How Long to Walk a Dog? Pup Safety to Adult Hiking Advice

Quick Answer:

• Puppies: ~5 minutes per month of age, up to twice daily
  (e.g., 20 minutes for a 4-month-old)
• Healthy adults: 30–60 minutes daily
• Senior dogs: 10–20 minutes at an easy pace
• High-energy breeds: Up to 2 hours daily depending on the breed

Stop or shorten if the dog slows, pants heavily, lags behind, loses interest, or they seem like they’re ignoring commands — tired dogs struggle to focus.

But how long is only part of the picture — the real guide is how your dog behaves on the day. 

How Long Should You Walk a Staffy?

Most adult Staffies do well with:

45–60 minutes per day, either over one or two outings.

Some lean, higher-stamina dogs can manage up to 90 minutes across the day in cool weather.

Why Staffies Vary

• muscular build
• warm up quickly
• burst-energy style (go hard → suddenly tired)
• amount of off-lead running
• age & joint comfort

They’re not endurance dogs like Collies or Huskies, so pacing matters more than distance.

How Long Should You Walk a Puppy?

Puppies are full of energy, but their bodies aren’t ready for long walks yet. Their growth plates — the soft areas at the ends of their bones — don’t fully harden until they’re older. Until then, too much structured walking puts extra stress on joints that are still developing.

A simple rule to follow is:

5 minutes of walking per month of age, up to twice a day.

Examples:

• 3 months → 15 min
• 4 months → 20 min
• 6 months → 30 min

This covers gentle, steady walking — not running, scrambling up hills, or anything high-impact. 

Why keep puppy walks short

Walking on hard surfaces, especially for long distances, puts more pressure on immature joints than people realise. Puppies also aren’t good at pacing themselves, so they’ll happily keep going long after they should have stopped.

Once they reach full skeletal maturity (anywhere from 10–24 months depending on breed size), you can gradually increase distance. Smaller breeds mature sooner, larger breeds take longer. 

If your puppy seems restless or “still full of beans” after their walk, it doesn’t mean they need longer walks — it usually means they need more play, enrichment, or mental stimulation, which are much safer for young bodies. 

If they need more stimulation without more walking, here are some safe ideas: All-Weather Exercise for Dogs (Indoor & Outdoor). 

Cut puppy walks short if:

• lagging
• paw licking
• panting that doesn’t settle
• lying down
• stiffness after resting

How Far Is Too Far for a Staffy?

There’s no universal distance — it depends on the dog, weather, and terrain.

General comfort range on cool, flat routes:

• 3–6 miles (5–10 km) for many adults — ours manage 2–4 miles regularly
• Some tire much sooner, especially puppies or bulkier builds
• Heat, hills, or long off-lead bursts reduce stamina quickly

Clear signs you’ve gone too far

• slowing or dropping behind
• heavy panting after short rests
• choosing shade
• repeated stopping
• lifting or licking a paw 
• “getting it over with” walk behaviour

Turn back early on warm days or hilly terrain. Staffies will push themselves harder than they should, so you often need to make the call for them. 

And in summer, try to avoid walking between 11 am and 3 pm — it’s usually the hottest part of the day in the UK, and even mild heat can hit muscular breeds faster than people expect. 

Keep this in mind: 

Off-lead training is tiring in a different way. Until recall and check-ins are second nature, your dog isn’t just running free — they’re constantly watching you, listening, and waiting for direction. That mental focus can tire them out far sooner than a few full-speed sprints would. 

Signs of Overexertion

• staying slow even after resting
• less interest in sniffing
• repeated micro-breaks
• heavier panting that doesn’t ease
• lying down mid-walk
• not responding to recall due to tiredness

If the spark has gone from the dog’s body language — head home.

Factors That Change Walk Length

No two days are the same: 

• Weather: heat vastly reduces safe distance
• Age: pups & seniors need shorter walks
• Fitness level: fitter dogs handle more
• Terrain: hills, sand, mud = tougher
• Energy on the day: some days they’re fresh, other days they’re not 

Go with the dogs behaviour:
If they’re alert, sniffing, moving freely → continue.
If they’re slowing, panting, or disengaged → head home.

How Often Should You Walk a Dog?

• Puppies: 2–3 short walks per day 
• Adults: 1–2 walks per day
• High-energy dogs: two proper outings or a walk + training play
• Seniors: two gentle, shorter walks

Behaviour tells you whether they need more or fewer outings.

If you’re unsure where your dog sits on the energy scale, the infographic below from the PDSA gives a helpful overview…

What I Learned From My Staffies About Pushing Them Too Far

One of the biggest lessons I’ve had about judging walk length came from a hill route I used to do with my older dog. It normally took around an hour and a half, so when the younger two were almost one, I thought they’d manage the same with no trouble.

It was cool, a bit breezy, nothing extreme.
The kind of day you’d expect a good long walk to be ideal.

But puppies don’t just walk the trail — they zig-zag, sprint, drop into dips, climb out again, chase each other, check in, sprint again. By the 40-minute mark, they’d already been through several energy bursts with one ready to sleep. 

Back then, I didn’t know about the 5-minute-per-month guideline — and looking back, it explains why it was too much at that time. 

That’s when the difference between the two showed:

• The white lad still wanted to charge ahead.
• The brindle lad was drifting behind me, panting harder than he should, and just looked done.

So we stopped, rested, and turned back early.
The white one wasn’t impressed… the brindle one needed it.

It reinforced something I now always keep in mind:

In a multi-dog household, plan your adventurous walks around the dog with the lowest stamina — not the one with the most enthusiasm.

It’s better to head home with one dog still buzzing than to push another beyond their limit.

FAQs

Over to you: Did you feel you’d walked your dog too far, not enough, noticed them licking more, or are you beginning to feel you’re struggling to keep up with them?

Share your experiences in the comments below.