How often do I need to walk my dog?

One of the most common questions we receive from first-time owners is how often they should walk their dogs. While more is almost always better than less for young and healthy dogs, understanding why we walk dogs is a good starting point which will help you make your own properly informed decisions.

Walks are commonly understood to be how owners exercise their dogs, but can and do offer so much more benefit. Walks tend to be when dogs spend the most time outdoors which allows them to perform natural behaviours and fully exercise their senses which may be under stimulated in normal home settings. Slow walks with plenty of sniff stops may not appear to be particularly valuable, but they provide dogs with almost unparalleled mental stimulation while letting them utilise their strongest scent. Sniff walks are essential for a dog’s wellbeing, and just as important as free running or more vigorous exercise. Given how much most dogs enjoy their walks, this also provides daily bonding opportunities.

Mornings are generally accepted as the best time to walk a dog, but short settling walks after meals and other times throughout the day are also beneficial. If you have a particularly energetic dog, then we would also recommend ensuring that it has access to plenty of enrichment outside of when it is being walked. Chew toys, food puzzles, and scent diffusers are all good options that can be easily implemented and enjoyed by all dogs. If dogs are taught to use their walks as a time to go to the toilet as well, then this can greatly benefit housetraining while eliminating the risk of unwanted accidents at home as well.

Dogs that receive enough exercise and stimulation tend to be happier and calmer while enjoying a higher quality of life. Walks are one of the easiest ways for owners to provide both of these for their dogs and offer any number of other benefits. As a rule, more is better than less. Regularity and frequency of walks are not areas responsible dog owners compromise on, and should be carried out at least daily. For advice from our training team on how to improve your quality of dog walks, please email info@protectiondogsworldwide.com.