How far would you recommend a four month old puppy walk? I have a client who is asking if he can walk his puppy a mile. My answer is NO, but I was wondering what would be a reasonable distance at that age.

I would say NO.

JMO - pups are different so you can't generalize "how far" one can/coud/should go but at 4 months, a mile is a stretch I think.

Had a family that purchased a 5 month old female from me.
6 months later they call and tell me she has been limping.
Through questions and conversation I find out they have been biking her 4-5 miles at a time.
Great family that means well, making dumb decisions. Hopefully they took my advise and stopped all forced exercise.

I would say it really isnt a matter of how far in miles but how far with out being forced.

You dont want to over exercise any dog, no matter the age..

The way I tell if the dog is being forced to exercise is his/her tail set.

If its still wagging high, they are doing well. If its down, they are pushing it for you and are not happy - so stop exercising.

I would encourage them to play in the yard or no more than 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Also remind them that pavement gets hot in the Summer and watch out for their pads.

Just remind these folks that dogs don't wear sneakers. It is not appropriate for dogs of any age to put on miles, running on asphalt. As for your puppy, that is pushing it, but at a minimum, tell them the pup needs to be off the road and on the grass however far they go.

I have seen strays cover some miles. I travel a 10 mile road from home to work. When I left at 8:00 AM he was nosing around the neighbors yard near my home. When I started back home at 2:00 PM he was 1 mile outside of town. Thats good time for a dog and he seem to know where he was going.

I figured his "owners" dumped him out and he was going to surprise them by being back home in time for dinner.

You never know. When I was growing up in semi-rural, central Massachusetts, there were no leash laws. We opened the backdoor and let our lab out every morning. He always showed up for dinner. We found out that he was a regular visitor in pretty distant parts of town. We also heard (blush, blush) of a litter he sired after he got over a 5 foot fence.

this is still a rural area with no leash laws.....heaven forbid the good ol boys that sit on the commissioner seats could not run there dogs during hunting season due to some silly leash law....