Hi all,

Just after a bit of advice as to how long we should be walking our 14 week old Beagle puppy for now she is fully vacinated and allowed out.

For the first two days we have just done one 15-20 min walk and the kids were with me (including a 2 year old) so it was a leisurely (ish) stroll.

From the research I have done some people recommend 5 mins for each month old they are and others seem to think that is nonsense. If the 5 min rule is a good one is that per day or per walk??

My beagle book doesn't talk about how long to walk them for just, walking on a lead etc - think it is a pretty rubbish book to be honest.

Also I noticed from other posts that some of you were talking about protecting their feet in the ice and snow - what do you all recommend about this as it hadn't even crossed my mind. Though it is mostly melted here now.

Thanks Everyone
Lyndsey (& Ruby)

We have swapped our one walk a day to two shorter walks a day as Astro was coming home very hyper. He seems to have settled better for two 15 minute walks a day. I know it is a bit more than the recommended 5 minute walk per month; however, he just be bouncing off the walls with 15 minutes a day!

P.S Astro is 16 weeks

Well done for thinking about it, yes 5 minutes per month of dog age is a good guide-line, the time refers to walking with purpose on a lead per day.

So a 3month old dog would walk 7.5 minutes to the park, then have free play sniffing, socializing at there own pace for a while then walk back home with purpose lead on. It's not something you need to do with a stop watch nor an exact science but something to gauge and match to your dog and the activity level.

With our big dogs as young pups they probably had a bit under the ideal duration during the week buts lots of home play and the beach at weekends, then we moved to the farm where they have acres to play with, it varies with your situation. Our GR pup is just getting big enough for longer walks now and the warmer weather will help in the coming months.

A good idea to look at other books and maybe breed specific forums, all places have their bright ideas and pick and choose what works for your combination of dog, owner and activity.

I used the 5 minute rule with my Beagle (btw - would love to see a pic of yours)

BUT, 5 minutes away is a field. So he got walked to the field on the pavement (hard ground) and then had a bonus 10 minutes on the field (soft ground).

So at 4 months old he had 5 minutes pavement, 20 minutes field, and 5 minutes pavement. And we did this twice a day.



Bascially, walking is only one way to entertain your dog. Walking is great mental and physical stimulation, but coupled with some training sessions, playtimes, garden play, socialisation....your puppy should be entertained enough! It's tempting to over-walk a high energy puppy, but you could potentially be damaging their bones, so it's best to find other ways to use up their energy.

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hey first of all beagles are hardy little gun dogs so abit of ice and snow shouldnt bother them they have pads like we have shoes.. as for the walkin situation please please please do not walk him for too long as his bones are stil developing and u can do alot of damage u shud take the pup on 2 walks a day mornin and late evening for about 15 mins each time and then gently build this up as the pup grows... also i dont no if u have been told this but gun dogs should never be walked on tar mac for to long there joints are built for ground work ie-grass mud water not for hard tarmac... this was told to my mum who is the owner of a beagle and 2 cockers by a vet ... hope this helps

Thanks everyone, we are lucky that there are several fields nearby, the nearest just a few mins walk so not much tarmac walking.

We will stick with the 2 15 min walks and build up as suggested.

Thanks very much
Lyndsey (& Ruby)