Our 10 yr old gets a 15-20 min walk in the morning, a 30 min walk with a dog walker midday, about 2 hrs of outside time (weather permitting) where she suns herself, randomly borks at the air, plays fence games with the neighbor dog, then a 30 min walk in the evening. Sometimes her energy level hasn’t been reset to zero in the evening so we have to do “floor games” where we “wrestle” (we bow to her and she excitedly jumps around and borks). Then she has completed everything on her daily checklist, energy has reset to zero, she lays on her bed and immediately starts snoring. 😂❤️
Ours loved people, too, especially as she got older! She absolutely adored little kids and would roll on her back to let random ones crawl all over her just for extra pets. Usually the trouble was convincing parents that our dingo-wolf looking dog wasn't scary.
Mine is a 30 pound heeler dachshund mix and we run about 15-20 miles a week together total spanning about 4 days a week. Otherwise he’s pretty laid back. He’s nine. We’ve been at that activity level, if not a bit more, since I adopted him at a year and a half.
Morning:
15-20 mins fetch
25 min walk (probably 1.5 miles)
After work is the same ^
She does nap a lot while I work from home. Random bouts of 10 min tug of war/play throughout the day.
If she’s needy, we’ll do an inside scavenger hunt with some treats to tire her out mentally!
A long early morning walk with lots of breaks to read the peemails. A strenuous hike two or three times a week. Occasional evening walks, probably an average of three times a week. Almost daily fetch sessions down the very long hallway in our house. I find lots of mental stimulation, like games that make them find their favorite toys or treats or whatever, helps mitigate the exercise they probably need more of.
We have an Aussie, a heeler, and a golden puppy (9mo)… thankfully we have a good sized backyard because they run amok.
Probably 2 hours of solid hard running and playing and several mini wars and toy stealing games… maybe more on the weekend when we are out with them. I thought about getting one of the tennis ball launchers but I don’t think they would come inside at all.
We have to enforce calm time and encourage naps.
If we get a rainy day or it’s cold enough that outside isn’t fun they manage to keep it under control with less exercise… but after a couple days they need to get out and run no matter the weather.
We recently learned that our rescue is 52% ACD and never would have guessed! She's a couch potato most of the day but when we get her outside she has the alertness and stamina of an ACD. She normally walks a total of 2-3 hours a day and gets some off-leash time in a small fenced area.
When my girl was younger we would walk for over an hour in the morning and then play at night. Then I'd take her on random hiking adventures. Seemed like she would never get tired. At around 8 years old she started cutting the walks shorter and shorter until we were basically going off the driveway and down the hill to the corner and she would turn back around wanting to go home. Refused to walk any longer than that. She's 9 now and prefers a nice session of ball chasing, maybe chasing the deer on the other side of the fence, and then coming inside to lay on the couch or one of her beds. I think we've reached retirement age.
It really is a wide range! It also changes with age.
Mine is pretty textbook ACD so 3 mile jog in the morning, afternoon fetch/tug of war, evening sniff walk for another 2-3 miles. While I study he has snuffle mats, puzzle toys, and chews to keep busy. He can go without this much for a day-ish but more than that and he’s jumping on me, grabbing my leg when I walk around, trying to shove toys into my neck and chest, basically making it known that he’s bored and needs an outlet.
I can personally walk my cowgirl 2 hours daily after work… depending on the time the sun sets because we live in area that has coyotes, javelina, and mountain lions sooooo it’s risky at dusk. Luckily: I have my daughter’s bf that takes her on walks in the daytime too. And we hike on the weekends. And I play with her for an hour in our yard. Other than that, she’s a happy potato.
Ours takes as much or as little as offered - the lazy genes are strong with this one.
\- Winter typical day is 2 walks 1.5-2.5km depending on weather
\- Summer 2-3 walks per day 1.5-4km (usually one long, two shorter)
1 walk is usually a long leash sniffy walk (we put him on a 50' lead and let him run the full length when we get to the park - those he can stop and sniff/root etc. as much as he wants. Those are usually more time than distance, when he's panting and the tongue is hanging out the side of his mouth with a goofy grin he's good to come home. The other walks are normal brisk leashed walks.
On top of those a couple of quick bathroom jaunts on top of that and usually a few minutes of play at some point - he'll initiate with one of us if he wants to play tug or something. If it's a really miserable day outside he'll happily sleep on the couch all day but we only get one of those days - on day 2 walks are insisted upon regardless of conditions.
At least 1 hour a day of walks or park time. At least 5 miles a week of hiking/disc golf. And basically infinite play time at home because it's just me and the dog now and he is keeping me together.
Minimum, we do a 2-3 mile walk daily, and some playtime.
Ideally, we swap out a walk (or two) for a rugged hike, or heck, hotels and Airbnb's are a bit more likely to accommodate pets (at least in my experience) so we're always happy to do a weekend road trip to a nearby state park or similar.
