Puppies! Exercise: What to do, and not to do!

Who loves puppies! I do! Who doesn't love puppies boundless energy? Me. At times it's draining right? Puppies seem like little energizer bunnies, they just keep going until they conk out.

It get's even harder when they reach their teenage years, because sometimes physically they look like a grown-up dog, and we forget that they are actually still a young immature dog.  I know this is something that I found very difficult with Evo - he looked like a physically mature border collie from about 8 or 9 months, and I kept having to remind myself that he still had at least 10 months of growing left to do.

Technically a dog is considered to be physically a juvenile until all growth plates have closed. Growth plates are the softer discs of bone at the ends of bone, and are the point at which the bone is still growing. Damage to the growth plate of a bone can result in bone abnormalities like a shorter limb, or twisting / incorrect angles.  The problem is that dog's different bone's growth plates close at different times, and also all individual dogs plates close at different times! Smaller dogs tend to close earlier, for example at 10 months my physio, vet, and chiropractor were fairly confident that Deo's growth plates had closed, and we neutered him. He also had some retained teeth that needed surgical removal and I was reluctant for him to have two general anesthetics! Evo though he looked physically mature from around 9 months, really didn't finish growing till closer to 18 months, and he really has only just finished physically maturing in terms of muscle till around 2 1/2 years old. Some giant breed's have shown on X-ray to still have open growth plates close to 3 years old.

From https://www.facebook.com/Wizard-of-Paws-95319629966/

From https://www.puppyculture.com

In addition to having delicate growth plates puppies long bones are also softer. Like humans dog's don't reach their maximum bone density until after they are physically mature. Younger teenage dogs are prone to spiral fractures of long bones. This is particularly common in the lower leg bone the tibia.

When puppies grow their bones grow first, and then the soft tissue (muscles, ligaments, tendons) must also grow. This means that joints may be out of balance, as the soft tissues catch up with bone growth. This, in turn, means that joints are unstable.  Damage to joints in itself is a difficult injury to rehabilitate, but if this occurs early in life it may affect the dog's joint growth, other joints (when the dog compensates for the injury), and also it is likely to have early onset arthritis in that joint due to the early damage.

Hip dysplasia was once thought of as purely a genetic condition, there is new research that shows that the environment in which a puppy grows up can affect the chance and severity of hip dysplasia (HD). The research indicates that the whelping surface can impact HD, and appropriate exercise ('daily exercise outdoors in gently undulating terrain in the first three months.')  However, using stairs can increase the chance of HD.

So why is it important to plan, and sometimes limit your young dog's physical activity? Because if you don't, you have the potential to do irreversible damage, that may limit your dog's physical activity as an adult, cause them pain, and cost you LOTS of money. 

Chilly, and Evo as 7 1/2 week old puppys.

Absolute no's with young dogs (who's growth plates have not closed):

• Unsupervised free play with larger, older, or multiple dogs.
• Structured activities such as agility training, or jogging with a human.
• Chuck it / continuous ball throwing (I would prefer that this also didn't happen for adult dogs!).
• Putting puppies (or any dogs!) in upright walking packs, or car restraints. This put's force on joints and bones in a manner that their body was not designed for. 
• Long highly repetitive sessions of any single activity. 

Brody as an adorable puppy.

Carefully manage: 

• Stairs. Avoid best that you can with young dogs. If you can carry your dog do so, if not keep them on lead or harness and manage their speed. 
• Sliding. This is a very common cause of injury. Think about using non-slip rug liners, rubber matting, strategically places baby gates or furniture to discourage running and sliding on slippery floors. 
• Concussive injury - jumping down onto hard and/or slippery surfaces. 
• Vehicle entry and exit. I still lift all my dogs from the back of my ute! Make sure however they get into and out of your vehicle it is safe, and under control. Dont let your puppy exit with older dogs, and most definately dont let it jump from a high vehicle. 
• The length of more structured physical activity. Use the rule of thumb of 5 minutes of exercise per month of age, per day. This is everything except free play. So any training, walks etc.
• Tugging. Make it delicate, keep your dog's head in natural alignment, and encourage gentle weight shift back rather than thrashing side to side. Puppy's necks are delicate! 

