My pup is not allowed out as yet as he needs his second vaccination yet. I'm walking him round the house and garden to get use to a lead. I've read about the 5 minute rule which is 5 minutes per month of age. when he is allowed out he will be 14 weeks old. If i were to take him on a 20 minute walk would that be only recommended once a day or could i do that morning an evening. I do a lot of hikes 8 - 10 miles regularly he is way to young to go on any but want to build him up could anyone let me know the safe way to build him up to this which i take would be around 18 month ? he can go on the hikes with me:?:

I don't do puppies but my understanding of the 5 min/month rule is that it's 5 minutes of organized exercise (leash training for example) but you can do several of those in a day's time.

Free play time, where he can stop when he wants to is open ended.

8 - 10 mile hikes, while he's still a puppy, get yourself a pack - a big day pack maybe? - and take him with you after he's had all his jabs.  You can let him "hike" for 15-20 minutes and then carry him for a while; stop and let him play and the maybe let him hike or carry him for a while more.  Reasoning:  give him some of the experiences while he's young and safe (in the pack) so the whole nature thing isn't a new experience to him later on.

He's a bit heavy for me to put in a pack he's 16lb so I don't think I could carry him. I will take him out on a few short 20 minute walks and have to build him up over time.

I have a 10 week old and I typically hike 8-10 miles. I'm looking forward to when I can take him on hikes. Right now we just go around the block twice a day (leash training), and play in the yard. I would love to hear more info on building up to hiking after shots are done. Has anyone carried their Husky Pup in a pack? If so how does he/she handle it and what kind of pack. Thanks

Nonnahikes wrote:

I have a 10 week old and I typically hike 8-10 miles. I'm looking forward to when I can take him on hikes. Right now we just go around the block twice a day (leash training), and play in the yard. I would love to hear more info on building up to hiking after shots are done. Has anyone carried their Husky Pup in a pack? If so how does he/she handle it and what kind of pack. Thanks

Taking a dog in a pack is more for the owner than the dog (in my opinion). Dog's see the world with their nose, not their eyes. To do that, they need to be down on the ground. Carrying a dog around in a pack is like a person trying to enjoy the outdoors without their glasses, or a person who isn't nearly blind (like myself) using those drunk goggles. They know they are outside, and they know it should be a great experience, but they just can't take it all in. They are going to be frustrated because you are keeping them from doing what they want. Sure, they'll seem excited, and be looking and sniffing all over, but that's because they are annoyed and we are just misreading their behavior.

Now if you want to alternate some pack time/walk time, that probably not so bad. Walk him for the recommended time (less if it's rugged terrain, and make sure to carry him up and down any really steep climbs or big jumps to protect those growing joints), and then carry him in the pack for a good 30-45 minutes (minimum) to let him rest. Make sure he gets walk time for any environmental changes (moving from a canyon with lots of pines to an open field with flowers for instance) so he can investigate all the new scents before you pack him again.

You're going to find that he's going to get heavy fast though, probably too heavy to be packing around. So you'll need to just transition into shorter hikes where he's walking the entire time (again, make sure to protect the joints). Hopefully you have an ok place to train his endurance up. Just take your time and do it right and you'll likely have a great hiking buddy for years. If you try to push him too hard too fast, you may end up causing some issues later in life that cut his hiking ability way down.

Thank you for sharing that great info Dave. Enzo is 4 months old now and we just started adding short hikes (once a week) to our neighborhood strolls. I make sure the hike has little to no incline and no steps to navigate. He's already 18 pounds so there's no way I;m going to carry him for any extended amount of time and he does love to explore. Having him walk on his own gives him opportunity to meet other people and pups too. At what age/size is it safe to increase elevation gain, thus steeper hikes and probable steps. I'm excited to have a hiking partner, but more importantly, I want to protect his health. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Hi Randi, Hiking, natural terrain is way better on a developing puppy vs concrete/asphalt. Walking up hills builds muscle, so going up is safer on bones and joints vs going down. Best advice go at Enzo's pace, take frequent breaks, if he sits or slows down take a break. The rule of thumb of 5 minutes for every month old, so in Enzo's case, a 20 minute walk is more for structured asphalt walking vs natural terrain. So I would be more watchful of him going down steep inclines. So mild hiking thru rolling hills and flat grassy surfaces are best. At around a year he should be pretty much fully grown and then you can do more intense hiking. I know with both of mine we did low impact hiking and was out at times a couple of hours and took many breaks and have no issues. Have fun, they don't stay small very long at all, and building up endurance now will make for a great hiking companion later

Thank you. I'm willing to go at a safe pace and intensity to keep him healthy. We;ve had fun on the two we've done so far.