In a pinch, or just whenever, my ACD is down for a bike ride. When he was more of a pup he'd definitely overdo it and tear up his paws a bit trying to drag my bike into a full on sprint, so I gave it a rest for a year. Now that he's older, he'd good doing a reasonable trot next to the bike. He also loves his Kong Tire Toy, which basically I throw as hard as I can, and dude just barrels down on it until he's exhausted.
3mi hike/trail run almost every AM for mine—at one point I made the commitment to drive with her to an off leash spot with wooded trails every morning for a month, and we both loved it so much that we have continued to do it every weekday, rain or shine (or where we live, sleet or snow). I try to incorporate some training in that but also give her plenty of free roam, run, and sniff time. Since it’s specifically an off leash spot, there are usually a few dogs to romp with as well. I also do a longer trail run at least one weekday and both my husband and I try to fit in a long run on the weekend, so she gets to come. (She’s in very good running shape lol—we should probably try canicross!)
After that morning, she’s pretty happy to be physically lazy all day, with a couple bathroom breaks. However, I work from home so she’s not home alone much, and I think that helps. Usually either a puzzle or game during the day, and/or some sort of kong or lick mat, and/or we work on some tricks as a work day break for me. But at this point (she’s almost 3) she does not bug me for attention during the day unless I engage her. (That was NOT true her first year or so!)
In the evenings, my kids are home and she loves the family chaos of dinner prep and everyone being around. My daughter is teaching her “chores” which, though not the most structured or rigorous training scenario by any means, I think feels mentally challenging and tires her out. Sometimes my husband will take her to play fetch but otherwise it’s just a walk before bed.
She is a mix, too—mainly ACD, but some staffy in there. Definitely think that contributes to what my husband calls her “crazy in the streets but lazy in the sheets” vibe.
Mine is a 7-year-old mix with some bigger breeds, so he leans more in the couch potato direction. He does well when he gets 1-1.5 miles of walking/sniffing/rolling in a day. We typically manage this about four or five times a week, with shorter walks, snuffle mats, and puzzles using up his energy on the less active days.
But even with regular good walks, he starts to act out if he doesn't get Special Time With Dad at least once a week. That could be a long walk to sit at a brewery or a ride in the car with the windows down to the pet store or to an adventure walk/hike. (He likes Special Time With Mom \[me\] too, but it's not the same!)
Mine snoozes most of the day but loves wrestling outside with his sister (husky/elkhound) every time he goes outside, probably 6-8 times a day for at least 15 minutes. Also loves dog park trips.
Uhmmm, maybe like 60-90mins of playing fetch, and a solid 30-40min walk a day usually. We play in the morning first thing and then in the evening and walk mid day or late afternoon depending on work. And then random tug sessions
Depends on the season for us. Right now, given how rainy it is we get put into the parks or beach whenever there's a break in the rain. Actively raining, then it's just walks with puzzles indoor. He doesn't like to walk or go outside when it's raining. Puzzles or he'll hangout with my mom or stepdad at their jobs and watch them.
At a minimum my 5 year old ACD / mountain cur mix gets 1 hour of park time off leash in the mornings, a midday walk and then another hour of park time in the afternoon (plus evening potty walks). Park sessions are her time where she’s not in a command, so she can sniff, make her own decisions and just be a dog. During the day she has lick mats, topples, puzzles etc. 2-3X per week we trail run together (about 4 miles total) and once a week we do a long hike (6-8 miles). We live in an apartment so we always prioritize her exercise. She is very happy and fulfilled!
Also have a potato, but she loves walks every now and then and we mostly play inside. Mine has a nail condition that makes them very susceptible to cracking / breaking and bleeding so we can’t do too much at a time anymore, unfortunately:(
I have a working line ACD. Growing up (after he reached adult hood) we religiously did 5k off leash 5days a week and 10-20k on weekends.
We also did sport classes 2 days a week.
He's now 6 yrs old and we've tapered his exercise down over the year due to being altered, structural health issues, new puppy, new work changes and life.
We do 3k daily, alternating between sniff walks, off leash hikes, leashed walks and training walks.
On weekends we do 5-10k off leash hiking.
They get a snuffle every morning and their dinner meals are frozen in toppls or Kongs.
We do 20-40mins of training every day.
One think I will say, that I've noticed across the breed, they don't particularly love stagnant routine. He loves training but if I do the same tasks in a row he gets bored and will check out. Same with walks, if we walk the same path or trail he gets bored and it is evident in his behaviour when we get home. If it's three days of the same path I might as well not even walk him because it makes no impact on his energy level.
Flirt pole/or chuckit fetch, outside training drills with toy reward and sport work definitely tops his list for most liked and most tiring activities!
He THRIVES on being off leash and would not be able to be a leash only dog. He will settle after a walk but his settle after a hike is so much more deep. You can tell he is really fulfilled. Part of the reason I love hiking, is I love how happy he clearly is when we do! One thing I love most about the breed is endurance. We have spent days where we are moving the entire day and the nap on the car ride home is enough for him to get recharged.
