Too much exercise for pups?

Can someone point me to some evidence that exercising puppies causes damage.

I've googled but zilch.

Obviously I don't want to do anything that will negatively affect my dog, but at the same time I like to know the reasons for restricting his walks.

The vet told me not to exercise my pup nore than 3 x 30 mins walk per day til he was a year when I needen't restrict it. However folks on here said that was excessive, but I haven't been able to find anything other than speculation as to the damage that can be done- so if anyone has any info or even better any links to online papers etc i'd really appreciate it.

I haven't goy any evidence to back it up but I have heard puppies should have 5 mins exercise for every month of it's age, until it is fully grown.

No nor me,just wot ive read in books but they say its just a guied line,my GR pup who is 7 month and gets 1 1/2 hours a day and she is still bounceing off the walls,that said one of my old dogs (sadly no longer with us )we never did anything like that when he was a pup just took him till he seemed tired he was ok never had any probs.

From what I have read it isn't a case of tireing the pup out but a case of protecting it's joints from over exercise.

It is just large breed dogs as their growth plates take longer to develop, so it is minimising the strain on these (so discouraging hip dysplacia and things like that) and their joints/bones.

I don't know where there is written proof of this, but I for one would prefer to be cautious for 12 months and have a dog with less chance of bad hips (especially GSD) than to go silly and he pay the price later on (not that there is proof of this happening, but it is what I have been lead to believe).

thats my point with my old dog i had not heard of any of this five min for every month so we didnt do it he was 15yrs old when he died and never had any joint probs.
but with my GR I DO THINK ABOUT IT the first few month we carried her up stairs and steps all becouse i read about there hip probs,

It isn't about tiring them out, it is protect their growing bones and joints,especially in pups that are going to big and heavy.

Meg and Mack would of both gone for hours as pups, but I didn't let them, if you want to tire a pup out, stimulate it's mind with games and activites.

Yes, same for me. My last lab suffered terribly with his joints for many years. It was so awful to see. Like you, I hadn't heard of the five mins for every month etc. and thought it was because I had over exercised him. The vet assured me I hadn't and it was hereditary, so I have no good source for this exercise thingy. When I got my current lab I was very careful with his exercise but he wasn't getting enough exercise he was bouncing of the walls, also, so I had to invent games for him at home and around the garden. He is two now, so I exercise him more now. It is something that worries me because of my last lovely boy.

Hi,

Over exercising won't CAUSE joint disease (although it can certainly cause muscle strains and tears in young dogs that don't know their limits), but it could potentially make them worse. Joint conditions such as Hip Dysplasia are polygenic, meaning that they are controlled not just by genetics but by environmental factors too. There is plenty of research that supports this. I had a quick look through some of my online journals and found a couple of extracts for you:

Dogs with a normal radiographic phenotype can still be carriers of certain dysplasia genes and transmit these genes to their offspring. The phenotypic expression of HD in dogs genetically predisposed to the condition may be modified by environmental risk factors such as nutrition, exercise, bodyweight, birth weight, number of puppies in the litter, age of the dam, floor cover, pre-weaning mortality rate in the litter, season of birth and hip laxity (Mäki et al 2000, Ginja et al 2008.).

Restricting exercise during this time period can help prevent worsening of the secondary arthritic changes that occur with HD (Vezzoni et al 2008.).

A. Vezzoni, G. Dravelli, L. Vezzoni, M. De Lorenzi, A. Corbari, A. Cirla, C. Nassuato and V. Tranquillo, Comparison of conservative management and juvenile pubic symphysiodesis in the early treatment of canine hip dysplasia, Veterinary and Comparative Orthopaedics and Traumatology 21 (2008.), pp. 267–279.

Mäki, A.-E. Liinamo and M. Ojala, Estimates of genetic parameters for hip and elbow dysplasia in Finnish Rottweilers, Journal of Animal Science 78 (2000.), pp. 1141–1148.

M.M. Ginja, A.M. Silvestre, J. Colaço, J.M. Gonzalo-Orden, P. Melo-Pinto, M.A. Orden, M.P. Llorens-Pena and A.J. Ferreira (2008.). Hip Dysplasia in Estrela mountain dogs – prevalence and genetic trends 1991–2005, The Veterinary Journal.

You own a cross breed between breeds with a high incidence of joint problems (particularly German Shepherds; the journals I looked through had a lot of articles relating to HD in GSD's if you are interested). Therefore, I would certainly err on the side of caution with regard to exercise while your dog is developing, more so if you don't know the joint history of the dogs behind your pup. However, as the above research points out, even dogs will good hips have the potential to produce dysplastic pups.

Thanks for that, Labradork. I think I have 'spoken' to you before on this subject. It's easy to go back on the guilt trip though and forget the common sense, if you know what I mean.