Creating your Future Champion: A guide to the physical health of your Sports Puppy

Amidst the excitement and adventure of bringing home a new puppy are a plethora of worries and questions: What’s the best socialization strategy? When should I start training? How can I set them up for success? In this whirlwind of concerns, it’s easy to overlook a crucial aspect of their care – physiotherapy. Integrating physiotherapy into your puppy’s routine lays the foundation for a healthy, active and resilient future. In this guide, we’ll explore the significance of early physiotherapy and discuss how the input of a qualified physiotherapist can inform your puppy’s training plans.

Physiotherapy for Puppies

It is a common misconception that physiotherapy is solely for injured or actively competing dogs, meaning that many owners miss out on the benefits that early intervention can bring. Starting physiotherapy early helps to desensitize your pup to palpation, the ‘hands-on’ part of an initial assessment. Palpation feels different to general touch and stroking, as it is a deeper technique with different intent. Many dogs are acutely aware of this, leading to tension and resistance which can reduce the accuracy and efficacy of an assessment. Allowing your puppy this experience whilst they are still in a critical socialization period, up to 12 weeks old, sets them up for a lifetime of relaxed physiotherapy assessments and treatment, ensuring that looking after their musculoskeletal health is always easy and enjoyable.

In addition to the positive training and socialization impact of early physiotherapy, it is a great way to gain an understanding of their conformation and movement patterns. Right from the beginning you can develop daily routines that support your puppy’s unique strengths and weaknesses, creating a strong, balanced young dog that is at a reduced risk of injury. This means that you can hit the ground running with your sports training as soon as your puppy is old enough (which is a challenging question in itself!).

How soon is too soon?

If you compete in agility or flyball, your social media feed is undoubtedly filled with 18 month old collies running full courses, jumping 60cm with perfect running contacts, and the comment section filled with love hearts and excited exclamations that the dog in question is set to be the next world champion. Yet it begs the question: when did this pup start training to reach such an impressive skill level so early?

Time and time again evidence has confirmed that it is only safe to begin high impact work once your dog’s growth plates are closed, which can vary hugely between 12-24months old. It is becoming common practice for competitors to X-ray their dogs during this period, so that they can mark the exact moment that jump and weave training can begin. Whilst I applaud this commitment to their dog’s health, this approach isn’t practical, or even advised for many partnerships. Alternatively, working with a physiotherapist throughout puppyhood and into adolescent can help you gain a clearer of understanding of your dog’s growth and development. Physiotherapists have the knowledge and skill to advise when it is safe for your pup to begin certain exercises, allowing you to train with peace of mind.

Less is more

Even when training exercises that are appropriate for your puppy’s age and development, excessive repetition can still cause damage to growing muscles and joints. It’s easy to get carried away in the excitement of a training session, especially when it is going well. Before you know it, your puppy has performed dozens of right and left spins and offered all sorts of wonderful and whacky behaviours! To avoid falling into this common trap, I find it useful to employ the golden rule of 3 – once your pup has offered the same behaviour 3 times, it’s time to change exercise. This is an easy way to add some structure to your training sessions, avoid burnout and protect young growing bodies. In puppy training, quality, not quantity, shapes a strong foundation for future success.

In addition to your puppy’s training sessions, even short on-lead walks can be a source of unintentional exertion. To our young puppies, everything they encounter can be a physical demand, whether that’s negotiating a kerb at the road side, or trying to stay upright over uneven terrain, it’s important not to underestimate the challenge posed by these everyday obstacles. To avoid overexertion, try using the Kennel Club’s 5 minute rule, which suggests increasing your puppy’s walk by 5 minutes for each month of age. This guide is a useful framework for protecting your growing puppy’s joints, allowing you to walk your pup with confidence!

Whilst preparing your sports puppy to excel in their future career is no easy endeavour, getting it right is incredibly rewarding and sets you up for a lifetime of health, fun and success. Working with a physiotherapist can help your journey run smoothly, and provide peace of mind that you are doing the best you can for your future champion.

Contact me to find out more about how physiotherapy can help your puppy, or to help you find a RAMP registered physiotherapist in your area.