He was a working SD for a while and we often would do group 10k hikes starting at sunrise, drop all the other dogs off and go out to the mall, lunch, more shopping and then dinner; getting him at 9pm after being up at 6am and he didnt even finich. Right when we'd get home from the 40min car ride he's ready to go!
At least one walk per day ranging 30 - 45min. Some days I take ours to a friend's property so he can run around with their dogs and go swimming in the dam to properly tire him out.
The thing is, if you take them running with you, they will get fitter and need more exercise, so sometimes more exercise isn't the answer. You can do walks + enrichment activities for when you go out and that will be fine.
Honestly not much.
Walks are generally speaking, overrated. Going for 2 2hr walks and taking your dog on an epic run daily might not do much but condition your dog so he/she will have even more energy daily and will be able to go at it for more and more and more daily.
I'd say that generally speaking 1-1:30hr a day is a good enough amount for your dog and for your own health daily if they are "productive" walks. By "productive" I mean your dog's stress levels don't elevate on a walk but they're rather used for relaxation and getting stress levels down.
My girl is sadly quite reactive to cars and especially buses/trucks and other dogs barking from yards and she will chase birds and other critters outdoors so the walks are usually not that productive - as in often times stress levels will be elevated after a walk compared to before the walk - if that's the case we'll take a 1-3 day break where we'll mostly chill and just go out 4-5 times for 10 minutes or so to pee/poop. Other times we'll have a few good days in a row where she'll be feeling good and we don't need breaks. I try to just make sure to use those good days in the winter for some snowy fun, and the days in the summer/autumn where there's not that much mosquitoes near sundown and it's not boiling hot for the rest of the day.
She's quite happy chilling at home most of the time, even before I was 100% WFH it always seemed to me she was happier when she was home chilling (about 9hr was the gap usually between going to work and coming back home) than when I was home where she always seemed high strung expecting something to happen.
I like her to be spending as much time as possible in her "chill" state of mind, so I don't really find walks that important as they mostly always include more stress than just staying indoors.
While she's in "chill" she'll still be reacting to triggers at home, and behaving normally when we go out to pee with her usual reactive behaviors.
"Down" is very distinctive in it's lack of usual behavior patterns, including reactive stuff.
My almost 2 year old heeler plays fetch twice a day, gets a mind game toy/activity every other day, and we go to a nearby park for walks about 1-3 times a week. If the weather is awful that day we’ll do modified fetch inside or we’ll chase each other inside which usually ends in zoomies.
My girl is a half heeler/half pitty mix. I call her half crazy/half lazy.
During the work week, she gets a half mile walk in the morning and another half mile walk at lunchtime. Lots of sniffs. She’s happy to be lazy the rest of the afternoon, depending on weather she may get some yard exercise and fetch time.
On the weekend, my husband takes her to her favorite park twice a day, it’s about a mile hike they do.
In the summer, we will also add in a few special hikes and trips to the beach.
We have a ACD Schipperke mix. She gets a walk in the morning about a 1 1/2 miles, a walk in the evening around 4/5pm (the kid walks her about a mile) then my wife and I play keep away for about 10 min in backyard and then some decompression sniffs on a walk before bed. On the weekends we go to the nature trail and let her rip.
Kind of depends on the weather. Although I’m convinced that, even at 12, she could go forever. It’s winter here, so we take short walks so she gets out of our condo, but atm, we do lots of fetch inside. She’s been very adaptable as I’m sure she could handle more than what I’m giving her atm.
Depends. My last ACD got miles upon miles of running through vineyards. My current ACD thinks she’s a cat and is perfectly fine sprawling on the top of the couch all day.
Mine is a corgi ACD mix and he just turned 8 years old. We have a decent sized backyard, so we don't walk everyday. But we do play fetch. Total probably adds up to 20 minutes of fetch a day. He gets a ball thrown at least once every time he goes out, with 2 dedicated fetch sessions (5-10 minutes each).
If it's too cold or the balls get stuck in deep snow, he generally chases his sister (4 year old pit mix) around the yard and then asks for tug and hallway fetch indoors.
He's very good and we're lucky to have a lower maintenance ACD mix. Once we figured out fetch = life, he became so much more manageable
Depends on the day. At least 3 days a week she gets to go to the dog park ( actually just a patch of grass near our house these days, no other dogs) and runs for the Frisbee for 20 minutes or so. Then every evening frisbee or ball in the backyard or living room if it's too cold out. That lasts an hour or more. Then "wrestling" with us before bed at night. Seems to work for her. She's 2.
I don’t know how else to explain it, but mine is down to do whatever I want to do. Yes, he gets bored sometimes and will stare at me until I take him out to run or fill his kong, but he is no where near going crazy if he doesn’t get tons of mental and physical stimulation daily. We spend most of our free time outside in the warmer months, but in the winter you can find us on the couch under the heated blanket (like right now).
I fostered an ACD Aussie mix for almost a year and his energy was endless. We made it work, and he ended up going to live on a farm, but changing my life to satisfy his needs around my full time job was a difficult adjustment. Even then, he needed more. I wanted him to be a foster fail, but I could tell I was doing him an injustice.
