Now the weather has finally improved, I’m sure I’m not alone in the hope of spending much more time outside with the animals! However, it’s important to keep your animals needs in mind when the sun entices you outside. In particular, your puppy!
Puppies are often the most enthusiastic members of the family, bounding around and generally causing all kind of mischief! Whilst puppies act as if they could run and play forever, it is important to know that this is not true. Although they have high energy levels it is important to compare this to their physical capabilities. As tempting as it to keep exercising your puppy until its tired so you can have some peace and quiet, it could seriously affect your puppy’s development and overall health.
The skeletal development of animals continues during post-natal development. Before the animal reaches skeletal maturity the ends of the long bones are layered in a cartilage tissue known as a growth plate. The growth plates allow the bone to continue to grow until the animal reaches skeletal maturity. As the animal approaches this stage the growth plates begin to thin in reaction to hormonal changes. Puppies reach skeletal maturity at different ages depending on the breed, ranging from 8 to 18 months.
Whilst the growth plates are soft they are vulnerable to injury. The growth plates are often injured because of over exercising and hard impacts. When the limb lands, there is a force that travels through the limb known as the ground reaction force. As the animal moves faster, the amount of force from the limb to the ground increases, resulting a larger ground reaction force. Thus, it is important to control all aspects of exercise, not only the duration but the activities themselves can have an impact on canine health. For example; puppies should not be allowed to run up and down stairs, jump in and out of the car and other jarring activities that cause an unnecessary amount of force to travel through the joints.
When the growth plates are injured the cells around the injury will slow in growth or stop altogether. Whilst the uninjured area continues to grow at the normal rate. Most frequently these injuries occur in the front leg, where the growth plate of the Ulna stop growing, whilst the Radius continues to develop, resulting in the limb bowing. Uneven weight distribution through the limbs can lead to the development of more serious conditions.
Deciding how much exercise your puppy requires is not always an easy decision because often it feels like they will never calm down! However, the kennel club have offered a guideline; for every
month of age they need 5 minutes twice a day. For example, a 4-month-old will need 20 minutes twice a day. Preferably this is on the lead walking, to ensure that we can control the
exercise.
The muscles, tendons and ligaments within the limb are designed to support the bone. When the joints of an adult dog experience stress, the soft tissues are effected rather than the joint. However, in a young animal with soft growth plates these forces are liable to cause damage to the bone, because the soft tissues are more resilient than the bone. Exercise that causes the bones to experience rotation can cause the bone to have a spiral fracture, this is a regular occurrence in young puppies that are over-exercised. In young animals the central part of the bone is softer and more elastic, whilst the outer is more rigid, allowing for the bone to twist and fracture.
However, do not let this information feel like you need to wrap your puppy in bubble wrap and never let them out!
Puppies need to be socialised from a young age, as soon as they have been vaccinated, meeting new dogs, new situations and learning to walk on a lead. It’s about creating a balanced and safe
environment for your puppy to develop into a healthy dog.
Playing with other puppies and dogs is hugely beneficial, it allows dogs to learn how to behave off the lead, whilst also aiding in the development of strong, healthy soft tissues. There is also
a significant neurological benefit from this kind of activity. Exercise from a young age is beneficial to both spatial and proprioceptive awareness.
Spatial awareness is the awareness of oneself in an area. Proprioception is the awareness of limb location. Through play and walking puppies encourage the development of muscular stability, along with neural and proprioceptive stimulation. The changes in surfaces, change in inclines, introduction of new sights and sounds all assist in the development of coordination, balance and proprioception. These new stimuli promote the neural system to develop.
Please enjoy your puppy as much as you can, by ensuring they get the right level of exercise you’ll be able to enjoy them for as long and as happily as possible.
Samantha Miners.
Bsc AdvCertVPhys
Image credits: (https://www.puppyculture.com/appropriate-exercise.html)