walks over a couple of weeks makes it easy to see what genuinely settles your dog and what doesn't — then adjust from there.

Special Cases

Some dogs need the rules bent. Brachycephalic (flat-faced) breeds like Pugs, Bulldogs and French Bulldogs can't cool themselves efficiently and tire fast — keep sessions short, avoid heat, and watch their breathing. Seniors do best with gentle, frequent outings rather than one big push. Dogs recovering from illness, injury or surgery need a plan set by your vet, often built around controlled rest and slow rebuilding.

Whenever your dog's needs feel unusual — or you're simply not sure — your vet is the right person to ask.

Common Mistakes

• Treating one number as gospel. A figure off the internet ignores your dog's breed, age and health.
• Over-walking a puppy. Forced miles on growing joints do more harm than good.
• Ignoring the brain. Physical exercise alone leaves many dogs under-stimulated and restless.
• Assuming a hyper dog needs more running. Often they need less arousal and more rest or mental work.
• Pushing through soreness. Limping or lagging is a signal to stop, not to persevere.
• Forgetting rest days. Recovery is part of fitness, not a failure of it.