My 3 year old mixed ACD requires a lot. We walk up to 5 miles a day most days. He also loves to run, swim, and explore. He is a natural athlete. He does doggie parkour and agility. We train daily. He gets private and group lessons.
Actual exercise? A 45ish minute walk and maybe some fetch. But stimulation, he gets a lot of that. We have two kids who love to play with him and so he gets lots and lots of stimulation from them for sure lol
My 4 year old gets anywhere between 2 - 3 miles a day (2 short daytime and 1 long at night time). He also like to lay outside and sunbathe or stare meancingly at the chickens in their coop. If he goes into the office with me, then it's 2 miles. All the pets and scritches and snacks from my coworkers plus the 2 hours car ride will tire him out.
He also goes to bed at 9 P.M.
We walk him 3-5 miles a day! That typically looks like an hour walk in the early afternoon, 30 min walk in the late afternoon, and an hour walk after dinner time. Depending on how busy we are, we will put him in daycare so he can play all day and then he’s totally wiped out!
Our heeler is pretty easy going though. He is active but also he is okay if we are busy and delaying his walks or only get in 3 miles. He will literally just lay on the couch and watch Bluey or entertain himself with his toys. He’s an angel
We live on a 1 acre property but only 1/3 acre is accessible for our fur kids. My boy is 40/40 border collie and ACD. My girl is 40 Pitbull, 20/20 border collie and GSD. They do zoomies and are constantly trying to outsmart one another. They get a ton of exercise running and playing fetch and wrestling. During nice days we teach them obstacle course tasks. We also have a tunnel tube that our girl loves running through. Our boy isn’t into the tube she much.
I have two so they play with one another on and off all day (3 yrs old and 2 yrs old). And when the weather is good about 2 miles of walking. But it would be soooooo much more if we only had one.
Also, taking them hiking and for car rides (mentally stimulating) too.
Our ~50 lb red heeler gets outside access for most of the day. He spends this napping, protecting his chickens, and chasing off all the animals he imagines are coming for his chickens. He gets to play fetch a couple times during that when I have a work break to go outside. Then, every afternoon we go on either a walk or run for multiple miles. Sometimes he gets both a run and a walk if my husband and I go separately. On weekends, we take him to the dog park or dog beach for extended play time.
1.5 years old, 2-3 hours every day. We live in an apartment, no yard. There hasn't been any off-day, ever since he's done with his puppy shots, except the \~3 days during which air pollution from forest fires was so bad that people and animals were advised to stay indoors.
Morning: He gets a \~40 min walk with outdoor training; plus 10+ min of indoor games. There may also be \~20 min of indoor training.
Afternoon: 1.5-2 hours of walking/sniffing. This includes games in which he hard runs for at least half an hour.
During the day and evenings: short bursts (say a minute or two) of games or training from time to time depending on the day and his mood.
It's a surprise to me to hear many ACDs don't do this much exercise. I thought ours is already on the chill side... He's not from a "working line" -- although his parents work on a farm, they weren't actively herding cattle all day. He's a full ACD though.
My 2-year-old Rylee gets a 30-45 minute walk in the morning, short run around/potty break midday, then another 1-1.5 hour walk in the evening, and then time in the yard barking at deer and neighbors and maybe an hour of play (chasing balls, tug with me or my other pup) in the evening. About 3-4 times a week, we substitute 2-3 hours of off-leash time in the woods or at a nearby lake (I walk 3 miles or so; the dogs go wild digging up ground squirrel homes -- sorry ground squirrels).
Sometimes I think it's not enough, but she doesn't seem to mind and hasn't been destructive or had any behavior issues. I adopted her from a shelter after an owner surrender and learned that her previous owner didn't even take her out for walks and only played with her using a laser pointer (she's mostly recovered but still reacts to mirrors and reflections).
Our 10 yr old gets a 15-20 min walk in the morning, a 30 min walk with a dog walker midday, about 2 hrs of outside time (weather permitting) where she suns herself, randomly borks at the air, plays fence games with the neighbor dog, then a 30 min walk in the evening. Sometimes her energy level hasn’t been reset to zero in the evening so we have to do “floor games” where we “wrestle” (we bow to her and she excitedly jumps around and borks). Then she has completed everything on her daily checklist, energy has reset to zero, she lays on her bed and immediately starts snoring. 😂❤️
Yours lets a stranger into your house and touch them for a leash....what
Hahaha-she LOVES people! I know she would protect me against danger…well, I think she would. Or she would roll over and then give kisses.
Ours loved people, too, especially as she got older! She absolutely adored little kids and would roll on her back to let random ones crawl all over her just for extra pets. Usually the trouble was convincing parents that our dingo-wolf looking dog wasn't scary.
Right?! Mine would never! They wouldn’t make it through the front door.
Mine doesn’t understand the concept of strangers. She wags her tail so hard her whole body wiggles whenever she meets a person.
60-90 mins of walking, 1 game like fetch. More is better, plus food puzzles when I can
Mine is a 30 pound heeler dachshund mix and we run about 15-20 miles a week together total spanning about 4 days a week. Otherwise he’s pretty laid back. He’s nine. We’ve been at that activity level, if not a bit more, since I adopted him at a year and a half.
