# Spoo Activity or Walk Length



## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

I like to maximize walks with a longer, loose leash. That way, Peggy can sniff around and cover far more ground than I do.

We also don’t really depend on walks for exercise. They’re a nice opportunity for fresh air and mental stimulation, but if I want to really tire her out, I use something like the flirt pole. Or I schedule a play date with her collie buddy. Or my husband takes her on a hike where she can be on a long line and _really_ cover some ground.

I also do multiple short training sessions per day, which are mentally tiring and leave her very relaxed. These plus the occasional opportunity to run at “full poodle” are her primary forms of exercise.

Since you don’t have a yard, you might want to consider something like Sniff Spot, where you can rent a yard for an hour and do agility, practise walking off-leash, play fetch, etc. That might be more fun than trying to add up the miles in winter.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

P.S. I should have mentioned that a lot of this depends on your spoo’s energy level. Peggy is a medium-energy girl. She doesn’t have a ton of stamina and we’ve done our best to keep it that way. There’s no way we could keep a super athlete happy!


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

We also don't have a fenced yard. 

I try for a minimum of 45 min of walking per day, and trips for Annie to run off leash a few times per week. Sometimes I may only walk 10 min or less, and then sit with her off leash for an hour at the park. Sometimes I may walk for 1.5 hrs or more. 

I try to focus on time and quality more than a certain distance. It's at her pace, which is usually pretty fast, but if she wants to stop and sniff, that's fine. I keep the leash very loose or use a flexi so she can range further away without interrupting my walking pace. 

I also make sure we go outside of the neighbourhood regularly so she gets more fun sniffs. A conservation area, downtown, a store, etc, I count all of those as mental stimulation. Most important is trips to a field where she can really run and burn off steam. She's a much nicer dog to live with when regularly allowed to run. I count being in stores towards her total walk time, though she does need some destress sniffing walking outside even on days we go to stores.


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## Michigan Gal (Jun 4, 2019)

I also use a long leash. This way, the dog gets way more exercise than I do, and makes a more interesting outing.

If your dog gets out, where do you want him to go and do? Walk down the middle of the street? Cross a busy street? Walk him where you'd like him to go if he was loose.


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## Basil_the_Spoo (Sep 1, 2020)

You're probably good. You can take it easy during the winter.

It's one of those _things _you're going to have to calibrate as the season approaches. You'll need to ask yourself, "what other ways can I tire him out inside?" because more physical exercise only creates a super athelete, so, unless that's your desire, you're going to need to shift your approach to exercise.

We live in an apartment. We only maybe get 2-3 days of snow. (PNW). Our mindset focused from "We need to go from A to B and then back" to "Did we spend enough time outside getting fresh air?" Walking slow, smelling other dogs pee like a metal detector at the beach, and getting fresh air is very effective. 

Inside, we play light tug because it's what we both enjoy.


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## kuriooo (Feb 17, 2010)

Kali is my recently added family member. She is a total couch potato, which I love. Weekends involve doggie friends play dates, 1-2 a day. Weekdays she gets a few short walks, between 10-25 minutes. Lots of time to sniff on at least 1-2 walks, or varied locations. Lots of car outings for variety. She doesn’t seem to need a lot more, she is 5.


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## BennieJets (Oct 10, 2021)

I have a 14 week old and have had her since she was 8 weeks.
In the beginning, I was very worried about not having a fenced yard. In fact I took to PF here and got lots of great ideas.
I was also offered this thread to check out, very helpful!
She's my first pooch and I didn't fully appreciate how much she just wants to be with me. I envisioned her taking off at the first chance and so I held her leash with a death grip, paranoid she'd run for the busy residential roads I live on (we also live on a corner lot).

Anyhow, I got a very long line and we now play in our yard with her trailing that. We play chase, which encourages her to routinely check in where I'm at and follow me. We practice recalls with great enthusiasm, collar grabs, and sometimes treats. We practice red light/green light for go-go-going and quick settling and impulse control. I walk swiftly or jog and change directions to keep her engaged. Because of her age, we only need to do this for about 20 minutes or so twice a day.

I don't know how helpful any of this is for you-- Bennie is still full of puppy energy and so this yard play has her running at top speed to catch me as I mosey around all four sides of the house. Maybe that enthusiasm would change for an older dog?

We do very short on-leash walking around our neighbourhood but I hardly count it as physical exercise as she's not old enough for repetitive stuff yet and I've been conservative given vax status. I've approached it as practice and leash manner training.

Once her vaccinations are complete, I plan on taking her to nature trails for hikes to do the same sort of long-line walks to train her for eventual off leash. I don't want a super-athlete but I do want a dog who will eventually be able to go on jogs/runs with me when it's safe for her to do so. I can imagine that a couple of times a week on these longer hikes/jogs would be plenty.

EDITED TO ADD: I do appreciate that mental stimulation is SO much more important than simply getting the physical exercise in. I can see how much training sessions help relax Bennie and I would sooner do that work than be overly paranoid about missing a play session every so often. We've worked to make them great fun, too, and playing a little tug or fetch in the house is easily done incorporating down-stays and sit-stays for impulse control.


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