Key facts at a glance
- When puppies move into their new homes, they are generally old enough to take them for a walk.
- During growth, a duration of one minute per week of life is considered a guideline for walks with puppies.
- Puppies need to be defecated about every two to three hours and, accordingly, taken out into the fresh air often.
- Puppies should get used to the rules early on when they go for a walk to avoid problems later.
When is it time for puppies to go for their first walks?
Due to the statutory minimum age for delivery, your puppy will be at least eight weeks old when you move in. Basically, you can plan your first short walk straight away and show your little four-legged friend the surrounding area.
However, it’s important not to overdo it in the beginning. Because even if your puppy is old enough to go for a walk, your trips together should never be too long.
How long can you walk puppies?
In the first months of life, the walks with the puppy must be kept quite short. This also applies to breeds that normally have a high urge to move and therefore need a lot of exercise in adulthood.
As a rule of thumb, you can expect a duration of five minutes up to a maximum of the number of weeks of life in minutes. For example, if your puppy is 10 weeks old, you should walk him for a maximum of 10 minutes at a time.
This may sound short to you, but it is usually completely sufficient for your young four-legged friend during growth. Because physical overload in puppyhood can later make itself felt with health problems, such as joint diseases.
In addition, your puppy is exposed to many external stimuli that it has never known before. This can also be very exhausting for such a young dog. Nevertheless, this is a guide value that does not have to be adhered to to the minute.
Instead of going for long walks, we therefore recommend that you play games together to ensure that you are sufficiently busy.
How often should you walk puppies?
Puppies are not yet allowed to go on long walks. Compared to adult dogs, however, they have to be released much more often and for this reason alone they have to be taken out into the fresh air more often.
Basically, you can assume that you should schedule a walk with your puppy about every two to three hours. Otherwise, there’s a good chance you’ll have to wipe up mishaps from the floor on a regular basis.
There are also rules for puppies on walks
Of course, at first you cannot expect your puppy to do everything you ask of it. Nevertheless, it is important that you show your little four-legged friend right from the start which behavior is desired and which is undesirable.
Of course, this is especially true for your walks together, where you are very likely to meet other dogs and people. By training your puppy appropriately for his age early on, you will avoid unwanted behaviors that are difficult to break later.