Evo's head is in line with his back, and he is shifting his weight backward without thrashing on the toy. 

Consider this for your young dog's exercise: 

• Are growth plates closed (as confirmed by X-ray, or an appropriate professional)? If not consider your dog physically to still be a puppy. 
• Free play with your puppy exploring a safe area by themselves (or a quiet settled older dog) is fine, as generally the puppy will generally self-monitor and stop when it's tired, though some individuals (or breeds) wont! Free play should still be supervised, and ensure that the space is safe. 
• Are you using safe equipment with them - is a harness unrestrictive to shoulder movement? Is the collar correctly fitted and wide enough? Is your lead length appropriate for your activity? 

Inkie doing restrained recalls.

What can you do instead of lot's of physical exercise: 

• Food puzzles and enrichment activities. These not only keep your puppy entertained (and not eating your shoes, but teach problem-solving skills and can boost confidence.
• Cooperative care. Teach them skills that you WILL use in their future to keep vet visits, grooming, and any medical treatments happy and fun. I love chin rests for vaccinations and other examinations, and a platform for grooming. Also nails are a must do!!
• Life skills. Teach them good habits before they have time to develop bad habits. Waiting at a door till you ask them to go through, sitting on a bed / platform till they are released, keeping out of the kitchen, being able to leave your plates of food, an amazing recall, pay you attention when there are exciting people or dogs around. 
• Safe skill training. There are many skills that are appropriate, and safe for you to teach your young dog. Provided that you do not teach these in long sessions, or are highly repetitive. Try a list of skills, and pick a different skill each session. Have a cup with 20 treats in, and when the treats are gone end the session. Skills you could teach include hand targets, front feet on a small non-slip perch, walking nicely on a lead, retrieving an item, back feet on a small non-slip perch, Turning in circles on the flat, reversing, sidestepping, waits, recalls.... this list goes on! 

Chace working on cooperative care for grooming.

Working on door manners.

Deo learning a chin rest.

Evo practicing his chin rest at the vet, where we use it for vaccinations and other injections.

Other things to consider for young dog's and their orthopedic development is their diet and supplementation, and also the age at which you neuter or spey. The timing of closure of growth plates in long bones is affected by gonadal hormones, so removal of the gonads results in significantly linger long bones (like the femur, and humerous). There is increasing evidence that early spey and neuter is associated with a higher incidence of orthopedic issues such as cruciate injury.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: 

Exercise and building strength are important for young dogs, whether they be pet or performance dogs. 

But you need to do it right, to prevent injury and lifelong orthopedic issues. 

Deo being oh so cute!

References and further reading: 

https://www.dogworksfitness.com/single-post/2017/12/28/The-1-and-2-common-injury-factors-for-puppies---and-its-not-just-about-hips-and-elbows

https://classroom.daisypeel.com/k9-conditioning-blog/a-note-on-puppies/

https://www.usdaa.com/article.cfm?newsID=2288

https://www.puppyculture.com/new-appropriate-exercise.html

http://www.thrivingcanine.com/exercising_puppies_too_much_vs_too_little

Juvenile spey and neuter:

• Ballock R, O’Keefe RJ. Orthopaedic Basic Science, 3rd ed. Rosemont, IL: American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, 2007.
• Kustritz MV. Determining the optimal age for gonadectomy of dogs and cats. JAVMA 2007; 231:1665-1675.
• Salmeri KR, Bloomberg MS, Scruggs SL, et al. Gonadectomy in immature dogs: Effects on skeletal, physical, and behavioral development. JAVMA 1991; 198:1193-1203.
• http://www.caninesports.com/uploads/1/5/3/1/15319800/spay_neuter_considerations_2013.pdf
• https://ivcjournal.com/spay-neuter-considerations/  
• https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/early-neutering-poses-health-risks-german-shepherd-dogs-study-finds/