My puppy is 8 months. For the past 6 months since we got him I've been driving myself crazy stressing about being careful with his hips. Every time he jumped on or off something, every time I thought my partner was playing too rough, every time he had the zoomies... I just thought 'oh god, his hips!' I've stuck to the five minutes rule, I've had a stair gate on the stairs, I've stopped him jumping on things. Well tonight I've decided I am worrying too much. I am not enjoying him because I am stressing about him constantly.... About something that probably won't happen anyway! So I am taking down the stairgate and I am going to just have more fun with him. I will still follow the five minute rule and I will be careful. But first and foremost I am going to make sure we are having fun. Some of you might disagree with me but I hope not! I got a puppy to enjoy him, and it's about time I did.
And I hope you do enjoy him. There’s being careful then there’s being too careful. I kept to the 5 min rule until my girl was around 10 months old, but then relaxed on this a bit. She’s always gone up and down stairs as she sleeps with us, but as access has never been withheld she doesn’t see stairs as a fun thing to do. I hope that the two of you have lots more fun for years to come.
My dog Brogan (now passed) had two torn cruciates and subsequently two TPLO surgeries with very long recoveries. He tore the second knee only a few weeks after the six months' recovery period was over from the first operation. When we'd finally made it through the SECOND six month recovery period, I can remember being terrified of letting him do ANYTHING. Playing, zoomies, running... I just wanted to wrap him up in bubble wrap! I still remember what his surgeon told me: "He's a dog...let him be a dog and live his life and enjoy him. Don't worry so much!". Well, I still worried because I'm a worrier. But I always did keep what his surgeon told me in mind when I wanted to be TOO protective. I really doubt that after being so careful for 8 months, you'll start letting him do truly crazy stuff. It sounds like you'll be happier if you relax a bit and that's a good thing for your puppy too.
That sounds very sensible. I hope it works put well and you enjoy having fun with your puppy. It seems impossible to give up worrying, but it’s worth trying!
I don't think I knew about the 5 min rule when we got our pups. We mostly let them do what they wanted to do. I know I took Cooper on one walk that was too long for her, and ended up carrying her part way. We let them do stairs as they wanted to which is not recommended, but we seemed to have gotten away with it. None of our dogs have had hip or elbow issues. Cooper's hips were Xrayed when she was spayed and given an OK. Tilly is 12 now and a little stiff and arthritic but gets around fine and still trots when she wants too. Anyway 5 dogs with minimal restrictions as pups, and no real joint problems.
I have been trying to stick to the 5 min rule, but harder to train my husband in this! They are out a suspiciously long time when I am not with them. We have a stairgate as Caspar will run up, but it is mainly because we go upstairs and he wants to do what we do. But as for jumping on an off things... impossible. Caspar has decided that the sofa is his daybed and will get jump up at will. He mainly slithers off, though. I want to introduce him to the ramp for getting in and out of the car as he is getting heavy for me; hope he thinks that is fun. I have some new fishy treats for the occasion. I am comfortable with our level of caution but nothing is risk free. Our last Lab had both hip and elbow dysplasia and never went on the sofa or up the stairs when he was young. We may have walked him too much through ignorance, but I think genetics played the major role. Just enjoy your pup, Coa!
Dont forget that apparently, it's also and maybe more (don't quote me on that) important to make sure your puppy doesn't gain too much weight for joint problems. (Someone put up an article here not long ago)
It's also important that your puppy gains strength and coordination to support his joints... Good idea to relax and enjoy him more!
