How Much Exercise Does My Dog Need?
A daily target based on breed group, age, body condition and health – plus ideas for filling it.
Your dog's daily exercise
90–120 minutes
Suggested split: 2 to 3 walks totalling 90–120 minutes, with at least one long sniffy outing
Group: Working, sporting and herding breeds (90–120 minutes as a starting point)
Activity ideas
Out and about
- Sniffy 'decompression' walks on a long line
- Fetch in short bursts, on grass, avoiding hard turns
- Swimming where it is safe and supervised
- Recall games and hide and seek in the woods
- Scentwork: hide a favourite toy and send them to find it
Indoors, or on a hot day
- Scatter their dinner across a snuffle mat or towel roll
- Food puzzles and stuffed, frozen Kongs
- Five minutes of trick training – twice is plenty
- Hide and seek with treats around the house
- A cardboard box dig-box filled with paper and kibble
- Gentle tug, on a soft floor, with rules
- Name-the-toy games and a tidy-up-the-toys routine
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Heatstroke is an emergency – act straight away
Signs to look for
- Heavy, frantic panting that does not settle
- Excessive drooling, very red or very pale gums
- Wobbliness, confusion or lack of coordination
- Vomiting or diarrhoea, sometimes with blood
- Lethargy, collapse, seizures or unconsciousness
Cool first, transport second
- Stop all activity and move your dog into shade or a cool room.
- Pour or spray cool water – not ice-cold – over them continuously, especially the neck, tummy and inside the back legs.
- Keep air moving over the wet coat with a fan, a breeze or an open car window.
- Offer small amounts of cool water to drink if they are fully conscious.
- Ring your vet immediately and tell them you are on your way.
Do not cover your dog with a wet towel and leave it on – it traps heat. Never use ice baths, which can cause the blood vessels in the skin to close and slow cooling down. Dogs can still be in serious trouble after they look better, so they always need a vet check.
Breed group is the biggest factor
A Border Collie and a Pug are both dogs, and that is roughly where the similarity ends where exercise is concerned. Working, sporting and herding breeds were bred to be busy all day and generally need ninety minutes to two hours, often more. Hounds sit around an hour to ninety minutes. Terriers and the smaller spaniels do well on forty-five to seventy-five minutes. Toy and flat-faced breeds need twenty to forty minutes, split into short, gentle outings.
Puppies: five minutes per month, twice a day
The long-standing guide is five minutes of structured exercise per month of age, up to twice daily – fifteen minutes twice a day at three months, twenty at four, and so on until they are fully grown. It is about protecting growth plates from repetitive, high-impact work: long road walks, stairs, jumping in and out of cars and endless ball throwing. Free play in the garden, pottering and sniffing do not count towards the limit, and puppies also need far more sleep than most owners expect – around eighteen hours a day.
Seniors and dogs with health conditions
Older dogs still need to move; they just need it gentler and more often. Three short walks beat one long one, soft ground beats pavement, and warm-ups matter. Arthritic dogs should keep going – rest stiffens joints – but on the level, with good pain relief from your vet. For heart conditions, keep everything at an easy pace and stop at the first sign of tiring or coughing. Swimming and hydrotherapy are excellent for both groups, since they build muscle without loading joints.
Quality counts as much as quantity
A dog dragged round the same block at heel for an hour is often more frustrated than one given twenty minutes to sniff a hedgerow properly. Scenting is mentally demanding and genuinely tiring. Mix your dog's week: a long line sniffing walk, some recall games, a bit of trick training, a swim if they enjoy water, and short bursts of fetch on grass rather than repetitive throws on hard ground.
Signs you have the balance wrong
Too little: restlessness, destructiveness, barking, weight gain, pestering. Too much: lagging behind, lying down on walks, stiffness or limping afterwards, sleeping unusually heavily, or a puppy that is grumpy and over-tired. Increase distance gradually – no more than about ten per cent a week – especially for unfit or overweight dogs.
Hot days change everything
On warm days, move exercise to early morning and late evening, cut the length, stick to shaded grass, and swap the rest for indoor enrichment. Flat-faced, heavy-coated, overweight, senior and very young dogs are all at higher risk of heatstroke. Our Walk Check shows the pavement temperature and safe windows for your postcode.
Frequently asked questions
How much exercise does my dog need each day?
It depends on the breed group. Working, sporting and herding breeds need 90 to 120 minutes or more, hounds 60 to 90, terriers and small spaniels 45 to 75, and toy or flat-faced breeds 20 to 40 minutes.
How much exercise should a puppy have?
The usual guide is five minutes of structured exercise per month of age, twice a day – so 15 minutes twice daily for a three-month-old. Free play and pottering in the garden are on top of that.
Why limit a puppy's exercise?
Growth plates are still open, and repetitive or high-impact exercise such as long road walks, stairs and jumping can affect developing joints. Large and giant breeds need the most care, for the longest.
Does sniffing count as exercise?
Very much so. Ten minutes of proper sniffing tires a dog more than a brisk twenty-minute march, because scenting is mentally demanding. A slow sniffy walk is a real walk.
My dog has arthritis – should they still walk?
Yes, but little and often. Several short, gentle walks on soft, level ground beat one long one, and swimming or hydrotherapy is excellent. Ask your vet about pain relief before reducing activity.
What about an overweight dog?
Build up slowly, keep it low-impact, and remember that weight loss comes mainly from the food bowl. Sudden long walks on an unfit, heavy dog risk injury and overheating.
Can I exercise a flat-faced dog normally?
Keep sessions short, cool and gentle, and stop at the first sign of noisy breathing. Flat-faced breeds cannot cool themselves efficiently and are at much higher risk of heatstroke.
What if it's too hot to go out?
Swap the walk for indoor enrichment: scatter feeding, snuffle mats, food puzzles, trick training, hide and seek and a frozen Kong. Mental work genuinely tires a dog out.
Estimates only – not a substitute for advice from your vet.
Last reviewed: 22 September 2026