Hi My 11week lab pupp has been jumping up and down off the sofa onto the wood flooring four / five times a day for the past three weeks - I’m worried that he may be damaging his hips / bones or already has. Any advice would be good - I’m trying to limit his sofa time during the day by putting him in his bed but I’m not always able to prevent him from doing this. Had his 2nd vaccinations today and vet said he was healthy but hip problems don’t show at this age do they ? This is our first dog and we were unaware of potential problems
This a question for your vet, clearly, but I wouldn’t think it’s an issue unless there’s a genetic link and therefore existing hip problems passed down from his parents. I’m sure the vet tested or observed his hips during his first appointment and would have noticed any inherent problems. Like humans, at this age the ends of his long bones are cartilage that slowly transforms to bone with age. The demarcation between bone and cartilage in long bones (femur, etc.) at this age is called the epiphysis. This disappears as the dog matures and the cartilage and bone grow together with the ends covered by cartilage. There is a condition called a slipped capital epiphysis where the cartilage “cap” separated by the epiphysis of an immature long bone can rotate as a result of an extreme force (trauma), but jumping from a couch I wouldn’t think would cause this. Remember, too, that dogs have very soft and wide pads on their feet that absorb and spread the force so that it isn’t focused on a small area of the leg. Dogs, like humans, can develop arthritis with age, but it’s not something one would see in a puppy.
