Growth Plates

What are growth plates?

These are soft cartilage tissue which is at the end of your puppy’s long bones and they are responsible for healthy bone growth. As your puppy grows hormones trigger changes in the cartilage cells which allows their bones to grow longer and denser. Once they reach adulthood, the growth plates will close and then become solid.

Growth plates are the weakness part of a puppy’s skeleton and are very susceptible to injury which can then affect growth. Damage to growth plates can cause long-term pain and slows down bone growth.

How to prevent damage to the growth plates.

We want to encourage normal musculoskeletal development by limiting high-impact activities, like jumping from heights, sharp twists and turns, sprinting, and chasing a ball, until your puppy’s growth plates have closed. You can do activities like lead walking, lots of sniffing and walking on softer surfaces like grass and sand. Most dog’s growth plates close at around 12 months of age, but large or giant breeds take longer and can be around 18-24 months.

Exercise

It is suggested that a puppy’s walks should be 5 mins walks per month of your puppy’s age. So, for a 3-month-old puppy it would suggest walking them for 15 mins twice a day. There is no scientific evidence to support this advice, and this will not allow us the time for socialising and helping to build muscle strength to support a young dogs growing bones. The 5-minute rule may be a good guideline as we don’t want to encourage over exercising either.

So, let’s look at this in a different way, it is far better for a puppy to have 45 minutes of sniffing in the park than 45 minutes of chasing a ball. The sniffing will encourage slow movement and engage a puppy’s sniff system working on the olfactory receptors. Ball chasing will create repetitive movement patterns and cause joint development dysfunction.

Now let’s look at breed specific a toy breed puppy may not be able to run or walk more than 15 minutes, but then think about a working breed puppy, 15 minutes may not be enough physically exercise.

Socialising with other puppies can get out of hand too, if play is not supervised this can lead to over stimulation and too much physical exercise, which will impact a puppy’s growth.

So, the conclusion is, think about breed specific and how much is too much for that individual rather than one size fits all. Also think about the mental stimulation that is being put on that individual every time they have a new experience in a new environment.

Proprioception

Proprioception is the ability to sense and understand where the body is in relation to the environment. This is important for everyday activities and for movements such as standing and sitting. Nerves in the paws send signals to the brain through the spinal cord, so a dog can then sense where its limbs are.

Proprioception exercises help muscular neuropathways and strengthen movement. If your dog has poor proprioception, they become uncoordinated in movement and do not have good balance.

Walking is great for a puppy for socialisation and endurance, but this does not build core strength. Exercises which help build core strength and proprioception are important to maintain fitness for all dogs and puppies. The right exercises can increase range of motion, flexibility and balance.

Canine Free Work

"Canine Free Work," is a method created by Sarah Fisher, it is to help dogs relax, build confidence, and develop trust in their environment and with their guardians. This innovative technique emphasises the importance of providing dogs with the freedom to explore and interact with their surroundings at their own pace, which can be particularly beneficial for dogs who are anxious, fearful, or have had traumatic experiences.

Canine Free Work involves setting up an environment with a variety of objects, textures, and scents for the dog to investigate. This could include items such as different types of flooring, toys, and natural elements like leaves and branches. The key is to allow the dog to choose what to engage with, without any pressure or direction from the guardian. By doing so, dogs can learn to make positive associations with new experiences and develop a sense of agency, which can significantly improve their overall well-being and behaviour.

This method also promotes a deeper understanding and connection between dogs and their guardians. Observing how a dog interacts with the environment can provide valuable insights into their preferences, fears, and comfort levels. This information can then be used to tailor training and rehabilitation programs to better meet the individual needs of each dog. Canine Free Work has gained popularity among trainers and pet guardians alike for its gentle and respectful approach, making it a valuable tool in the field of canine behaviour, training and rehabilitation exercise.

Copyright Alison Garforth Canine Wellbeing & Harmonious Dogs