vicky2200

Hi I have a 19 week old toy poodle. If I take him on a mile walk nearly everyday will that be too much? He is running the whole time in order to keep up with the big dogs. He is able to do it fine but I am not sure if that is too much for a dog his size and his age?

fjm

A good rule of thumb for pups is 5 minutes of "formal" walking exercise per month of age, twice a day - that's in addition to playing around the house and garden. So at 4 - 5 months, your pup would be getting around 20 - 25 minutes twice a day - a mile may be just a bit too much. I think it is probably less important for small pups than for big dogs, where you really don't want to put too much stress on young joints, but I would carry him part of the way just for the next few weeks. Sounds as if he is having lots of fun with the big dogs!

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To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

vicky2200

Thanks! I intend to talk to a vet more about his exercise needs but I wanted to make sure that until then I wasn't doing him any harm. He only got a short walk today because the weather isn't the greatest but he doesn't seem to mind.

CT Girl

I think FJM is spot on as usual. A mile at that age seems a bit too long. If you carry him part of the way it will be an even better workout for you.

mom24doggies

Agree with CT Girl, fjm gave you some great advice. When Trev was little, I had to carry him a good part of our 1.5 miles, probably up until he was about4 months. He's also a mini, so at 4 months he was plenty big and energetic enough to go almost the whole way with only a few carrying breaks. Good luck with your new baby!

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"Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle dog and sometimes for a man." ~George Jean Nathan