On this page
Record date and time, distance, moving time, pace, sniff stops, weather, and how the dog was after, plus a weekly weight. That is enough to answer the three questions a log exists for: is the weekly distance holding or drifting, is the dog better or worse on the days we walk more, and is the weight trending toward the ideal. A copyable template is below. Paper works; an app measures the distance, time and pace for you and makes the review a glance instead of a chore.
What to record and why
| Field | Why it earns its column |
|---|---|
| Date, start time | Habit lives in the pattern; the same time most days is the pattern. |
| Distance | The honest measure of a walk. Minutes can be anything; 1.3 miles is 1.3 miles. |
| Moving time | Time actually walking, excluding stops. With distance it gives pace. |
| Pace (min/mile) | Distinguishes a sniff walk (25 min/mile) from a fitness walk (12 to 15). Both are good; they are different. |
| Sniff stops | A count of the stops. A walk with many is a mental-exercise walk; see Why do dogs sniff so much on walks?. |
| Weather | Explains short walks in July and January, and reveals which dog cares. |
| After | One word: settled, wired, stiff, limping. The most important column for seniors and puppies. |
| Weight (weekly) | Trend against the ideal. How to weigh at home is in How to weigh a dog at home. |
| Notes | Two dogs walked, a new route, a limp, a great recall. Optional and often the best part. |
Paw steps and calories are useful additions if something computes them for you from the distance; the maths is in How many steps does a dog take in a mile? and the paw steps calculator does it for any dog. By hand they are more work than they are worth.
The template
Copy this into a notes app, a spreadsheet or a printed sheet, one per week. Fill the first six columns per walk and the last column once.
| Day | Time | Distance | Moving time | Pace | Sniff stops | Weather | After | Weight (weekly) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 6:40 a.m. | 1.3 mi | 28 min | 21:30 | 7 | 52°F, dry | settled | 63.9 lb (ideal 61.7) |
| Mon | 6:10 p.m. | 1.1 mi | 24 min | 21:50 | 5 | 58°F | settled | |
| Tue | 6:45 a.m. | 1.3 mi | 27 min | 20:45 | 6 | 50°F, rain | settled | |
| Wed | rest day | 0.3 mi | 8 min | 4 | calm | |||
| Thu | 6:40 a.m. | 1.5 mi | 29 min | 19:20 | 5 | 55°F | settled | |
| Fri | 6:40 a.m. | 1.3 mi | 28 min | 21:30 | 8 | 54°F | settled | |
| Sat | 9:30 a.m. | 2.4 mi | 52 min | 21:40 | 14 | 60°F, trail | tired, fine Sun |
Sample values for a 64 lb Labrador; a Chihuahua's week has smaller numbers and the same shape.
Weekly review: three questions
- Did the weekly distance hold? Add the column. Compare with last week and with the band for your dog's size in How far should you walk your dog? Miles per day by size. A slow drift down is the most common thing a log catches, and the easiest to fix while it is small.
- Was the dog better on the days we walked more? Read the After column against the distance column. Restless evenings on short-walk days is your dog telling you the number; stiff mornings after long ones is the ceiling.
- Is the weight trending the right way? Four weekly weights make a trend. One does not. If it is drifting up, the ration is the lever, and the plan is in Helping your dog lose weight by walking: an 8-week plan.
Sharing with your vet
A month of the template is the most useful thing you can bring to a wellness visit, a weight consult or a "she seems slower" conversation. Vets ask "how much exercise does he get?" and get "a fair amount"; a log gives them "8.7 miles a week, mostly at 21 minutes per mile, stiff after anything over two miles", which is a different quality of information. For weight plans, the weekly weights against the ideal are exactly what the AAHA guidelines ask practices to track.
Paper versus app
Paper wins on simplicity and never needs charging. It loses on the three columns that matter most: distance, moving time and pace are estimates on paper and measurements from GPS. An app also counts sniff stops for you, keeps a weight trend that draws itself, and makes the weekly review a glance at a chart. If the app keeps the data on the phone, with no account and no upload, there is little downside; if it wants an account and sends the route somewhere, read the privacy label first. Either way, the habit of keeping the log is the thing, and how to keep it is in How to build a daily dog walking habit.
Pawdometer. Pawdometer keeps every field on this page automatically: GPS distance, moving time, pace, sniff breaks, paw steps, weight, streak and awards, per dog, on the phone.
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Frequently asked questions
What should a dog walking log include?
Date and time, distance, moving time, pace, number of sniff stops, the weather, the dog's energy and any stiffness after, plus a weekly weight. Everything else is optional; those fields answer the questions that matter.
Is there a printable dog walk tracker template?
The weekly table on this page is designed to be copied into a notes app or printed; it fits a week per sheet. An app fills most of the fields on its own from GPS, which is the main argument for one.
How do I track my puppy's walks?
The same log, with an extra column for minutes per walk against the five-minutes-per-month ceiling, and a weight every three to four weeks. The point with a puppy is to see walks lengthen slowly month by month, not day by day.
Should I share my dog's walking log with the vet?
Yes, especially for weight plans, arthritis, heart conditions and any "he seems slower lately". A month of distances and a weight trend is more useful to a vet than a memory, and takes them thirty seconds to read.
Sources
- VCA Animal Hospitals, "Walking your dog for weight loss". vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/walking-your-dog-for-weight-loss
- PetMD, "Signs your dog is getting too much exercise". www.petmd.com/dog/general-health/signs-your-dog-getting-too-much-exercise
- AAHA, 2021 Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines. www.aaha.org/resources/2021-aaha-nutrition-and-weight-management-guidelines/home/
This guide is general information from published veterinary and scientific sources, not veterinary advice. Every dog is different: for exercise, weight or feeding decisions, talk to your vet. Pawdometer never gives diet advice.