walking my puppy

Question
Hi Ardesh, I have a six month old shitzu and my friend loves to walk her.She always wants to go out but my friend takes her walking for an hour sometimes I argue with her telling her its way to long and cold out. how do I know how long my friend should walk her? Thank you. Kym

Answer
Kym, Hi! All breeds of dogs no matter what their age, need some form of exercise. 'How much?' is a tricky question. Now for a six month old, i feel 30-40min is more than sufficient and that too must be given on a daily basis. This routine must be maintained throughout the dogs life to keep him fit.Also, puppies are more prone to catching a cold so if its too cold i would suggest sufficient covering(thick coat).
No offence but in my opinion, you should be the one taking your dog out atleast the majority of the time. It helps in building a strong bond and besides these are the formative months of your dog and any kind of mistreatment and/or mishandling could mean serious consequences in the future. p/s-basic training is very important at this age.
Regards-Ardesh