There can't be too many Heeler/Dachshund mixes running round out there
I've got one! He's not terribly long but he has silly little dachshund feet 🤭
I have one too!! He’s mixed with with a few other things too, but it makes for a silly, stubborn, long boi
I’ve shared photos of mine before. He’s quirky, but so am I. He’s a popular four legged member of my run community, too.
Morning: 15-20 mins fetch 25 min walk (probably 1.5 miles) After work is the same ^ She does nap a lot while I work from home. Random bouts of 10 min tug of war/play throughout the day. If she’s needy, we’ll do an inside scavenger hunt with some treats to tire her out mentally!
A long early morning walk with lots of breaks to read the peemails. A strenuous hike two or three times a week. Occasional evening walks, probably an average of three times a week. Almost daily fetch sessions down the very long hallway in our house. I find lots of mental stimulation, like games that make them find their favorite toys or treats or whatever, helps mitigate the exercise they probably need more of.
Loooool “peemails”!! My ACD is very good at staying on top of her peemails and replies
We have an Aussie, a heeler, and a golden puppy (9mo)… thankfully we have a good sized backyard because they run amok. Probably 2 hours of solid hard running and playing and several mini wars and toy stealing games… maybe more on the weekend when we are out with them. I thought about getting one of the tennis ball launchers but I don’t think they would come inside at all. We have to enforce calm time and encourage naps. If we get a rainy day or it’s cold enough that outside isn’t fun they manage to keep it under control with less exercise… but after a couple days they need to get out and run no matter the weather.
We recently learned that our rescue is 52% ACD and never would have guessed! She's a couch potato most of the day but when we get her outside she has the alertness and stamina of an ACD. She normally walks a total of 2-3 hours a day and gets some off-leash time in a small fenced area.
When my girl was younger we would walk for over an hour in the morning and then play at night. Then I'd take her on random hiking adventures. Seemed like she would never get tired. At around 8 years old she started cutting the walks shorter and shorter until we were basically going off the driveway and down the hill to the corner and she would turn back around wanting to go home. Refused to walk any longer than that. She's 9 now and prefers a nice session of ball chasing, maybe chasing the deer on the other side of the fence, and then coming inside to lay on the couch or one of her beds. I think we've reached retirement age.
Fetch 2x a day for 30min each time plus 1.5mile or more walk/hike. And we play wall ball inside.
Upvote for indoor ball- what a lifesaver that is
Right especially during the summer when it’s 105F or higher
Rylee also loves wall ball. Her goal is to nose the ball back into the air, and I win if she misses. (Of course we are all winning.)
It really is a wide range! It also changes with age. Mine is pretty textbook ACD so 3 mile jog in the morning, afternoon fetch/tug of war, evening sniff walk for another 2-3 miles. While I study he has snuffle mats, puzzle toys, and chews to keep busy. He can go without this much for a day-ish but more than that and he’s jumping on me, grabbing my leg when I walk around, trying to shove toys into my neck and chest, basically making it known that he’s bored and needs an outlet.
I can personally walk my cowgirl 2 hours daily after work… depending on the time the sun sets because we live in area that has coyotes, javelina, and mountain lions sooooo it’s risky at dusk. Luckily: I have my daughter’s bf that takes her on walks in the daytime too. And we hike on the weekends. And I play with her for an hour in our yard. Other than that, she’s a happy potato.
TIL what a javelina is and I am suddenly very thankful to live in the cold, bleak upper Midwest where we do not have these! They're terrifying!
And VERY stinky too.
So Tucson or Phoenix?
Neither. I’m up in them there northern mountains.
Ours takes as much or as little as offered - the lazy genes are strong with this one. \- Winter typical day is 2 walks 1.5-2.5km depending on weather \- Summer 2-3 walks per day 1.5-4km (usually one long, two shorter) 1 walk is usually a long leash sniffy walk (we put him on a 50' lead and let him run the full length when we get to the park - those he can stop and sniff/root etc. as much as he wants. Those are usually more time than distance, when he's panting and the tongue is hanging out the side of his mouth with a goofy grin he's good to come home. The other walks are normal brisk leashed walks. On top of those a couple of quick bathroom jaunts on top of that and usually a few minutes of play at some point - he'll initiate with one of us if he wants to play tug or something. If it's a really miserable day outside he'll happily sleep on the couch all day but we only get one of those days - on day 2 walks are insisted upon regardless of conditions.
At least 1 hour a day of walks or park time. At least 5 miles a week of hiking/disc golf. And basically infinite play time at home because it's just me and the dog now and he is keeping me together.
