HOW CAN YOU PREVENT INJURIES OR GROWTH PROBLEMS IN PUPPIES
It's so important for new puppy owners to be aware of how they can keep their puppy safe and prevent any injuries or future problems.
Growth plates are the area of active new bone near the end of the long bones. They’re made up of cartilage, a rubbery, flexible material. Each long bone has at least two growth plates at each end. The growth plate determines the future length and shape of your dog’s mature bone. When your puppies’ growth is complete, at approximately 12-18 months of age, the growth plates close and are replaced by solid bone.
Growth plates are the weakest part of a puppies growing skeleton, so we need to do our best to avoid injury. Larger breeds growth plates tend to close a lot later than small dogs.
How can you avoid injury?
AVOID FLOORS THAT ARE SLIPPY
PUT DOWN RUGS, NON-SLIP MATS
DON'T PLAY GAMES ON SLIPPY FLOORS
DON'T LET YOUR PUPPY RUN UP AND DOWN THE STAIRS
CARRY YOUR PUPPY FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN UP AND DOWNSTAIRS
AGE-APPROPRIATE- TRAIN YOUR PUPPY TO WALK UP AND DOWN STAIRS SLOWLY
DON'T WALK YOUR PUPPY FOR LONG DURATIONS. THE RULE IS 5 MINUTES FOR EVERY MONTH TWICE A DAY.
THINK ABOUT THE TERRAIN THEY ARE WALKING ON.
A PUPPY WILL GIVE SIGNS THAT THEY ARE TIRED, LISTEN TO THEM.- PULLING ON LEAD, AND JUMPING UP AT YOU ARE ALL SIGNS THAT IT'S JUST TOO MUCH.
AVOID ALLOWING YOUR PUPPY TO JUMP UP ON PEOPLE, FURNITURE, AND IN THE CAR.
USE RAMPS WHEN YOU CAN OR LIFT YOUR PUPPY
AVOID EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF GAMES SUCH AS FETCH.
AVOID ACTIVITIES WHERE THE PUPPY HAS TO MAKE SHARP TURNs, SPEED UP THEN SLAM ON THEIR BREAKS.
THIS GOES FOR PLAY WITH OTHER DOGS, NO ROUGH PLAY.
As you can see from the images of these Xrays, the image on the left is the puppy, you can clearly see that their bones are just floating and nothing is connected, no joints are formed. This is why we must be careful, an injury occurred as a puppy can have a lifetime consequence. Your puppy needs the right amount and type of exercise for its age. Accidents may still happen but ensuring enough stress, without overdoing it, will give your puppy the best opportunity of developing a strong skeleton.