Understanding puppy growth 

The first thing to understand when it comes to exercise is 'growth plates'. Growth plates are the soft areas that sit at the ends of the long bones in puppies and young dogs. They contain rapidly dividing cells that allow bones to continue to grow until he end of puberty. 

Growth plates gradually thin as hormonal changes approaching puberty signal growth plates to close. In puppies, this closure is normally completed by 18 months old. 

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Until the growth plates close, they are soft and vulnerable to injury. 

After sexual maturity, the growth plates calcify and the rapid cell division ends. The growth plates become stable and inactive part of the bone, now known as an epiphyseal line. 

A study published in the UN National Library of Medicine found dogs spayed and neutered at less than a year of age were significantly taller than those de-sexed after age 1. 

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Furthermore, bones of spayed and neutered pups before puberty continue to grow. Dogs who have been spayed or neutered at a younger age often have longer limbs, narrow chests and skulls and a ighter bone structure. This results in altered body proportions or certain bones relative to others, but this isn't just c cosmetic issue. This disproportion often results in increased stress on ligaments, which can later cuade injury. Another study published in the UN National library of medicine found that dogs spayed or neutered before 5 1/2 months of age were most likely to develop hip dysplasia than those spayed or neutered after 5 1/2 months of age. Also, dogs spayed or neutered younger than 6 months of age were more likely to develop infectious diseases than dogs spayed or neutered after 6 months of age. It has also been found that there is an increase in urinary incontinence for female dogs who have been spayed too early. 

Unwanted behavioural effects can also be brought on by early de-sexing. A further study published in the National Library of medicine showed that dogs neutered before 5 1/2 months of age has an increase incidence of noise phobias and unwanted sexual behaviours. 

Studies by the American Kennel Club Health Foundation have recently found that when females were spayed too young, they were more likely to develop fearful behaviours while males were more likely to show aggression. 

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If you do decide to delay spaying or neutering your puppy, please be mindful and responsible if they have reached sexual maturity and able to reproduce. Make sure they are under your control at all times and don't breed. 

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Bones

A dog's bones are held together with the soft tissues of - muscles, tendons and ligaments. In an adult dog, if a joint experience a stress such as bending the wrong way or rotation too much, the bones will hold firm and a soft tissue will be pulled, resulting in a sprain. 

However, in a puppy their muscles, ligaments and tendons are stronger than their growth plats, so instead of a simple sprain, their growth plate is liable to be injured as the puppy's own a soft tissue can pull apart his gwoth plate. The reason why this is so important is, unlike a sprain, injuries to the growth plate may not heal properly or no heal in time for the puppy to grow up straight and strong. Such injuries to growth plates can result in a misshapen or shortened limb which, in turn, can create an incorrect angle to a joint which can make the puppy more prone to yet more injuries when they grow up. 

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In addition to having soft growth plates at the end of long bones, a puppy's bone in general are 'softer'. Dogs, like people don't reach their maximum bone density until after puberty. 

Spiral fractures of the tibia (lower leg bone) are very common in puppies - 50% of all fractures occur in puppies under 1 year of age. A spiral fracture is where the bottom of the half of the bone twists in one direction and the top half twists in the other. 

This kind of juvenile injury is known as 'toddler fracture'; in humans, and its thought to be caused by the fact that the outside, fibrous layer of the bone (periosteum) is relatively strong in relation to the elastic bone inside. So, any exercise that puts torque on (twists) a bone puts the puppy at risk for a fracture. 

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Puppies and running 

Puppies do not have the cardiovascular system for endurance, so until they mature they are probably not able to build much endurance no matter how much they do exercise. In human children sustained exercise only increases aerobic capapcity by 10%. In adults, that kind of exercise can increase aerobic capacity up to 30%. Long walks and exercise sessions increase risk of injury and yield few benefits for puppies, so endurance training is better left until the puppies fully grown up. Puppies naturally exercise in small spurts of activity, not sustained walks. 

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Correct exercise increases bone density

You may find yourself not allowing your puppy to move let alone run after reading this. Relax! As appropriate exercise is not dangerous for your puppy, exercise has been shown to increase bone density in children. Furthermore, those children who exercised were a whopping 50% less likely to fracture a bone. There's every reason to believe the same holds true for dogs, so appropriate exercise is key to building strong bones in your puppy and preventing adult fractures. So, let's talk about guidelines for puppy exercise. 

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Guidelines for puppy exercises 

slef-directed play is an overriding rule for any puppy under 18 months old. The majority of his exercise should be free play, exploring, roaming around. If they shows any fatigue, flops down, refuses to walk you should listen to them and let them rest. Do not underestkmate the value of a good digging session. Consider digging up a soft patch in a corner of your yard to bury ' doggy treasures' in it - great natural exercise for your puppy!

