How often does a dog need walking?

As a baseline, every dog should get at least one walk a day, and often two. How long those walks should be depends far more on the breed than on the size of the dog. The Kennel Club groups breeds into daily exercise bands ranging from up to 30 minutes to more than two hours, so a Chihuahua sits at the bottom end while a Labrador, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd or Border Collie all need more than two hours a day.

Do bigger dogs need more walking than small dogs?

Not reliably. Size is a poor guide to how much exercise a dog needs; what the breed was originally bred to do matters far more. A Greyhound is a large dog but the Kennel Club puts it at up to an hour a day, because it is a sprinter built for short bursts. A Border Collie is only a medium-sized dog but needs more than two hours, because it was bred to work all day. Several small breeds, including Jack Russells, Beagles and Cocker Spaniels, need close to an hour.

Can I walk my dog twice a day instead of once?

Yes, and for most dogs two shorter walks suit better than one long one. It breaks up the day, gives them more chances to toilet, and spreads the mental stimulation out rather than cramming it into one outing. It also tends to be easier on older dogs and on flat-faced breeds who struggle in warm weather.

Does sniffing count as exercise for a dog?

It counts for a great deal. A slow walk where a dog is allowed to stop and sniff often tires them out more thoroughly than a brisk march covering twice the distance, because scent work is mentally demanding. If your dog seems restless after a long walk, the answer is usually more sniffing time rather than more miles.

How long are your dog walks in Peterborough?

Sandra's Place offers 30-minute walks at £10 and hour-long walks at £16 during the week, or £15 and £24 at weekends, with groups kept to a maximum of four dogs per walker. Walking is kept local to Peterborough and the nearby villages, including Bretton, Glinton, Helpston, Marholm, Newborough, Walton and Werrington.

Guides

How Often Does Your Dog Need Walking?

Q: How much exercise does a puppy need?

Less than an adult dog, and built up gradually. The old five minutes per month of age rule is a rough starting point rather than a scientific one; PDSA states plainly that there is no scientific evidence behind it and that it isn't appropriate for most puppies. What matters is the skeleton underneath: in a growing puppy the joints are still soft and the growth plates at the ends of the bones have not closed over yet, so high-impact exercise lands on a frame that is not finished. In larger breeds that can take 18 to 24 months. Build stamina slowly, let them rest often, and check with your vet for your particular breed.

It's the question I'm asked more than any other, usually by someone worried they're not doing enough. Nine times out of ten they're doing fine.

The honest answer is that it depends on the dog, but that's not much use on its own. So here's how I'd actually work it out, and the one thing that catches most people out.

Start with the baseline

Every dog should get at least one walk a day, and often two. That's the Kennel Club's guidance and it matches what I see day to day.

Two shorter walks usually suit better than one long one. It breaks the day up, gives more chances to toilet, and spreads things out rather than cramming everything into one outing.

The bit that surprises people: size tells you very little

Most owners assume a big dog needs a long walk and a little dog needs a short one. It's a reasonable guess, and it's wrong more often than it's right.

What the breed was bred to do tells you far more. The Kennel Club puts every breed into a daily exercise band, and once you line them up next to each other the pattern is hard to miss.

Breed	Size	Exercise needed daily
Chihuahua	Small	Up to 30 minutes
Shih Tzu	Small	Up to 1 hour
Pug	Small	Up to 1 hour
French Bulldog	Small	Up to 1 hour
Jack Russell Terrier	Small	Up to 1 hour
Staffordshire Bull Terrier	Small	Up to 1 hour
Beagle	Small	Up to 1 hour
Cocker Spaniel	Small	Up to 1 hour
Whippet	Small	Up to 1 hour
Greyhound	Large	Up to 1 hour
Border Collie	Medium	More than 2 hours
German Shepherd	Large	More than 2 hours
Golden Retriever	Large	More than 2 hours
Labrador Retriever	Large	More than 2 hours

Look at the two rows in bold. The Greyhound is a large dog and needs up to an hour. The Border Collie is a medium dog and needs more than two.

