how long should I walk my springer spaniel puppys?

[LexiNLibby]

I have two gorgeous 12 week old springer spaniels who have had both injections and are ready to take out. I have been walking them for 10 mins in the morning and 20 mins at night and they love it but seem to have plenty of energy left. I want to take them out for longer but read you should not walk your dog too much in first few months and dont want to damage their bones. How long should they be going out for? Also toiet training is going well but am curious to how long it normally takes. All poos are now outside but wees are hit and miss!! A 3rd on paper, 3rd outside and 3rd on floor!! Thanks!!

[hammerman]

Probably best to increase it every week by 5 minutes or so rather than just start taking them out for a 2 hour walk straighgt away.

As you're aware, springers have boundless energy and a 2 hour walk twice a day wouldn't be out of the question.

Just gradually increase it...maybe take them for a short swim if you can every so often...they'll love it !!!

[Illyria54]

What you are doing walk wise is about right for their age, though I would be inclined to take them fo 3 10 minutes as opposed to 1x 10min and 1x 20 min. Nothing is set in stone regarding toilet training, my youngest GSD was 6 months old before she was completely clean, through the night as well, my other 3 dogs were a little earlier, your pups still need to be taken outside after eating/drinking/sleeping/playing etc as I expect you already know, and of course last thing at night, you may have one get clean before the other.
You are very brave getting 2 puppies together especially Springers, I remember my sisters Springer when he was a puppy!! My breed German Shepherds are generally quite laid back, though they do go through a very 'testing' stage, I usually get to this stage and say "Never again"........until the next time of course, lol.
Have fun.

[woofgang]

I have two pointer cross (GSP/weimaraner) puppies now seven months old and we were warned by the vet to keep the exercise down a bit. They were getting about 30 mins and 20 mins but one was ever so slightly lame on the odd occasion. We have reduced it to 30 mins once a day (off lead) and access to the garden for romping ad lib. This seems to be enough for the more forward puppy and the lameness of the other has cleared up. Given the choice, they would go out for longer much more often though!

At the puppy group I went to, the vet nurse who ran it said that most pups don't have the neurological development to be continent befor six months and up till then we must manage their continence with the visits outside on waking, after meals after (or during) excited play and so on. She said that the biggest problem with housetraining was assuming that the pup was managing his continence when actually it was the owner...so the owner stops the management routine and the pup appears to be losing control when in fact he never had it....I proved this with mine when i left them with DH for the day when they were aged about 4 months (I am retired, he is still working so day to day puppy management falls to me at the present) I do the management thing without thinking, he wasn't in the habit of doing it and we had a few puddles that day...I got back and the puddles stopped again.
Its the first time we have had two same age pups and I have to say that by and large its great. They have to learn to listen to me (us) before each other but that wasn't too hard to teach them (we control the food and cuddles lol) and they seem to learn the good stuff from watching each other. If one finds something hard to learn, chances are that the other one won't and when the slower one sees the faster one catch on then they seem to click to what is required.

[lankeela]

A very rough guide is about five minutes for each month of age i.e. 3 months = fifteen minutes. This can be done twice a day, but any more and you will be taking too much out of them with lead/road walking, although free playing in a garden or field will do no harm. Their bones need to grow and they need to keep the weight on and any more hard exercise will make them grow up lean and gangly rather than well balanced.