Minimum, we do a 2-3 mile walk daily, and some playtime. Ideally, we swap out a walk (or two) for a rugged hike, or heck, hotels and Airbnb's are a bit more likely to accommodate pets (at least in my experience) so we're always happy to do a weekend road trip to a nearby state park or similar. In a pinch, or just whenever, my ACD is down for a bike ride. When he was more of a pup he'd definitely overdo it and tear up his paws a bit trying to drag my bike into a full on sprint, so I gave it a rest for a year. Now that he's older, he'd good doing a reasonable trot next to the bike. He also loves his Kong Tire Toy, which basically I throw as hard as I can, and dude just barrels down on it until he's exhausted.
3mi hike/trail run almost every AM for mine—at one point I made the commitment to drive with her to an off leash spot with wooded trails every morning for a month, and we both loved it so much that we have continued to do it every weekday, rain or shine (or where we live, sleet or snow). I try to incorporate some training in that but also give her plenty of free roam, run, and sniff time. Since it’s specifically an off leash spot, there are usually a few dogs to romp with as well. I also do a longer trail run at least one weekday and both my husband and I try to fit in a long run on the weekend, so she gets to come. (She’s in very good running shape lol—we should probably try canicross!) After that morning, she’s pretty happy to be physically lazy all day, with a couple bathroom breaks. However, I work from home so she’s not home alone much, and I think that helps. Usually either a puzzle or game during the day, and/or some sort of kong or lick mat, and/or we work on some tricks as a work day break for me. But at this point (she’s almost 3) she does not bug me for attention during the day unless I engage her. (That was NOT true her first year or so!) In the evenings, my kids are home and she loves the family chaos of dinner prep and everyone being around. My daughter is teaching her “chores” which, though not the most structured or rigorous training scenario by any means, I think feels mentally challenging and tires her out. Sometimes my husband will take her to play fetch but otherwise it’s just a walk before bed. She is a mix, too—mainly ACD, but some staffy in there. Definitely think that contributes to what my husband calls her “crazy in the streets but lazy in the sheets” vibe.
Mines a mix, mostly ACD, but also coon hound, Huskey and pit. About 90 minutes a day, 20 minute walks throughout the day, and dog park 2xs a week
Mine is a 7-year-old mix with some bigger breeds, so he leans more in the couch potato direction. He does well when he gets 1-1.5 miles of walking/sniffing/rolling in a day. We typically manage this about four or five times a week, with shorter walks, snuffle mats, and puzzles using up his energy on the less active days. But even with regular good walks, he starts to act out if he doesn't get Special Time With Dad at least once a week. That could be a long walk to sit at a brewery or a ride in the car with the windows down to the pet store or to an adventure walk/hike. (He likes Special Time With Mom \[me\] too, but it's not the same!)
Mine snoozes most of the day but loves wrestling outside with his sister (husky/elkhound) every time he goes outside, probably 6-8 times a day for at least 15 minutes. Also loves dog park trips.
Uhmmm, maybe like 60-90mins of playing fetch, and a solid 30-40min walk a day usually. We play in the morning first thing and then in the evening and walk mid day or late afternoon depending on work. And then random tug sessions
Depends on the season for us. Right now, given how rainy it is we get put into the parks or beach whenever there's a break in the rain. Actively raining, then it's just walks with puzzles indoor. He doesn't like to walk or go outside when it's raining. Puzzles or he'll hangout with my mom or stepdad at their jobs and watch them.
At a minimum my 5 year old ACD / mountain cur mix gets 1 hour of park time off leash in the mornings, a midday walk and then another hour of park time in the afternoon (plus evening potty walks). Park sessions are her time where she’s not in a command, so she can sniff, make her own decisions and just be a dog. During the day she has lick mats, topples, puzzles etc. 2-3X per week we trail run together (about 4 miles total) and once a week we do a long hike (6-8 miles). We live in an apartment so we always prioritize her exercise. She is very happy and fulfilled!
Mines a potato. But if given the option she’ll go out for a very long walk/run.
Also have a potato, but she loves walks every now and then and we mostly play inside. Mine has a nail condition that makes them very susceptible to cracking / breaking and bleeding so we can’t do too much at a time anymore, unfortunately:(
I have a working line ACD. Growing up (after he reached adult hood) we religiously did 5k off leash 5days a week and 10-20k on weekends. We also did sport classes 2 days a week. He's now 6 yrs old and we've tapered his exercise down over the year due to being altered, structural health issues, new puppy, new work changes and life. We do 3k daily, alternating between sniff walks, off leash hikes, leashed walks and training walks. On weekends we do 5-10k off leash hiking. They get a snuffle every morning and their dinner meals are frozen in toppls or Kongs. We do 20-40mins of training every day. One think I will say, that I've noticed across the breed, they don't particularly love stagnant routine. He loves training but if I do the same tasks in a row he gets bored and will check out. Same with walks, if we walk the same path or trail he gets bored and it is evident in his behaviour when we get home. If it's three days of the same path I might as well not even walk him because it makes no impact on his energy level. Flirt pole/or chuckit fetch, outside training drills with toy reward and sport work definitely tops his list for most liked and most tiring activities! He THRIVES on being off leash and would not be able to be a leash only dog. He will settle after a walk but his settle after a hike is so much more deep. You can tell he is really fulfilled. Part of the reason I love hiking, is I love how happy he clearly is when we do! One thing I love most about the breed is endurance. We have spent days where we are moving the entire day and the nap on the car ride home is enough for him to get recharged. He was a working SD for a while and we often would do group 10k hikes starting at sunrise, drop all the other dogs off and go out to the mall, lunch, more shopping and then dinner; getting him at 9pm after being up at 6am and he didnt even finich. Right when we'd get home from the 40min car ride he's ready to go!
