I just got a 10 week old Newfoundlander/St. Bernard mix. She's doing well, but I'm unsure of how much play and exercise she should be getting. She loves playing in the yard, splashing in her puppy pool, and running in the park, but I've read that too much exercise as she's developing can be damaging for her joints. How much activity, specifically, is too much?
Hi, It really depends on what you mean by damaging. There is a lot of scaremongering about genetic joint diseases such as hip & elbow dysplasia being caused specifically by over exercising. This is NOT the case as these diseases are genetic but the genes responsible are multifactual, meaning the severity of the condition can be influenced by the environment -- poor/over nutrition, over exercise, etc. So without waffling, over exercise alone cannot CAUSE hip or elbow dysplasia. But in a dog that is genetically predisposed to it, over exercising while they are developing can make the condition worse. However, unfortunately the nature of joint diseases is that they can be unpredictable -- even puppies from generations of health tested, low hip/elbow scoring parents have been known to develop HD/ED. I think with large and giant breeds it is best to err on the side of caution as they typically mature the slowest. A good rule to follow is the '5 minute rule' -- 5 minutes of exercise per month of age. Off lead exercise on soft surfaces (grass etc.) and swimming are excellent low impact exercises for puppies.
Thank you! Long grass and water seems like what she goes to on her own, and she already does so well off-leash, and comes whenever I call her name. Does anyone have any food recommendations for a developing large breed?
Hip and elbow dysplasia can be mostly gentic but it has also been proven to be environmental in some cases. Food that allows them to grow too quick, too much high impact exercise such as allowing them to jump for balls or frisbees. Jumping out of cars or too much time up and down stairs or on and off furniture. The rule is for large breeds 5 minute rule per month so for example 6 months old 30 minutes daily exercise. Free running is good especially on grass good for building muscle and allowing the dog to dictate how long it wants to run or trot or walk for and it can rest when it needs it. When meeting other dogs keep it controlled you do not want your puppy slamming into other dogs or skidding or someones dog slamming into yours. Not good for joints in a large growing breed when they are still soft. Low impact exercise is recommended while waiting for those growth plates to close. Do you know if the parents have been hip or elbow scored ? Even with good scores for a few generations there are no guarantees for good scores in all or some of the litter. My 8 month old has mild hip dysplasia we are not sure if this is due to an injury when he sneaked on the sofa and came off awkwardly or not. Both parents have good hip and elbow scores. Both brothers seem to be fine. We were told cruciate but it is hips and he has damaged a toe on that leg. He was not exercised for a month waiting for referral to a vet school where it was confimerd hips and damage to toe. He lost a lot of muscle mass so we are now having to build that up. The orthopedic surgeon has told us it could be genetic but environmental cannot be ruled out. As for food I would do a search for recommended protein levels etc., for each breed and go with a good quality food which incorporates the recommended levels of protein etc., for those breeds. We need pictures please.
Her parents are both fine. I'm lucky to have a large park right across from me, so I'll make sure to do most of our walking and running there. Other than her little puppy pool, there isn't a lot of water around for her to swim in. There's a river in my city, but the current is dangerously high. Hopefully I can get her out to a lake sometime soon, because I really want to get her swimming. Here she is getting a much-loved belly rub:
