Your Puppies Young Joints...

Where it comes to your puppies care, you need to be cautious of his or her young joints. Puppies are cute and adorable and watching them ‘toddle’ around can be great fun, however, I want to caution you to protect his or her young and growing joints.

Displaysia is a hereditary condition which affects many breeds to one extent or another. Lagotto is a breed that is susceptible to this. Because of this, all conscientious breeders will have their dogs tested through X-ray before committing to breed them. They then choose breeding partners with an eye to creating strong offspring.

This gives your young puppy the best chance to live a long and active life, however, you have a role to play as they grow and develop. Young joints in puppies are where the growth plate of young bones meet. These bones continue to form for up to the first two years, and until then, are soft and can be injured. They are still being formed and so as children are kept from full participation in some sporting events because they are still growing, young dogs need to be watched over too.

For you, what this means is that you must be cautious to protect those growth plates - and this is done by restricting your puppies activities to some extent. Your puppy must not jump - particularly down - think of hopping off a sofa, think of jumping over an obstacle. Obviously, your puppy is going to bounce and jump around and this is great - they are not fragile. My urging here is simply to help you understand that you have a role to play in your puppies long term health. Let them run as long as they wish to, but do not push them to. When very young, even keep walks to a reasonable length. Don’t let them up on furniture which requires them jumping down from a height of more than 6 inches. In time, you can let them have their freedom, but by being cautious while young, you ensure they live a longer & fuller life.