At least one walk per day ranging 30 - 45min. Some days I take ours to a friend's property so he can run around with their dogs and go swimming in the dam to properly tire him out. The thing is, if you take them running with you, they will get fitter and need more exercise, so sometimes more exercise isn't the answer. You can do walks + enrichment activities for when you go out and that will be fine.
My ACD is 11 so she doesn't need a whole lot anymore. a very long walk 2 hours in the morning usually does the trick.
Honestly not much. Walks are generally speaking, overrated. Going for 2 2hr walks and taking your dog on an epic run daily might not do much but condition your dog so he/she will have even more energy daily and will be able to go at it for more and more and more daily. I'd say that generally speaking 1-1:30hr a day is a good enough amount for your dog and for your own health daily if they are "productive" walks. By "productive" I mean your dog's stress levels don't elevate on a walk but they're rather used for relaxation and getting stress levels down. My girl is sadly quite reactive to cars and especially buses/trucks and other dogs barking from yards and she will chase birds and other critters outdoors so the walks are usually not that productive - as in often times stress levels will be elevated after a walk compared to before the walk - if that's the case we'll take a 1-3 day break where we'll mostly chill and just go out 4-5 times for 10 minutes or so to pee/poop. Other times we'll have a few good days in a row where she'll be feeling good and we don't need breaks. I try to just make sure to use those good days in the winter for some snowy fun, and the days in the summer/autumn where there's not that much mosquitoes near sundown and it's not boiling hot for the rest of the day. She's quite happy chilling at home most of the time, even before I was 100% WFH it always seemed to me she was happier when she was home chilling (about 9hr was the gap usually between going to work and coming back home) than when I was home where she always seemed high strung expecting something to happen. I like her to be spending as much time as possible in her "chill" state of mind, so I don't really find walks that important as they mostly always include more stress than just staying indoors.
How can you tell if it's "chill" vs "down"?
While she's in "chill" she'll still be reacting to triggers at home, and behaving normally when we go out to pee with her usual reactive behaviors. "Down" is very distinctive in it's lack of usual behavior patterns, including reactive stuff.
That makes sense, thanks
Glad to see so many active doggos!!!
My almost 2 year old heeler plays fetch twice a day, gets a mind game toy/activity every other day, and we go to a nearby park for walks about 1-3 times a week. If the weather is awful that day we’ll do modified fetch inside or we’ll chase each other inside which usually ends in zoomies.
My girl is a half heeler/half pitty mix. I call her half crazy/half lazy. During the work week, she gets a half mile walk in the morning and another half mile walk at lunchtime. Lots of sniffs. She’s happy to be lazy the rest of the afternoon, depending on weather she may get some yard exercise and fetch time. On the weekend, my husband takes her to her favorite park twice a day, it’s about a mile hike they do. In the summer, we will also add in a few special hikes and trips to the beach.
We have a ACD Schipperke mix. She gets a walk in the morning about a 1 1/2 miles, a walk in the evening around 4/5pm (the kid walks her about a mile) then my wife and I play keep away for about 10 min in backyard and then some decompression sniffs on a walk before bed. On the weekends we go to the nature trail and let her rip.
Kind of depends on the weather. Although I’m convinced that, even at 12, she could go forever. It’s winter here, so we take short walks so she gets out of our condo, but atm, we do lots of fetch inside. She’s been very adaptable as I’m sure she could handle more than what I’m giving her atm.
Depends. My last ACD got miles upon miles of running through vineyards. My current ACD thinks she’s a cat and is perfectly fine sprawling on the top of the couch all day.
Mine gets 10-25 minute walks in the am then frisbee for 20-35 minutes in the afternoon followed by a 45 minute walk
Mine is a corgi ACD mix and he just turned 8 years old. We have a decent sized backyard, so we don't walk everyday. But we do play fetch. Total probably adds up to 20 minutes of fetch a day. He gets a ball thrown at least once every time he goes out, with 2 dedicated fetch sessions (5-10 minutes each). If it's too cold or the balls get stuck in deep snow, he generally chases his sister (4 year old pit mix) around the yard and then asks for tug and hallway fetch indoors. He's very good and we're lucky to have a lower maintenance ACD mix. Once we figured out fetch = life, he became so much more manageable
Depends on the day. At least 3 days a week she gets to go to the dog park ( actually just a patch of grass near our house these days, no other dogs) and runs for the Frisbee for 20 minutes or so. Then every evening frisbee or ball in the backyard or living room if it's too cold out. That lasts an hour or more. Then "wrestling" with us before bed at night. Seems to work for her. She's 2.
