Dog Tails
By Heidi Clayton
I often hear from puppy owners who tell me that when they’re walking their puppy, the puppy will sometimes put the brakes and refuse to walk farther. Most of the time it’s because they have pushed their puppy to walk farther than their puppy is physically capable of walking.
Here is a brief rundown on the physical development of your puppy’s bones and ligaments and what exercise is appropriate.
Puppy bones and ligaments generally aren’t fully developed until at least 18 months of age. Spaying or neutering your puppy before 18 months will result in even slower development.
Puppies have growth plates at the end of their bones which are soft at birth, but will calcify and harden as they age. The ligaments, tendons, and muscles that hold their soft bones in place are also under construction, and do their best to prevent injury to the growing bones.
However, because growth plates are soft and those tissues are still forming, a sprain or injury to those areas can result in permanent damage to the growth plate. This can cause bones to grow at an incorrect angle, leading to further orthopedic problems as they age.
Jumping can result in spiral fractures, one of the most common injuries to puppy bones. They usually occur as a result of jumping and landing completely wrong.
Jumping from couches has resulted in two of my clients’ puppies suffering spiral fractures, which require plates and screws to repair.
Basically, your puppy is not physically built to endure long walks and long play sessions just yet. For me a walk with a puppy under 18 months of age is not about how far we go, but how good it is.
Walks with young puppies are short and sweet and more about teaching them proper leash walking manners. I avoid walking on pavement or concrete and opt for trails or grass instead. By short and sweet I would say about 10 minutes of walking with no focus on distance.
While it may be tempting to let your young puppy run wild on the soft sands of the beach, limit the time doing it to avoid them overstressing growing ligaments. It’s quite the workout for a young puppy and people tend to push that activity too far.
If a puppy puts the brakes on during your walks, it’s a signal that you are going too far for them, not that they are being naughty. Refocus on training them in shorter distances and on walking nicely.
Puppy play sessions are an important part of socialization, but for puppies under 6 months of age, I end play dates after about 10 to 15 minutes. Play sessions are one-on-one play and closely supervised.
My puppy Yoko suffered a spiral fracture at 10 months of age after jumping and landing wrong. Thank goodness her owner and I were supervising and could quickly render first aid.
As puppies age, I will add five minutes or so to the play session per month, but if a puppy seems cranky or is overstimulated, I like to end things to avoid injury.
Mixing mental stimulation with a puppy’s short walk will tire them out more quickly than dragging them on long walks. Take the time while they are young and not ready for long hikes to instill leash manners that will pay off when the time comes.
Heidi Clayton started Four on the Floor Dog Training as a result after her struggle to find a positive and reward-based dog trainer in South Jersey. She breeds, trains, and shows her own bull terriers under the SoraBully’s Kennel name. Email questions to heidi@fouronthefloordogtraining.net.
Heidi Clayton is a retired 25 year veteran of the Atlantic City Police Department. She started Four on the Floor Dog Training a result of her own struggle to find a positive & reward based dog trainer in the South Jersey area. She is passionate about giving every dog, even the difficult ones, a voice and the skills they need to thrive in life. She breeds, trains, and shows her own Bull Terriers under the SoraBullys’s Kennel Name.
