Dog Breeds and Their Exercise Requirements
Dog size and breed are important factors in determining how much and what kind of exercise your puppy needs. Many breeds have high energy levels, requiring more daily exercise. For example, a German Shorthaired Pointer — a large puppy bred to run around in fields looking for birds — needs more exercise than a teacup-sized Poodle.
Before you decide on the breed of puppy that you want to buy, consider the amount of exercise the new puppy needs. See the following table to find out the energy level of your breed.
|Breed||Bred to . . .||Energy Level|
|Dalmatians||Currently bred for companionship||Very high|
|Fighters||Originally bred to fight each other or other species||Medium|
|Guard Dogs||Guard territory||Medium|
|Large-Game Hounds||Challenge large game||Medium|
|Livestock Drivers||Move sheep and cattle from field to field||High|
|Non-Sporting Group||All vary historically||Medium|
|Pointers||Course fields all day, point, and retrieve||Very high|
|Portuguese Water Dogs||Retrieve nets from water||Medium to high|
|Rescue/Water dogs||Rescue humans||Low (in general)|
|Retrievers||Stay by master’s side and retrieve on command||High|
|Scent Hounds||Follow and trail game||High|
|Setters||Run in the fields, point, flush, and retrieve fowl||High|
|Sheep Herders||Herd sheep||Medium to high|
|Sight Hounds||Pursue fast-moving game||High in spurts and then low|
|Sled/Draft Dogs||Pull sleds or carts long distances||Medium to high|
|Spaniels||Flush and retrieve birds||High|
|Vermin Hunters||Hunt barn pests||Medium to high|
Your breed’s energy level determines the amount of interaction needed and how often. The following table takes the next step and translates the energy level into the amount of exercise your dog needs each day. Exercise in the table refers to games that encourage motion and play.
|Energy Level||Amount of Exercise/Interaction Needed||How Often|
|Very high||20 minutes to an hour||2 to 4 times daily|
|High||15 to 30 minutes||2 to 3 times daily|
|Medium||10 to 20 minutes||2 times daily|
|Low||5 to 10 minutes||1 to 2 times daily|
If your puppy doesn’t work off his energy outside, he’ll work it off inside. Along the same lines, if you don’t run him, he may demolish your couch. No, it’s not spite. It’s just energy coupled with boredom.