How Far Can a Cavapoo Walk? Puppy Age and Maximum Distance Guide
Exploring the outside world with a playful Cavapoo is great fun. There are smells to sniff, plants to pee on, and sights to explore. Your Cavapoo will have an amazing time on every walk!
But is there a limit to how far a Cavapoo can walk? Is there a maximum number of walks per day for a Cavapoo? Can Cavapoos run with their owners? How can can a Cavapoo puppy walk?
Most Cavapoo owners like to walk their dogs. Research shows that walking a dog is the second most preferred way of exercising. Over 35% of owners get their daily exercise alongside their puppy with a walk!
How far can a Cavapoo walk?
Although a Cavapoo is a small breed, they still require daily purposeful exercise. This means the average Cavapoo will need 20-30 minutes a day of activity. A walk is the simplest way to achieve this exercise goal.
An adult Cavapoo should walk around 1.5 kilometers (just under 1 mile) in 20-30 minutes.
You can walk your Cavapoo for longer if they have
- Been working up to the length
- Have access to water and opportunities to have a break every 20 minutes
- Have shown that they have endurance
A Cavapoo puppy will typically walk much less, a third as much and only in good weather (though they don’t mind the snow).
An elderly Cavapoo will need to walk a shorter distance OR similar distances at a much slower pace.
What are the benefits of walking a Cavapoo?
A regular walk is a bedrock foundation for physical health for your dog. It will also help strengthen and improve their mental health and endurance.
Walking a Cavapoo has many health benefits for dogs of all ages.
- Weight control and energy-burning to prevent pet obesity
- Joint health
- Diabetes prevention
- Digestive health
- Urinary health
- Can encourage more robust eating in a picky eater (a common issue in small breeds like the Cavapoo)
The regular walk contributes to all of these elements of overall dog health. The apparent benefit is to burn calories. A small dog like a Cavapoo can often end up in a calorie excess, which will result in weight gain.
You can manage this by limiting food intake and ensuring that no more than 10% of the daily calories are made up of treats. You can space out high calorie treats with high-quality, healthy snacks like bits of carrot or other vegetable scraps from cooking.
A daily walk will burn some of the extra energy and keep your Cavapoo trim and fit. Given that around half of the dogs in the United States are obese or overweight, this is an important consideration.
A skinnier Cavapoo will have healthier joints over their lifespan also. Smaller bodied dogs (like the Cavapoo or Cockapoo) do have smaller muscles, but they need a balance of lower body weight AND strong muscles to stay healthy and pain-free into later life.
Benefits of dog walking to owners
While our Cavapoo puppies’ health is the most important thing, the health benefits for owners are often overlooked.
Walking your Cavapoo daily will result in
- Improved cardiovascular fitness
- Lower blood pressure
- Stronger bones and muscles (endurance over time)
- Reduction in hyper Cavapoo behavior
- And decreased stress!
That is a seriously impressive set of benefits for something that is fun to do. It might be time to lace up your shoes and take your Cavapoo for a walk!
How many walks per day for a Cavapoo?
Most Cavapoo owners walk their dogs once per day. Some fully grown dogs are, however, a ball of energy and will benefit from multiple walks.
It is reasonable to take your healthy Cavapoo on two walks per day. Splitting the total daily exercise into two bursts is a great idea.
If you try and force two extra-long walks, you may end up with an exhausted dog. Build up to any kind of exercise and wait till the dog is fully grown. Be mindful that in extreme weather, the normal endurance of your Cavapoo will be less than usual.
Can Cavapoos be a running partner? Do Cavapoos like to run?
I love pounding the pavement with a dog running partner. But the key phrase to remember there is pounding. The heavy impact exercise of running and even jogging is not suitable for most dogs.
Cavapoos love to run, swim and zoom. Their size and short build make them unsuitable as running partners. Small breeds like the Cavachon or Cavapoo usually cannot go for a run with their owner.
Even if you have a larger Cavapoo with the stamina to run endurance, they cannot run till their bones are fully grown. Your Vet will be able to advise you for your specific dog – but most recommend well over 12 months of age before and type of sustained running.
Cavapoo’s have a very long lifespan, and this must be considered. Their joints will typically wear, and injury can occur through heavy impact repetitive exercise like running with a human.
Be incredibly cautious when considering a Cavapoo as a running partner. Keep the distances low – or just don’t run with your Cavapoo. Save the energy for walks, playing, fetch, and the dog park.
Larger dogs like Labradoodles or Goldendoodles are sometimes more suitable as running partners.
An image of a light or Golden Cavapoo. Photo Mia Anderson/Unsplash
When can I take my Cavapoo puppy walking outside?
A Cavapoo puppy will be cleared to go for a walk outside only after the final set of shots/vaccinations. Most Vets give the all-clear a week or two weeks after the last injection. This allows time for the shots to take effect.
So when can you take a Cavapoo puppy outside for a walk? For most Cavapoo puppies, this process will be complete by 4 months of age.
Don’t be tempted to take an unvaccinated dog outside sooner. Unless you live in an area where there are literally zero dogs – there is a risk to your puppy. Your dog does not need to come into direct contact with another dog to catch a disease.
It is worth waiting the extra few weeks and ensuring the safety of your Cavapoo family member.
Can I walk my Cavapoo in winter?
You can indeed walk Cavapoos in winter. You just need to be mindful of the temperature you expose your dog too and dress them accordingly. Small family dogs like the Cavapoo can feel the cold.
The most critical fitting is a warm coat. The thickness will depend on how freezing the winters are in your area. Thin layers are excellent for above freezing – go very thick as you get close to that point.
The other weak spot that is risky for walking a Cavapoo in the cold is – their paws!
Imagine you are walking barefoot on the sidewalk in the middle of winter. BRRR!
- 1. Hook&Loop, Easy to Put On and Take off.
- 2. Reflective PU ensure good visibility,especially at night on the road.
- 3. Flexible lug design and grooved TPR soles gives your dog better control and protect paws from the cold weather.
- 4. Embroidery logo. Molded rubber bottom: non-slip and waterproof.
- 5. The size is the size inside the boots, not boots size outside,choose size according to width is better. Size Chart on left for your reference.
You need to arrange some shoes for your Cavapoo. Even if there is no snow or water – a set of shoes will make your Cavapoo paws much more comfortable and keep your dog warm and happy.
I like the cheerful and budget-friendly DOG SHOES by True Live because they fit the feet of our puppy really well. I just ordered a small size (Size 1 for us) by measuring the paw’s width at the widest point and then using the size table on the listing. There are a bunch of color choices but I went with black so if they get scuffed or dirty it will be less noticeable.
Will Cavapoo feet get burned while walking in summer?
Snap your thoughts on the hottest summer day in your area. Now image walking barefoot across piping hot road and concrete! Although dog paws are more robust than our feet – they can still burn on a scorching day!
If prolonged contact with the pavement in the HOTTEST parts of summer is unavoidable, consider again putting your dog shoes onto your Cavapoo. They are easy to zip-on and will avoid sunburnt or heat burned paws. Save the ouch by covering up!
To find out more about dogs and sunburn, read our in-depth article about how to avoid and treat sunburn for canines.
