play ball with 5 month old puppy and hip dysplasia
 

is playing fetch on grass too strenuous for a puppy at 5.2 months old? I might just be imagining something but I kind of feel like she bunny hops when she runs. I'm not sure if it's normal or not.. I may be just paranoid because my other 10 year old dog has really bad hip and DM issues where she can barely stand up.

Does anyone have a puppy that is 5 months old or younger (or around that age) that may have a video clip of what HD would look like? I play ball, she chases a RC car and we also play tug. Need to burn the energy somehow.. but it's all on grass. She used to jump down from the curb but I no longer let her do that because I've since learned that jumping down is very very hard on dogs and this was shown in police K9s that would jump down off of the SUVs like 50 times a day and developed serious issues.

I have a 10 week old that I play fetch with and let him go up and down stairs in my house. The vet didn't say that either of these activities would be too stressful on his hips.

At that age they all tend to bunny hop. It takes them some time to figure out how to properly move all their limbs (which are usually way too long for their bodies). Did you get your dog from a good breeder? Did she come from parents that were x-rayed and ofa'd? If her genetic history gives her a good chance of not having HD, she probably won't have it, and if she does, unless its super severe its hard to see signs of it at this age.

Jumping at an early age does affect joints, but not small distances like from the curb. Can't really equate that to jumping off an SUV...which would be bad for any animal to jump from. If your dog has HD, she will have HD and nothing you do can prevent it. At the same time, nothing you do can cause HD if your dog doesn't have it. If the dog does have it, then running will actually strengthen the muscles around the hips and make it easier for them to move, to the same affect jumping on hard surfaces and other out of the ordinary exercises will cause the HD to worsen quicker than it would naturally.

Did both parent dogs have OFAs and good hips? What did your puppy warranty say as well as your breeder when you give updates?

Vet say anything at exam times?

Thing is, a lean puppy that is exercised well has better hips. Normal appropriate exercise which is quite a lot.

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum...e-puppies.html

You see that site above?

:-)

If you had a child, would you stop it from playing outside, playing with other children, make them sit on the couch, and pick them up and carry them everywhere because over time the use of their joints may cause them problems when they are old? No you wouldn't.. Police dogs will go through WAY more strenuous activities than your pup will ever go through, and I doubt your pup is going to be "jumping down off of the SUV's like 50 times a day and develop issues"! Let the dog be a dog, if you are concerned about HD speak to your vet and contact the breeder to see about the parents hips and elbows. But don't baby your dog and restrict what any normal dog can do.