That's not a mistake in the table. A Greyhound is a sprinter, built for short bursts and then a very long lie-down, and most retired racers I meet are among the laziest dogs going. A Collie was bred to work a hillside all day, and a Collie who doesn't get that will find its own job to do, usually one you'd rather it didn't.

Use the table as a starting point, not a target. These are the Kennel Club's bands for the breed, and your dog is an individual, with their own age, weight, health and personality. A crossbreed will sit somewhere between its parents. If your dog has any health condition at all, your vet's answer beats any table on the internet, mine included.

Puppies: less than you think, built up slowly

You'll have heard the five minutes per month of age rule. It's a handy starting point, but it's worth knowing it isn't a scientific one. PDSA say plainly that there's no scientific evidence behind it and that it isn't right for most puppies.

What actually matters is the skeleton underneath. In a growing puppy the joints are still soft, and the growth plates at the ends of the bones haven't closed over yet, so anything high-impact is landing on a frame that isn't finished. In bigger breeds that can take 18 to 24 months.

So build stamina up gradually, let them stop and rest often, and make sure they've got enough left in the tank to get home. Ask your vet what's right for your particular breed, especially with a big dog.

Myth

A tired puppy is a well-exercised puppy, so the longer the walk the better.

Fact

Over-walking a growing puppy risks lasting joint damage, and an overtired puppy usually gets more unruly, not less. Little and often, with plenty of sniffing, beats one long march every time.

Older dogs

Older dogs still want their walk, and they usually still want it at the same time every day. What tends to change is the shape of it.

Shorter and more frequent works better than one long one, softer ground is kinder than pavement, and stiffness the morning after is a sign yesterday was a bit much. Slowing down gradually is normal. Suddenly not wanting to go at all isn't, and that's one for the vet.

Flat-faced breeds, and warm weather

If you've got a Pug, Bulldog, French Bulldog or Boxer, the table above needs reading with extra care. Flat-faced breeds can't cool themselves anything like as well as longer-nosed dogs, so a walk that's comfortable in March can be genuinely dangerous in July.

I've written about that properly in keeping dogs safe in hot weather, including how hot is too hot and my own policy of simply not walking above a certain temperature. If you only read one other thing here, make it that one.

It isn't only about the minutes

This is the part I'd most like people to take away. A slow walk where your dog gets to stop and sniff everything will often tire them out more than a brisk march twice as far.

Scent work is hard mental effort. A dog reading the hedgerow is doing something genuinely tiring, even though the step count says otherwise.

So if your dog comes home from a long walk and still can't settle, the answer usually isn't more distance. It's more sniffing, or a bit of training, or a puzzle feeder. Where you go matters too, and a new route with unfamiliar smells does more for a bored dog than the same loop done faster.

Signs the balance is off

Not getting enough tends to show up as restlessness, pacing, weight gain, barking at nothing, or chewing things they know perfectly well they shouldn't.

Getting too much looks different: lagging behind on walks, stiffness or limping, sleeping far more heavily than usual, or a reluctance to set off at all. With puppies and older dogs especially, that's worth listening to.

If the sums don't work, that's normal. Plenty of people have a Collie or a Labrador and a full-time job, and the two don't add up on paper. That's most of what my regular walks are for. A 30-minute walk is £10 and an hour is £16 during the week (£15 and £24 at weekends), groups are kept to four dogs at most, and walking is kept local to Peterborough and the nearby villages so I'm not spending your dog's walk sat in a car. Message me and I'll tell you honestly what I think your dog needs.

Where this advice comes from

The breed bands and sizes in the table are the Kennel Club's own, taken from their Breeds A to Z in August 2026, and the puppy guidance is PDSA's:

The Kennel Club, Breeds A to Z, where you can look up your own dog's breed
The Kennel Club on puppy and dog walking
PDSA on exercising your puppy

Breed bands checked against the Kennel Club's Breeds A to Z in August 2026. This is general guidance rather than advice about your own dog, so if yours has a health condition or you're unsure, please ask your vet.