Advice please - does the 5mins walking per month only apply to pavement type walking

or does it apply to a long lead on a grass surface type of run around too.

I ask cos we have a 13 1/2 week English springer spaniel who we havent let off the lead yet as he was only out of his jab exclusion period on monday so need weekend to take him to a safer area etc.

But whilst i can work out the 5 mins rule, if we are not trawling him around pavements but taking him to the park and letting him play on a loose long lead with us just sort of trailing along behind as he busies himself etc does it matter if he is out for 30-45 mins running/stopping/noseying around etc, cos i feel that this is the same as garden play, he is free to stop and start etc.

thanks

any help please, want to show this to dh!

I would guess that he can 'play' as much as he wants 'cos like you said, he can rest. I think the 5 min rule probably applies to pavement walking. But I'm not an expert, I've never had a puppy.
Maybe someone with experiance might answer.

My pup ran and played loads everywhere and was walked a bit on pavements.

You will go mad fast if you don't do lots with him!

I fed all her meals in an interactive toy---usually a ball or a pyramid and she had stuffed kongs and marrow bones to chew on. If you get the shank bits of the marrow bone they won't get too much off them and make themselves ill.

Lots of training as well.

rune

thanks, was just a bit paranoid, that although it is on grass and in no way forced to keep him moving that we may overdo it. He loves it and we have been using some of the time out to practice recall on a long line, laying and sitting etc in different places as well as socialising with other dogs and people. Just want to get it right as we have no experience!

work his brain, rather than his body springers can still be prone to joint problems and over exercising at a young age can contribute to it, when fudge was a pup he went with the big dogs but he only had 5 mins at a time off his lead, he would get carried some and lead walked some

I didnt count running, playing type excersize as part of the 5min rule as they can run and play the same if they were in the garden so I only say the 5min rule is for pavement walking

I would definitely stick to the 5 minute rule when lead walking. You can ease up a bit when the pup is off lead and mooching around at his own pace but again, don't go mad. He is still a baby and despite his bounciness and exuberance, he is too young to have a decent level of fitness and stamina yet. A lot of pups don't know when to stop and obviously you don't want to risk injury at a time when they are developing rapidly. The idea of 5 minute rule is that you work on building stamina slowly.

So, I would not be walking a pup of his age off lead for up to 45 minutes yet. That would be too much too soon. Do as mix of shorter off lead walks (I wouldn't do more than 20 minutes) and lots of socialization & training trips.

Yup. Not to mention that you don't want to do the opposite of what the 5 minute rule is supposed to do (build stamina slowly) and have a dog that is tireless. You have to think that if a dog is demanding 45 minutes of exercise at 13 weeks in order to settle in the house (I realize you are not doing this yet, but hypothetically ), what will the dog require when it's stamina and fitness increases greatly at 6 months, then at 12 months, 18 months, and so on? the last thing anyone wants is a dog that is a hyper monster without 3 solid hours of walking every day. Thus, you take it easy and slowly.

Hi You sound pace him .Remember he must enjoy his walk and so must you. A good short walk is better than a very long boring walki, Make sure you go to lots of diferent places and let him meet lots of people and their dog whilst heis young he will then learn to mix well. Time is not the most important issue , fun and enjoyment is