09/01/2021
𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 are found in young dog's bones. They are a place where bone cells grow, mature and calcify. Their main job is growing the length and width of the bone. Closed growth plate (solidifies into bone) means that the bone is done growing. It is the weakest part of the growing bone and can be damaged (fractures, stress injuries), resulting in possible growth deformities.
𝐃𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬, so doing too much of the same thing is not good with them. It's better to strive for less repetitions/time and more diversity in exercise or training. This does not refer to not exercise pups at all, they need and benefit from various activities and exercises, but there are certainly some things we as dog owners can put some limits to in order to avoid putting excessive stress on their growing structures.
𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓𝐬
❌ Long walks or hikes, where your pup is not able to take some rest or go at his own pace
❌ Repetitive starts and stops like running after and stopping for a ball
❌ Jumping off objects (such as from the sofa, or down the higher objects in the environment), repetitive running up and down the steep hills
❌ Repetitive tight turns around the objects, sudden stops (landing after jumps, or to pick up a toy), fast changes of direction
𝐃𝐎𝐬
✅ Instead of doing a 5km walk do two half an hour walks where your goal is not the distance but rather the different experiences your puppy can get exploring different terrains, sniffing, playing, etc.
✅ Find flat or slightly varied terrain to prevent running up/ down the hill, jumping off things
✅ Playing gentle tug, food games; nose work games such as searching for a toy or a treat in the grass
✅ Working on puppy manners and useful behaviours you will need when the puppy grows up (recall, leash walking, settling...)
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫: healthy puppies aren't made of glass, and shouldn't be kept on exercise restriction, but we should use a common sense when it comes to encouraged activities - for example instead of exploiting their natural instincts of chasing, by having them chase a toy until they drop down dead tired, spend rather some quality time with your pups with a variety of different lower-impact activities where you let your pup dictate his pace. This will help your dog grow in a confident, capable and fit young adult. ;)
