What should puppy playtime look like?

Puppies should have no more than 5 minutes of exercise for each month of age, twice a day. Walking beside a human is tiring for a puppy and to walk at a constant pace is totally unnatural and can easily strain your puppy, so it is something you build up to slowly over time. Even just walking for this short time, puppy walking should be very relaxed with lots of time to stop, sniff, explore and investigate the environment around them. Keep continuous structured puppy walking to no more than two minutes at any one time – and if at any point the puppy flops down, seems reluctant to walk, or looks tired, listen to them and act accordingly. Playtime counts too! Despite seeming to have endless energy, puppies are good at self-limiting their own exercise, and so making sure your puppy has plenty of opportunity to run around and play under their own steam is important. If you watch puppies at this age, you’ll see they run around madly for a few minutes and then flop down to rest or sleep. Your puppy will also get plenty of exercise following you around the house, being part of your day to day life, and on warmer days, even accompanying you into the garden. All of this adds to your puppy’s exercise and enrichment.

Puppy play signs and signals can be identified by a relaxed open-mouthed curious face, or the ‘play-bow’ when your dog keeps its front legs low and bum high. You can try initiating play with your pup by mimicking their excited body language. Pups love it when you’re engaged in play with them, darting around, getting just as excited and interacting in a fun way. Using play alongside puppy training classes will help speed their training along too. Tug-of-War is always a favourite game where you can pretend your puppy is as strong as a fully grown Rottweiler. Throwing a toy for retrieval can be the beginning of learning how to fetch. Likewise toys may be hidden to challenge your pup’s sense of smell. A little obstacle course is a fun way to use up your pup’s energy and teach them how to use their body.