Labradoodles are extremely energetic, high-activity dog who loves being social and playing the role of your four-legged clown.
Their good-natured temperament makes it easy for them to be around for a good laugh, smile, or fun time.
Their energy is contagious, if not endless, and requires regular physical and mental stimulation to help them live longer and keep them staying their happy-go-lucky selves.
Labradoodle Puppy Exercise Guidelines
Labradoodles do best with small intervals of high-intensity exercise several times during the day.
The general idea is that with puppies, for every month of age, tack 5 minutes of exercise onto that number. This should be done twice a day.
For example, your 3 months old Labradoodle puppy would need 15 minutes of exercise twice a day.
This may seem like a lot when they get older, but the amount of energy Labradoodles have when they’re older needs to be released through playtime.
Boredom from not being physically or mentally stimulated can result in unwanted chewing or exploring areas of the house that you may not want them to get into.
Of course, these exercise demands aren’t always able to be met with the standards of living and adulthood, and this should be taken into consideration if you’re thinking of getting one of these dogs.
Exercise Labradoodles Need Daily
It’s your job to take care of them as best as possible, and leaving a Labradoodle home for hours on end each day is not doing what is best for them or their health.
Labradoodles are always eager to get up and go outside. Whether it be going for a quick run around the neighborhood with their owner, taking a hike up the mountainside, or playing a quick game of fetch at the dog park.
These activities can be done at least once a day with plenty of cuddling time and sedentary loving at the end of a long day.
For easy time tracking, a Labradoodle puppy should be getting this amount of exercise in per day:
- 3 months = about 15 Minutes (x2)
- 9 months = about 45 Minutes (x2)
- 6 months = about 30 Minutes (x2)
Fully grown Labradoodle can exercise for much longer stretches of time, but different physical activities can be done if you’re in a time crunch without worry about getting injured.
The average Labradoodle adult should be aiming for up to an hour of exercise per day.
The Goldilocks Amount: What Qualifies as “Just Right”
There’s a happy balance regarding the amount of physical activity that anyone should go through.
Even athletes need to recognize when they need to go easy the next day after a particularly hard workout or day of training.
Labradoodles, especially the younger the puppy, are growing and developing.
While exercise is important for this growing process, too much of it can exert them too much and cause discomfort in their legs and joints.
Especially during their beginning years of life, dogs are still developing their bones, tendons, and ligaments, as well as their joints.
Labradoodles are also prone to experiencing leg injuries, so gentle exercise is better than intense physical activity over long stretches of time.
Getting injured at a younger age can affect their physical performance in their later years.
The same applies to the other extreme: an older Labradoodle.
Labradoodles can live between 12-15 years. Exercise is crucial to making sure they can manage their heart health, weight, and mobility in their older age.
Walking should be the dominant exercise for this stage in life, although it doesn’t go to say that a senior Labradoodle can’t do the same things as it did during the middle-aged years.
What Type of Exercise is Best for My Labradoodle?
Age is the greatest factor in the various types of exercises that your Labradoodle puppy can go through.
For example, biking with your puppy alongside you is not the smartest thing to do as they would tire quickly, not to mention they wouldn’t have the sense to avoid getting rolled over or potentially tangled.
Walking is the safest bet as it does the least amount of damage. Avoid intense tugging on their mouths as well as with their teeth not being as strong.
Likewise, climbing upstairs would be harder for them to do inside.
Physical Exercises for Labradoodles
- Swimming
- Walking
- Tug of war
- Running
- Fetching
- Climbing up and down stairs
- Playing with other dogs
- Toys that move
- Blowing bubbles outside and letting them chase them
- Wrestling with your Labradoodle
- Hiking
- Going to the dog park
Mental Exercises for Labradoodles
All dogs need some type of exercise for their minds as well. Giving them mentally stimulating to do can provide them with just as much of a workout as physical exertion will.
Mental exercises are a lot less tiring for you as the owner, most likely giving these types of exercises an edge over going for a jog or walk every morning and evening.
A mental challenge can also aid in posing as a distraction while you’re out and away from the house.
This prevents any barking, chewing, digging, or searching for an escape route to go exploring. Some great ideas to help keep your Doodle sharp include:
- Puzzle toys
- Chew toys
- “Find the toy” game
- Bones
- Kong
- Obedience or skills training
- Rotating toys regularly is a good method for keeping things interesting
What Type of Equipment do You Need for Exercising?
For puppies, a fixed-length leash is your best bet over retractable ones.
Retractable leashes are too easy to let your puppy have too much free reign over the leash, causing mischief or sometimes causing you to get tangled in the process.
A good poop bag dispenser is also a must-have item when owning any dog; any public area will thank you for having that.
A good harness is also useful when dealing with a puppy or an older dog who enjoys chasing cars or sniffing their distant surroundings just a little too much.
Sometimes the collar can be a little too big to secure a lunging Labradoodle properly.
A name tag and your address and phone number are also essential on the occasion that they do run off and get lost.
Labradoodle Exercise Summary
Exercising your Labradoodle is a good habit to get into from the beginning all the way to the ending stages of life.
Watch carefully for any signs of tiredness or discomfort, and don’t feel bad if exercising twice a day isn’t a priority.
If exercise isn’t being done as frequently, look to feeding to maintain proper weight. You can also turn some of the physical activities listed above into indoor ones.