Dog walk rotation chart for 2, 3 or 4 people

Every walk of the day needs one name on it, the rotation has to be easy to remember, and you need a rule for swaps. Here are charts for two, three and four people, using our example family: Pepper the dog, Mom, Dad, Noa (11) and Ari (7).

Set the walk times

How many walks and how long depends on the dog. The American Kennel Club notes that exercise needs vary with age, health and breed. PDSA, the UK veterinary charity, says most dogs need at least one to two walks a day unless your vet advises otherwise. A young Border Collie and an old Shih Tzu need very different plans, so ask your vet if you're unsure, especially if your dog has a health condition.

For puppies, the AKC's article on puppy exercise cites a rule of thumb from veterinary researchers: about five minutes of walking per month of age, once or twice a day. So a four-month-old puppy gets walks of about 20 minutes. Quick potty trips don't count.

Most families end up with three walks a day. Ours:

• Morning walk at 6:45, before work and school
• Afternoon walk at 15:00
• Evening walk at 20:30

If your dog only needs two, drop the afternoon row from the charts.

Pick a rotation template

Pick the chart for your household size and put in your own names. In each one, the morning goes to whoever is reliably up and home, and the hardest slot rotates.

Two people. Each person owns one fixed walk, and the afternoon alternates.

Three people. Everyone has a regular slot, and the evening rotates every three days.

Four people. Two teams. Kids always walk with an adult, and the teams swap every week.

Plan swaps and sick days

Without a swap rule, the rotation falls apart the first busy week. Ours:

• You can swap any walk, but you find your own replacement.
• Tell the family (out loud or in the family chat) and fix the chart.
• Pay the swap back the same week.
• Sick or stuck at work? Tell everyone as early as you can. The next person on the chart covers, and you take their next slot.

Sort out weekends

Weekends are when most walks get missed, because nobody's usual timing applies. Give Saturday and Sunday their own rows instead of "we'll see". A lot of families give the whole weekend to one adult or team so the other gets a real morning off, and switch the next week.

Keep the weekend morning walk close to the weekday time. Pepper doesn't know it's Saturday.

Set rules for kids

Whether a child can walk a dog alone depends on the child, the dog's size and strength, and the route, not just age. Until you're sure, kids walk with an adult nearby. In our charts, Noa and Ari are always paired with someone.

Give kids the parts they're good at: holding the leash on a quiet street, carrying the bags and picking up, filling the water bowl when they get home.

Have a rainy-day plan

Agree ahead of time what a bad-weather day looks like, so nobody argues at the door:

• Shorter walks, but the same number of potty trips.
• Ten minutes of indoor games or training instead of the long route.
• The person on the chart still owns the slot, even if it's short.

In very hot weather, move walks to early morning and late evening.

Where PupShift fits

In PupShift, whoever walks taps Walked and the whole family sees who did it and when. The "Whose turn?" line under the big buttons shows who's up next, based on who did less this week, and the board's owner can set who's on duty at each time. The printable roster on this page is the paper version.