I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. I'm glad your Yorkie is keepign you busy!

Otis walks for about 1 mile to 1.5 miles three to four times a week in nice weather, but hardly never when it rains. When I don't have time to give him a walk, I make it a point to play hard with him in the house.

[QUOTE=yorkiegold]According to many experts, before one year of age, the best exercise for a puppy is free play. You need to avoid "forced marches" and any kind of repetitive movement. But I have found that Yorkies in general have an amazing amount of energy and if properly conditioned and in good physical health, they can go and go and go.

I think if you're going at his pace and you're picking him up and carrying him when he seems tired, you're doing it right. When you get home and he still has as much energy as he did when you left, you'll know he can take more.

That is right on the money. I never had a yorkie pup because I adopted Corky at 11 years! That is only two months ago. His previous mother had diabetes and other issues and had NEVER,EVER, walked him. She had a small garden and would just open her back door so he could do his business. He had a leash because twice a year her son would visit and he would take Corky on a "token" walk.

At first Corky could barely walk for 10 minutes he was so out of shape and the weather was pretty hot. Today, Corky can walk for hours if we take occassional rest/water breaks. I guess he is getting pretty spoiled since I don't work and I share the walks with my husband, we walk him around 5x a day. He poops a lot more too. The former mommy said he only pooped around 2x week at her house and either was constipated or had diarhea. Here he goes at least 2x day and it is normal. We don't have a car because we live in the city so I have to walk everywhere and I don't like to leave him at home unless I have to. I hardly ever make him climb stairs, though.

He is acting like he has a second chance at life. Sometimes after a 45 minute walk I need to go back home and he just stops at the door to our building and says "WHAT? Already?" and then he does the slow, slow walk inside giving me the "you're a mean mommy" looks.

On specific dog walks my husband now lets Corky lead the way and lets Corky decide when he wants to turn around and go home. Corky also seems to love this and when he finally goes home, he runs at full speed to the elevator, then at full speed from the elevator to the front door (only 10 feet) and then when we open the door he dances around the apartment for awhile before napping.

As others have said, I am so sorry for your loss, but having a yorkie to talk to and carress is good medicine for the pain.

Walks
 

Fagan is 14 weeks old and he makes it 1/2 mile around the circle in our neighborhood. We also have a corgi who loves to go for walks so Fagan usually does better if Pepper is with us. Otherwise he gets a little lazy and wants to be carried or take more frequent sit down and rest breaks. He really like to sniff all the mail box stands and trees. He usually takes a big long nap after a walk so I try to take them out at night before bed. :D

Lucy gets at least a mile walk or 45 mins running in the park everyday. We take along water for her and don't push her if she seems knackered. Usually it is up to her how much she walks, she hates road walking but loves walks through fields and parks. When it is really hot for her she goes out about 6.30 am and then about 8.30 pm when it is a little cooler. Madam only likes to be carried on road walks, thats because she is too lazy and hates road walking! :rolleyes:

We take our 3 the youngest being 19 weeks old on a 40-45 min walk after the sun goes down and then they run around our backyard until we make them go in with us! They love it outside!

I started taking Trixie on walks from the day I got her. At first we'd just walked around the block, and when she would get tired, I would carry her home. But now, she's five months and I take her on an hour brisk walk every night. She has soooo much energy, when we get back, she's still running around the house while I put my feet up ;)

So sorry about your mom. My mom is terminally ill as well. We thought we had lost her last weekend, but she is still with us. It is very hard to let them go.

I walk Copper around our block almost every day. It is about 3/4 mile. I plan to increase the walk time when it gets cooler. Too hot now.