How often should you walk your dog?

How many times a day should a dog go out?

A healthy adult dog needs at least one or two proper walks a day, plus enough short trips outside to relieve themselves. Those are two different questions, and that's exactly where most of the confusion comes from.

The reputable sources don't all say the same thing:

The difference is in what you count. The 'one or two walks' are about exercise: walking, running, sniffing. The RSPCA's four hours are about toileting, movement and company. If you walk in the morning and not again until the evening, you'll easily go past that on an ordinary day. That's why most dogs get outside more often than the number of real walks.

How often should you walk a puppy, an adult dog and a senior?

The younger the dog, the more often they go out and the shorter the walk. With older dogs, 'short and often' comes back. By life stage, the sources look like this:

With puppies, note the difference between the two toilet figures: the RSPCA is writing about a pup that is still being house-trained, while the AKC rule gives the outer limit a pup can hold it. Start with the RSPCA's short intervals and only stretch them once things go well. How to do that is in puppy house training.

For older dogs, the main message is: keep going out. The PDSA writes that an older dog may not manage long walks any more, but still needs to get outdoors every day to sniff, stretch their legs and get some fresh air. If you notice they struggle to get around or no longer enjoy the idea of a walk, the PDSA says that's a reason to see your vet.

How much exercise does your breed need?

It varies enormously. The Royal Kennel Club gives every breed one of three bands: up to 30 minutes, up to 1 hour, or more than 2 hours of exercise a day. A Pekingese sits in the lowest band, a Border Collie and a Labrador in the highest.

Two caveats. The researchers behind a large UK study (Pickup et al., 2017) point out that these bands are based on the opinions of breed clubs, not on scientific evidence. And the same study shows how often it falls short in practice: of 12,314 pedigree dogs, 53% didn't get the exercise the Kennel Club recommends for their breed. Among large dogs, only 18% met it.

So treat breed as a starting point, not the final answer. A young, energetic dog of a calm breed may need more than a ten-year-old of the same breed. If you want to walk more, build it up gradually; that's also the advice of vet and behaviour specialist Wailani Sung on PetMD.

How long can a dog hold their bladder?

According to the RSPCA, an adult dog shouldn't wait longer than four hours for a chance to toilet, move and see people; AniCura puts the limit for time alone at five hours. Puppies can hold it for much less: the RSPCA says dogs don't reach full bladder capacity until around twelve months.

• Always a toilet break before you leave. Make sure your dog relieves themselves just before you go (RSPCA).
• Walk first, then settle. The RSPCA suggests walking before you leave and getting home half an hour before you're due to go.
• Puppies straight outside after sleeping, eating, playing and visitors (RSPCA).
• Is an older dog suddenly peeing much more often, or drinking much more? That's a reason to see the vet, not just to go out more often (LICG).

If you're regularly away longer than those four to five hours, a midday walk is the simplest answer. More on long days and time alone in how long can a dog stay home alone.

Does sniffing and brain work count as exercise?

For the mind, yes: dogs also need mental stimulation, the LICG writes; they want to use their brains. Sniffing and search games don't replace physical exercise, but they make the same minutes count for more.

There's research on it too. In a small study (Duranton & Horowitz, 2019), 20 dogs spent two weeks either doing nosework games or heelwork next to their owner. Only the nosework group responded more optimistically in a behaviour test afterwards; the heelwork group showed no change.

• Let them sniff on walks. A walk where your dog has time to smell things is brain work too.
• Change the route now and then. According to the Royal Kennel Club, walks away from the usual surroundings give dogs new places to explore, which is good mental stimulation.
• Puzzle feeders and snuffle mats are good options at home (PDSA).
• Training and search games, also for older dogs who can't walk as far (LICG, PDSA).

What if you can't walk your dog often enough every day?

Then a fixed walk during the day is the simplest fix: your dog gets exercise and a toilet break in one go, and the long stretch alone is cut in half. A dog walker can take that over on the days you can't do it yourself.

Working full days? Also see dog walking when you work full time. What a walker costs is in how much does a dog walker cost.

Frequently asked questions about how often to walk a dog