Exercise guidelines for Puppies

It's not advised to take a puppy at the age of 6 months on long walks.

Puppies bones, joints and muscles are still developing and not yet fully formed. Overexerting them on long walks could cause strain and injury to the pup's growing bones and joints, particularly the growth plates.

Here are some exercise guidelines for puppy owners:

1. Start with short, low intensity walks or play sessions, even though your pup may seem to have a lot of energy, gradually increase the length and intensity over time as your puppy grows and develops. The pup will grow in confidence and enjoy the walks.
2. Choose activities that are appropriate for your puppy's breed and age. Some breeds enjoy running or swimming, while others prefer playing fetch or going on leisure walks.
3. Puppies bones and joints are still in a developing stage and can be easily injured by high-impact activities like jumping out of the car and running on hard surfaces.
4. If during the exercise the pup shows signs of fatigue, overheating, or any other discomfort stop and offer the pup water and let the pup rest.
5. Puppies need mental stimulation and socialise with other people besides their own human family as well as meet other dogs to grow confidence.

Puppy Exercise Guide by age:

1 month old pup  |   5 minutes of exercise   |   twice a day
2 month old pup  | 10 minutes of exercise   |   twice a day
3 month old pup  | 15 minutes of exercise   |   twice a day
4 month old pup  | 20 minutes of exercise   |   twice a day
5 month old pup  | 25 minutes of exercise   |   twice a day
6 month old pup  | 30 minutes of exercise   |   twice a day
7 month old pup  | 35 minutes of exercise   |   twice a day
8 month old pup  | 40 minutes of exercise   |   twice a day

Because puppies have a lot of energy, try not to be tempted to over tire them.

In the developing bones and joints of puppies the growth plates are delicate.

You probably have heard that puppies have growth plates but what are they exactly? New bone is formed on growth plates. When the growth plates are 'open' they are active creating new bone cells and when they are 'close' the new bone formation sets into strong bone. When the pups growth plates are 'open', the pups bones and joints are delicate and can be easily damaged.