A question about puppy joints

[BR870]

Well recently at club someone mentioned that all it takes is one fall and a puppies joints can be seriously compromised. You may not even know it until you get the joints OFA'd. According to this line of thinking, the joint could be compromised without you ever seeing an outward sign...

Do you think there is any truth to this? I mean obviously if you see an injury like a break, or serious sprain or tear could compromise the joints. But a simple fall that had no sign afterwards, where they just get up and carry on their marry way?

So now I am seriously paranoid... How do you keep a clumsy puppy from falling? Obviously you don't let them jump off high things or go up and down stairs too much. You don't over-exercise them or run them alot on hard surfaces. But even in just normal puppy play they are gonna trip and tumble and fall...

Earlier today we were playing with the rag and Ezra tripped over the rag and his own feet and went down with a yelp and a thud. He got up shortly afterwards and continued playing, but I am paranoid now...

Do I need to just relax and not let it stess me out unless I actually see a problem like an affected gait or injury?

[Chris Wild]

I think that's a pretty out there theory.

Could it happen? Yes, it's possible. But with fairly serious trauma. Not regular puppy antics and bumps and falls.

It never ceases to amaze me the non-genetic things people will come up with for joint problems. They blame it on diet, exercise, boo-boos and come up with all sorts of weird theories about how it's caused by environment when it's really just a genetic condition. Yes those other things can play a role in onset and severity, but only if there's a genetic predisposition there in the first place.

[Whiskey Six]

This is good news. When Krieg hears the word "outside" he is a mad scramble of feet and legs on the hardwood floor racing to the back door. Legs going in all directions. Makes me cringe sometimes. Then if a squirrel is in the yard he is off. And pity the squirrel walking on top of the six foot privacy fence. He will leap and crash into the fence only a foot or so from the top. He usually does all this with a chunk of firewood hanging out of his mouth like a cigar. He is CRAZY and awesome. But he makes me worry about his hips. Been there and it's not fun.

Getting X-rays for SV in a few months. Hoping for "a normal".

[VegasResident]

If that were true every time, mine would be a cripple by now for all the trips etc and he is fine. In fact his hips were great