How Much Exercise Does a Dog Need? Daily Activity Guide

Through consistent physical activity, your dog’s muscle mass will develop and become stronger, as well as the dog’s joint structure will develop and become stronger, and the dog’s heart will be strengthened. In addition, physical activity can also assist with your dog’s weight (by burning calories) and at-risk behaviours due to boredom or excessive energy.

Over the past several years, many agencies such as the American Kennel Club and the World Health Organization have focused on the importance of routine physical exercise for animals and people in effort to obtain long-term benefits with respect to health. After understanding that dogs need use of both physical fitness and mental stimulation to have a healthy, well-balanced life, you can see that physical activity can have a very positive impact on your dog.

Creating a Daily Exercise Routine

Creating a formalized structure at your home to provide a daily schedule for your dog’s physical activity will help to ensure that your dog will continue to receive the daily physical activity it needs without becoming overworked.

If you understand and take into consideration the needs of your dog and modify the quantity of physical activity your dog participates in to meet your dog’s needs, you will be able to create a routine of daily exercise with your dog, producing benefits to the dog on a consistent basis and in a positive manner.

Exercise Needs Based on Breed

The exercise needs of dogs are very different based on the characteristics and genetic make-up of a particular breed. High, moderate, and low energy dogs differ in their exercise needs and activity level.

• High energy breeds: High energy breeds (working and sporting-type dogs) need to be exercised by way of structured high-energy style exercise (namely, running, agility training and so forth) and must have plenty of physical and mental activity every single day in order to meet their exercise requirements and avoid developing undesirable behaviours.
• Moderate-energy breeds: Typically, moderate-energy breeds (retriever and spaniels) will have available to them a combination of walking, playing fetch and performing interactive types of play, which will adequately satisfy moderate-energy breeds (retrievers and spaniels), but not cause them to become exhausted.
• Low-energy breeds: Low-energy breeds of dogs, while having much less overall energy than high energy or moderate- energy breeds, also need to engage in a reasonable amount of exercise (though at lower levels than either high-energy or moderate-energy breeds) periodically throughout the week in order to be healthy.

A reasonable amount of movement can be accomplished via short walks, playing with soft toys and so forth, which reduces the risk of becoming overweight. While all owners should observe their dog to ensure that they are not becoming fatigued, over-exerted or suffering from a heat-related incident.

Particularly with breeds that have a greater risk of having respiratory disorders, they should also vary the time period and intensity of the dog’s exercise routine in terms of both duration and intensity in order to create a successful and safe exercise programme.

Exercise Based on Age

The age of a dog dictates how much exercise the dog receives. By way of example, dogs experience periods of high energy followed by periods of sufficient amount of rest time.

They may require a variety of short play periods per day to allow for development of sufficient gross motor (muscle) development, and to limit stresses placed on underdeveloped joints (bones) during the dogs’ growth process.

Adult Dogs

To maintain their overall health and energy balance throughout adulthood, most dogs require daily exercise on a consistent basis — via regular walks, playtime, or moderately physically challenging activities.

All of which help an adult dog maintain muscular tone and avoid becoming overweight or obese. Vet associations provide advice to the general public about how regularly scheduled physical activity contributes to an adult dog’s long-term physical stability.

Puppies

Because puppies tire easily, they need plenty of time to recover from each activity by having frequent periods of rest. Early in life, having a balanced amount of exercise to develop puppies’ physical bodies in a healthy way is extremely important to them.

Senior Dogs

By monitoring the physical cues that they provide, their exercises will be appropriate and maintain safety.

Exercise Types for Dogs

Dogs can benefit from both physically-active & mentally-stimulating types of exercise and will benefit the most from both throughout the day if varying types of activities are included in their daily schedules.

Making sure your pup has plenty of mental stimulation through the use of puzzle toys and training sessions helps provide your dog with mental health, and quality of life.

Mental Stimulation & Enrichment

In addition to providing physical exercise, many companies like KONG make enrichment (food/scent) toys that provide playtime in conjunction with problem-solving.

Physical Activities

• Running/fetching or playing chase games for short bursts of energy
• Swimming for low-impact workouts

Daily Exercise Guidelines

Although there are some guidelines associated with exercise time periods, they should serve as a foundation for estimating how much time daily exercise may be needed as opposed to being considered definitive in establishing the amount of exercise required by a dog.

Many high-energy dogs will require at least 60 or more minutes of exercise daily, while many smaller or less active dogs may require less.

Importance of Routine

The AKC states that “Regular” is still more important than having any sort of long-term activity with your dog, but performing the activities mentioned above can be part of a daily routine.

Routine exercise will also help establish a better sense of structure for your dog, and will establish a solid base for developing confidence with his/her behavior.

When a dog has a consistent daily activity schedule to follow, there are typically fewer signs of restlessness or anxiety, because there is a structured day to look forward to and schedule when to rest and create a safe environment.

Exercise Needs Based on Size

The amount of exercise each day your dog needs depends upon its size.

• Small dogs (less than 15 pounds): Dogs weighing less than 15 pounds normally need 30-60 total minutes of exercise each day depending on how much exercise the dog needs, and generally split this time between a short walk around their Neighborhood and playing in the house.
• Medium breed dogs: Medium breed dogs generally need 60-90 total minutes of exercise each day via walking, running and playing—all three needed to support muscular strength as well as cardio fitness.
• Large and working breeds: Working and large dog breeds typically need 90-120 total minutes of exercise a day, either through out-running or agility and balance exercises that allow dogs to develop physically, as well as mentally.

Balanced Daily Routine

Dog owners who include periodic physical activity in their dog’s routine will have dogs who are balanced in their energy and will not deplete themselves by having to do an excessive amount of physical activity with no scheduled rest throughout the day.

Walking dogs in the morning and evening is the primary way of providing physical activity to your dog.

Short Play Sessions

In addition to the continuous morning and evening walks, having multiple short play periods each day will improve the chances for dogs to keep a balance of energy throughout the day.

Dogs that are likely to fatigue quickly or dogs who have to gradually build up to increased physical activity may benefit from these shorter play periods.

By having a balanced schedule of physical activity and allowing periods of rest for your dogs each day, dog owners can keep and enhance their dogs’ non-exhausted energy, support that activity for sustainability, and provide an overall good routine for their dogs.