25/02/2021
People so often ask me how much they should walk their puppy and I was going to write something on it. Seems antinol have done it for me! Definitely worth a read if youโve got a new pup or are thinking of getting one!
๐ง ๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ช๐ง๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฆ & ๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฆ๐
We now have thousands of puppies using Antinol from gotcha day to support shaping their health so they can live their best life.
๐ช ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ณ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ต, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ-๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐น๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐, ๐ถ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐ท๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ.
๐ If youโve got a puppy youโve probably heard the term โprotect their growth platesโ, but what does this really mean and what exercise is appropriate for a puppy?
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐?
๐Growth plates are the soft areas located at the ends of your puppyโs long bones. Theyโre made up of cartilage, a rubbery, flexible material. Each long bone has at least two growth plates, one at each end. Their job is to be filled with cells that allow your puppy's bones to become longer and dense; the way these cells work is by dividing themselves until they fill the growth plate.
๐ It is important to understand, that until the growth plates close, theyโre soft and vulnerable to injury. After sexual maturity which usually occurs around 12-18 months, the growth plates calcify, and the rapid cell division ends. The growth plate becomes a stable, inactive, part of the bone, now known as an โepiphyseal lineโ.
๐๐ผ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ?
๐ Bones are held together with soft tissue such as muscles, ligaments and tendons. For adult dogs that experience joint stress from bending, twisting or rotating too much, the bones remain firm and the soft tissue is pulled away, resulting in a sprain.
๐For puppies, the soft tissue is stronger than the bones and instead of a simple strain or sprain, the growth plate is more susceptible to be injured. Injuries to growth plates may not heal in time for the puppyโs growth and may alter the way in which the puppy grows. It is also possible that the injured growth plates grow at a slower rate resulting in one side developing differently. Shorter limbs can create incorrect angles to a joint and can make the puppy more susceptible to injuries as an adult dog. It's vitally important therefore that the growth of all bones is synchronized and happens at the same rate.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ท๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐?
๐ The most common ways that puppies experience growth plate injuries are from falling, twisting, slipping and sliding. Another contributing factor to growth plate damage is repetitive concussive exercise such as jogging or running on footpaths or pavements. The repetitive impact can damage to tissues that protect the joints.
โ Without bubble wrapping your puppy, there are some activities that are considered inappropriate when it comes to exercising your puppy. Here are some of the activities you should avoid:
- Jumping on/ off couches or beds
- Jumping in and out of car boots
- Running around on slippery surfaces
- Roughhousing with other dogs
- Continuous ball throwing
- Jogging/ running on hard surfaces
- Long on-lead walks
- Long hikes
- Climbing up and down stairs
๐ง A 2012 study found that โpuppies walking on stairs from birth to 3 months of age had an increased risk of developing hip dysplasiaโ. These findings donโt indicate that puppies must avoid stairs until growth plate closure, but consideration needs to be applied, especially to puppies under 4 months of age.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฒ๐?
๐ Exercise is super important for young dogs. It helps them develop body awareness, stay healthy and an important part of their development.
๐Some activities that are beneficial to puppies are:
- Self- directed play
- Proprioception exercises like walking on different surfaces
- Off lead play with dogs that arenโt too rough
- Soft games of tug play
- Training
- Mental stimulation
- Free play for short periods of time
- Digging
๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ธ?
๐ Generally speaking, the guide for street walking is around 5 minutes of walking per month of age. So, if your puppy is 4 months old, a 20 minute street walk is an adequate amount.
For a more comprehensive guide of Puppy Exercise Guidelines, check out Dr Chris Zincโs guide from Avidog Zinc Ventures here
https://www.avidog.com/wp-content/pdf/puppy_exercise_guidelines_poster.pdf
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ?
๐ง The question is, why even care about growth plates? Sometimes it can seem all a bit excessive.
๐ช When we aspire to Be Better we change what we have previously done to achieve better results and in turn we create better longevity for our dogs. Being knowledgeable about growth plate development helps set our dogs up for better joint mobility in the future.