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'No' to repetitive exercise 

Probably the biggest cause of growth plate and soft tissue injury is repetitive exercise with a young puppy. So, until they are about 18 months old, long hikes and walks are out and lots of free-play sessions are in. 

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Sniffing and strolling great for puppies

While long hikes are out, strolling around in the background with you is great. If no backyard, short, rambling walks are great. let your puppy sniff, explore and take it as their own pace. you can use short training session sin your walks to work on heeling/loose leash walking, but the majority of the time should be at your puppy's own pace and discretion. 

if hiking, you could bring your puppy along as it is great socialisation for puppies under 12 weeks old and older. but just like a small child on a walk, be prepared to carry your puppy a good portion of the way. If you're jogging or walking on a manicured trail or paved park road, consider investing in a puppy stroller to put your pup in for most of the walk. 

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Treat trails

Kibble trails are also a great way to tire out a puppy both mentally and physically. kibble trails allow puppies to stat outside a long time and cover a lot of ground in a very natural way. you can start with treats/kibble, etc only a few inches apart initially and later 2-3 m apart. Always remember to deduct the number of treats given from their daily feed so as not to over-feed. 

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Puppy mates 

Play with a well-matched and gentle playmate.  Sometimes size can be a factor, as a very large dog, especially one that likes to play with a lot of paw whacks, can inadvertently injure a young or small breed puppy.

That said, a gentle giant may be a better playmate than a feisty small breed dog who likes to body slam.  Keep a very careful eye out and be prepared to throw handfuls of cookies down to interrupt any overly physical play.  Body slams and crazy rolls are spiral fractures waiting to happen!

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Soft landings 

Jumping off of beds and couches are major causes of spiral fractures in puppies – we are constantly on guard until our puppies reach two years old and keep them off furniture and beds unless we’re there to help them off.  Use heavy carpet pads and carpets around all furniture and beds to cushion impact, should a young (or old) dog slip by and get up on a high piece of furniture.

You can start training in agility but no jumping higher than wrist height until 6 months old, no jumping higher than elbow height until 18 months old.

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Stairs - not great on young hips

A study of 500 Newfoundland, Labrador, and Leonberger puppies found that puppies who climbed flights of stairs daily before they were 3 months of age had an increased risk of developing hip dysplasia. Although these breeds were selected for the study because of their relatively high incidence of hip dysplasia, the study seems to indicate that stairs represent a strain on any puppy’s joints, so consider ramps or carrying your puppy down stairs if possible.

Although climbing flights of stairs on a daily basis represents an inappropriate strain on puppy joints, doing one or two not-too-steep steps with a non-slip surface would not represent any risk to the puppy and may be a nice body awareness, coordination exercise.

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Interestingly, the same study found that off-leash, self-directed exercise on gently rolling, varied, and moderately soft ground for puppies under 3 months old decreased the risk of developing hip dysplasia.

And it’s important to get that exercise in early! Free play after 12 weeks old, while certainly beneficial in general, was not shown to decrease the risk of hip dysplasia in the study. So, once again, self-directed play in your backyard or garden is the best exercise for young puppies.

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Ground only toys and playing nice 

A puppy chasing a toy will not stop until they are literally on top of the toy, causing both heavy impact and twisting on the bones and soft tissue.  Roll balls or drag toys on the ground for all puppies.  Tug toys should be held low and steady – don’t pull up or back on your puppy’s neck!

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Tiring puppies out 

Worried that you won’t be able to tire out your puppy without long exercise sessions? Try 15 minutes of mental exercise such as walking over poles. Have your dog work for their food – place your pup’s meals inside a toy and they have to roll it around in order to get the food to come out of the hole. Or you can use a puzzle toy or teach him a new trick like ‘sit’ etc. or a ‘follow your nose’ game! These will wear out your pup more than constant exercise, which can get them more excited and increase the chance of injury.

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 Puppy Exercise - General

• The ages for growth plate closure are only general guidelines and will vary from puppy to puppy.  There will also be differences in recommendations based on your dog’s breed – giant breed puppies’ growth plates tend to close later and small breed puppies’ growth plates close earlier.

• Sex hormones are what signal growth plates to close, so If your puppy was neutered before around 18 months old, he will have some delay in growth plate closure, and he will also have uneven growth in his bones resulting in joint angles that could be more liable to injury.  A more conservative exercise approach may be warranted with early spay/neutered dogs.

• There are breed-specific orthopedic concerns which are not addressed here.

• For any dog that you wish to enrol in a performance career, I highly recommend doing x-rays to confirm growth plate closure before proceeding with any intense training.

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Information sourced from -

https://www.animal-mrt.com/blog/post/21701/Exercises-for-Young-Dogs/