How much excercise does our labrador need?

Me and my boyfriend own a 1 year old labrador, and we have very different ideas about how much exercise it needs. His 2 km walks (the dog is off leash for half of it) are wayy too short in my opinion, and I feel like the dog need more exercise. Ive asked this question at a norwegian dog forum Im on, and everyone there agrees with me in this. He however seem to think us norwegians are a bit hysterical with our dogs (hes english proud bastards hehe), and that american and english dog owners are more sensible, so, in the name of science I thought Id ask you guys here

So whats your opinion; is a 2 km walk a day enough for a labrador?

(To clarify, I do ofc walk the dog too, we take turns, and when I do the walks are much longer. So the dog does get some exercise, but I still dont feel like its enough, in total)

Well my Pugs get more than that, they probably cover about 5 miles a day. My Dobermanns used to do about 10 miles a day so I think a Labrador needs considerably more than 2 kms but it depends on the surface and location tbh. We walk on predominately soft ground in woodland. Anything less than an hour wouldn't be worth it in my view and mostly off lead too.

I would think Labradors usually get more exercise than that, the ones I know certainly do. But it really should be totally dependent on the individual dog. If he is healthy, fit, well muscled, not overweight and not shredding your furnishings through an excess of energy, then maybe this works for him.
If you do decide to increase his exercise, make sure it's done gradually, he's still young enough to damage his joints with a sudden increase in activity.

I would say 2KM a day is not enough exercise for a year old Labrador retriever. I also think it good to "do something" with your lab. They love water, seeking things out, picking up and carrying and retrieving. They enjoy being useful and it's lovely to see them "working". I have always played games with our dogs (I have retrievers) - hide and seek, chasing balls, swimming, playing with other dogs and meeting and greeting, going into town and visiting folks etc. All these things helps satisfy your dog's natural inclinations and abilities and helps keep his mind occupied.

Labrador's are active dogs, they may have gotten used to only walking 2 km a day but that doesn't mean that they wouldn't benefit from more. You'll probably find that if you walk them more, they'll be calmer and more well behaved. Is there any way you can take them swimming? If I were dog and only got out for 20-30 min per day, I'd feel pretty bored, wouldn't you?

Better would be a morning and evening walk, so he is out twice a day 30 to 45 mins each time.

My English Mastiff is getting more exercise than your lab is a day, and a lab has far more energy

Labrador become fat if you don't give him proper exercise. The dog needs to play a lot and that's why it is best suited to be a family dog. Labrador needs to have proper grooming too. If you can afford all these things then pet a Labrador by all means.

I don't think there is such a thing as too much exercise for a labrador! They are a very active breed and will run all day given the chance. They love swimming which is of course amazingly good exercise, and they love to retrieve and chase balls, all of which is good. As a breed they have a tendency to put on fat, so my advice would be absolutely to give him as much exercise as you possibly can!

It really depends on the dog and their energy level. Is it enough for YOUR dog? Maybe or maybe not. Is your dog gaining weight or in good shape? Does the dog get other exercise (e.g. playing fetch)? Is your dog destructive in the home?

Our Border Collie gets about 3.2km to 5km of walks each day. He's young and active. He also gets a lot of play time running around our backyard and playing fetch, etc. He's happy with that amount, though we have a hard time keeping weight on him.

Our Border Collie/Golden Retriever mix has ALWAYS been a really mellow, relaxed dog. Even when she was 2 (she's 10 now). At 2, we used to walk maybe 2km to 3km a day. Most of that was very slow and involved a lot of sniffing of everything. She didn't get much besides that as she was not really energetic and not into fetch or anything. Now at 10, she walks often walks about .5km a day. It's all she wants and she's happy lounging around.

So really, HUGE difference in my dogs, even when both were about 2. HUGE difference in the amount of food they eat too. Dahlia (the mellow one) gets only about a cup of food a day. She gains weight super easily because she's really lazy. Ben (the active one) eats at least 2 and sometimes more depending on how much exercise he gets. He loses weight super easily because he's really active.

Thanx ... that was helpful