When Should Puppies Go For Walks
15 minutes up to twice a day when three months old 20 minutes when four months old etc.
When should puppies go for walks. You ll also want to make sure zeus is current on his rabies vaccination which he can get anywhere from 3 to 6 months of age. A good rule of thumb is a ratio of five minutes exercise per month of age up to twice a day until the puppy is fully grown i e. When allie was a puppy i found short walks multiple times a day worked well. This period is between 8 and 16 weeks of age and is a crucial time in a puppies development.
Dr sophia yin a renowned veterinarian and applied animal behaviourist has this to say in her blog regarding this socialisation period. It is not safe for your puppy to come into contact with other animals. Start with basic commands such as sit stay come heel and down and make sure everyone doing the training is consistent using the same words and gestures. Your puppy should not be walking outside or going to dog parks unless he has been vaccinated.
Walking your puppy in areas frequented by other dogs can expose him to some viruses and parasites that are potentially fatal including parvo. People often ask us when can puppies go outside safely for walks or to meet other dogs standard traditional advice used to be that puppies can go outside in public places when they are fully protected by their immunizations at about 16 weeks old. Your puppy will be done with his vaccinations at 14 16 weeks old. Because it may take up to four months or longer for your four legged chum to be fully vaccinated you probably don t want to take him out on a walk or to a dog park during the first few months of life.
Once they are fully grown they can go out for much longer. When puppies are still developing they go through a time known as the critical socialisation period. It is very important that you follow this advice because if you don t your dog may catch some common diseases by being in contact with an infected dog or by ingesting bad food. The first vaccination in the primary course is usually given when your puppy is 8 weeks old and followed around two weeks later by a second vaccination to complete the course.
Remember puppies are babies and they don t have the stamina of a full grown dog so although they need exercise they also need to rest. Typical vaccinations include the distemper parvo dhhp and rabies. Normally the vaccination process ends between 3 and 4 months of age so until that point you can t take it out. On average this will be completed between 12 and 16 weeks of age.