Are 2 walks per day enough?

[juliaelm]

Hi everyone!
I'm a new, first time owner of a wonderful 7 month old belgian shepherd cross. I found out over time that I'm more of a 2 walks per day kind of owner. Don't get me wrong, I love walking with my girl, but I find that I prefer to have two long walks (1 in the morning, one end of afternoon/beginning of evening) than three shorter ones. Simply because it allows me to focus on my own work in between walks better.
I should add that I DON'T have a yard, nor a second dog!! Only an apartment of 130 square metres and I live in a big city with LOADS of other dogs. She does tend to get very tired after walks, because living here gives her so much input that she is more tired here than when I go visit my parents and walk in the woods for hours.

the way our day looks varies, but generally this is what it's like
8 AM get up, meal

8.30 AM go for walk. 1 hour at least (we generally walk somewhere/drive somewhere where she can run around freely and play with other dogs). During these walks we practice obedience: loose leash walking, leave it, etc. etc.

1 PM Meal

2 PM go outside to toilet + approx. 15 minute training session (generally leave it as she wants to eat everything that's edible off the ground).

5 PM walk, same type + duration as morning

Between 6 and 7 PM meal

10 PM she'll generally fall asleep at this time (she's not crated)

In between she is played with; every day looks different really, sometimes she has doggy play dates, we do obedience with a trainer 2 times per week, I try to bring her to new places as often as possible, she is alone very little because I work from home and I live in a house with three other girls.

Would you say this is enough exercise for her? I don't find her to be destructive/overly bouncy around the house. As she gets older and it gets warmer I want to add running, swimming, cycling, agility and herding to the program.

What do you think? How do you exercise your dog? And how can you tell whether your dog gets enough exercise? I want her to have a happy and fulfilled life, and I don't want her to be bored!

[pfitzpa1]

Looks just about what I do with my dog. We tend to cover about 4-6 miles per day, sometimes more. If your dog is reasonable mellow at home during the day then I think she's getting enough exercise.

I don't walk my dog on the morning of club training, so her energy is high for the training field.

[andreaB]

Hi, i have 15 months old boy. I do two walks a day too. 30 min. in morning (just on leashe walking and heeling)and usually 2 hours afternoon (playing, training, off leashe hiking) seems to be enough to keep him out of trouble when i'm working, but he can take much more. Only time he gets tired is when i can give him whole afternoon or day outside hiking and training or mountain biking whitch we both love.

[MichaelE]

Same here, two a day about 10 blocks each time.

Plus all of the training outdoors, potty breaks and play. I think we're spending more time outside than in.

[hunterisgreat]

I never walk my dogs lol

[RowdyDogs]

I don't think the number of walks matters so much as the total amount of exercise. Obviously one long walk where the dog pooped out halfway through and then was bouncing off the walls at night wouldn't work, but from what you describe, I think your schedule sounds just fine. Many dogs do just fine with only one walk a day even (or less, but those dogs usually have something else going on to give them exercise!).

The only change I would personally make to your schedule is to give her another potty break after dinner, but if it works for you, then that's what's important.

edit: don't know if you saw this, but there's a similar thread about exercise in General Behavior: Amount of Exercise?