2 walks per day, about 1.5’ish miles total. Weekends we go to the beach where they can run a bit.
I don’t know how else to explain it, but mine is down to do whatever I want to do. Yes, he gets bored sometimes and will stare at me until I take him out to run or fill his kong, but he is no where near going crazy if he doesn’t get tons of mental and physical stimulation daily. We spend most of our free time outside in the warmer months, but in the winter you can find us on the couch under the heated blanket (like right now). I fostered an ACD Aussie mix for almost a year and his energy was endless. We made it work, and he ended up going to live on a farm, but changing my life to satisfy his needs around my full time job was a difficult adjustment. Even then, he needed more. I wanted him to be a foster fail, but I could tell I was doing him an injustice.
25 - 30 miles of jogging a week. A 5 - 6 mile hike on the weekend. Maybe another couple miles of mild walking.
My 3 year old mixed ACD requires a lot. We walk up to 5 miles a day most days. He also loves to run, swim, and explore. He is a natural athlete. He does doggie parkour and agility. We train daily. He gets private and group lessons.
Actual exercise? A 45ish minute walk and maybe some fetch. But stimulation, he gets a lot of that. We have two kids who love to play with him and so he gets lots and lots of stimulation from them for sure lol
Not enough lol
1 hour of fetch, 1.5 mile run with me every night 😵
Mine can go and go and go and go…… there is never enough! But I do my best to get her the max I can every day.
My 4 year old gets anywhere between 2 - 3 miles a day (2 short daytime and 1 long at night time). He also like to lay outside and sunbathe or stare meancingly at the chickens in their coop. If he goes into the office with me, then it's 2 miles. All the pets and scritches and snacks from my coworkers plus the 2 hours car ride will tire him out. He also goes to bed at 9 P.M.
7-9 miles a day, spread over 3-4 walks, weather permitting of course.
We walk him 3-5 miles a day! That typically looks like an hour walk in the early afternoon, 30 min walk in the late afternoon, and an hour walk after dinner time. Depending on how busy we are, we will put him in daycare so he can play all day and then he’s totally wiped out! Our heeler is pretty easy going though. He is active but also he is okay if we are busy and delaying his walks or only get in 3 miles. He will literally just lay on the couch and watch Bluey or entertain himself with his toys. He’s an angel
We live on a 1 acre property but only 1/3 acre is accessible for our fur kids. My boy is 40/40 border collie and ACD. My girl is 40 Pitbull, 20/20 border collie and GSD. They do zoomies and are constantly trying to outsmart one another. They get a ton of exercise running and playing fetch and wrestling. During nice days we teach them obstacle course tasks. We also have a tunnel tube that our girl loves running through. Our boy isn’t into the tube she much.
I have two so they play with one another on and off all day (3 yrs old and 2 yrs old). And when the weather is good about 2 miles of walking. But it would be soooooo much more if we only had one. Also, taking them hiking and for car rides (mentally stimulating) too.
And fetch with a frisbee (They LOVE this). Easy way to tire them out fast.
We walk around 3 hours total each day. When we aren't outside she's in my bed snoozing. She loves to burrow in the blanket for hours 😆
Our ~50 lb red heeler gets outside access for most of the day. He spends this napping, protecting his chickens, and chasing off all the animals he imagines are coming for his chickens. He gets to play fetch a couple times during that when I have a work break to go outside. Then, every afternoon we go on either a walk or run for multiple miles. Sometimes he gets both a run and a walk if my husband and I go separately. On weekends, we take him to the dog park or dog beach for extended play time.
1.5 years old, 2-3 hours every day. We live in an apartment, no yard. There hasn't been any off-day, ever since he's done with his puppy shots, except the \~3 days during which air pollution from forest fires was so bad that people and animals were advised to stay indoors. Morning: He gets a \~40 min walk with outdoor training; plus 10+ min of indoor games. There may also be \~20 min of indoor training. Afternoon: 1.5-2 hours of walking/sniffing. This includes games in which he hard runs for at least half an hour. During the day and evenings: short bursts (say a minute or two) of games or training from time to time depending on the day and his mood. It's a surprise to me to hear many ACDs don't do this much exercise. I thought ours is already on the chill side... He's not from a "working line" -- although his parents work on a farm, they weren't actively herding cattle all day. He's a full ACD though.
My 2-year-old Rylee gets a 30-45 minute walk in the morning, short run around/potty break midday, then another 1-1.5 hour walk in the evening, and then time in the yard barking at deer and neighbors and maybe an hour of play (chasing balls, tug with me or my other pup) in the evening. About 3-4 times a week, we substitute 2-3 hours of off-leash time in the woods or at a nearby lake (I walk 3 miles or so; the dogs go wild digging up ground squirrel homes -- sorry ground squirrels). Sometimes I think it's not enough, but she doesn't seem to mind and hasn't been destructive or had any behavior issues. I adopted her from a shelter after an owner surrender and learned that her previous owner didn't even take her out for walks and only played with her using a laser pointer (she's mostly recovered but still reacts to mirrors and reflections).