How much walk is good for a 7 month pup? - Page 1

I am not an expert but will share what I know. You shouldnt strain the puppy's hips and elbows. So breeders say a walk 2 times a day around a block is enough for a puppy until he is 11 - 12 months old and then you can do about a mile. After 18months of age you can do 2 miles a day. But less than an year .................not much excersice is needed. This is what I read in some breeder's websites. And some breeders void's their warranty if the pup is excersiced too much.......more than a mile a day before its first birthday.

Hope this helps.

In the wild wolf pups  of a only a few months age, will often wander 1-3 miles away from their den.  Of course they aren't running this distance flat out or anything and granted the skeletal structure of most dogs isn't as fool proof and hardy as a wolf's. 


When exercising a GSD pup (7-8 months)  I would think a 1-2 mile walk would be fine.  There are of course  other factors to consider like the surface your dog will be walking on. How big your pup is at the moment. At what pace do you normally walk, how big your specific puppy is at the moment, is your pup trotting,  leisurely walking and/or stopping every so often to sniff something really interesting. 

How energized is your pup after the walk?  Iis he ready get a good game of fetch going afterwards, does he find a spot to quitely hang out, or does he take a nap?

I would also try to take in consideration how bouncy or relaxed your pup is when hanging out  during the rest of the day.

I'm not an expert,  but those are my two cents.

 Ha, my youngest Husky could literally walk 5 miles at 3 months of age and still want to keep going and show no signs of fatigue or stress.  I've always gone on the system of walking them and if they start to get tired, walk them less the next time.  We would walk quite a few miles every morning and now at 10 months we do 5 miles, her and the other 3 Huskies together.  Even after our walks back then and now she will come back and play with the other dogs.  But for the other person to say no more than a mile a day before the first birthday I think is crap.  Try keeping your sanity with Huskies by walking them less than a mile.  German Shepherds are also a high energy breed too typically.  As long as the dog is showing no signs of stress or fatigue while walking I say you're doing it right. Like the other person said, even wolf puppies in the wild will go 1-3 miles away from the den.  If it's a well bred dog they should be able to also.

IMO, the dog should be telling you.  Every dog, just like every person, needs a different degree of exercise.

At 7 months, presuming the dog isn't overweight, you should feel comfortable doing whatever degree of exercise the dog tolerates well.  The caveat is always to vary terrain, even with an older dog.

Repetitive use injuries are called that for a reason.
Vary the terrain and type of activity, and you can avoid a good deal of that.