How Many Times a Day Should You Walk a Dog? Focus on THIS Instead

While you may be wanting to know how many times a day you should walk your dog, I want to convince you in this article to think about this question differently! Before you close this tab, stick with me for a few minutes. I promise by the end of this article you’ll feel more confident in assessing your dog’s exercise needs each day.  And I know the sentiment of this question comes from a desire to make sure you’re meeting your dog’s needs, which is a fantastic thing! So I want to dig into that a little bit more, and help us all improve our dog’s lives (and ours as well in the process). If you’re really dying for a number, I’d say at least one walk a day. Or at least 60 minutes of total walking time. Preferably you’d give two walks per day, too! BUT… Let’s flip the script on this question and find a better way to think about our dogs’ exercise and stimulation needs. Where I previously lived I almost never walked my dogs. Yup, you read that right. But you know what I did do a lot of?  Fetch, tug of war, playing at the park, snuffle mats, hikes, lick mats, hide and seek, and doggy play dates. While we rarely went on a standard “walk” around our neighborhood, my dogs still had plenty of exercise, bonding, and enrichment time throughout the day. The trap of thinking about how many times you need to walk your dog is that walks aren’t the only measure of a happy, healthy, and well-exercised dog. And every dog is different (you’re gonna be sick of hearing that by the end). Some dogs absolutely love walks. They love the bonding time, they love the sniffs, and they love the leisurely exercise. Some dogs just don’t really care for walks but enjoy the experience and get enough enrichment out of it. Some dogs need loads more than just a walk… 👇 I could walk my dog Scout for 2 hours straight and she wouldn’t be tired… at all. She would actually probably end up a little bit bored. But let her play fetch for 30 minutes and she will be visibly enjoying herself and come home more tired than the 2-hour walk scenario. Certain breeds have been bred for 100s (if not 1,000s) of years to perform specific tasks. My Labrador Retrievers were literally bred to help retrieve items. That is their “life calling” if you want to give it a name. So ask yourself, what was your dog bred to do? If the answer is to be a lap dog, then walks might be perfectly suitable for meeting his or her exercise needs. But if the answer is to help with hunting, walks might not be enough. Or if the answer is to herd livestock, walks might not be enough. Possibly the answer is to protect, and walks might not be enough. Do you see what I mean?! Every single dog is different! The key is to find what type of exercise your dog derives the most enjoyment and physical exertion from, and do that. And if you find yourself coming home from a long walk and your dog is still hyper, it might be time to reassess your exercise routine.