Does the athleticism of a puppy continue to adulthood?

[JamieHalverson]

So Lillie is 5 months old and she is doing crazy jumps, sprints, climbs, etc. all over everything all the time... this really just started in the last few weeks, at least the shear athleticism of her adventures has, she's always tried, but didn't have the strength or coordination to pull off much in the way of stunts.

She would rather jump and run than walk wherever possible, and jumps like she's got springs in her legs. She has started leaping from about the 3rd or 4th step up when going downstairs to the family room, landing and taking a flying leap to land flat footed on the couch. She literally looks like she is on a pogo stick, it's boing, boing and she's standing on the couch... today I watched her jump from the ground, to the chair to the top of the patio table, turn around, jump from the other side to a lounge chair and them zoomie around the yard. Yes, I am concious of her growing joints, bones, tendons, etc, and I am not encouraging dangerous behavior. I've moved the chairs away from the table, etc so at least she can't jump from a height that's blantently too high for safety. But my general rule of thumb is, it's fine for her to jump from something she can get up to herself.

My question is, is this typical of Bullmastiff puppies and they generally outgrow it, or should I maybe think about agility or something in her future? Her breeder said that her aunt, when fully grown, could jump at a stand still and land flat footed on the counter top...

I'm already going to do Rally and Nosework with her, but if she's going to be an athletic mastiff, why not agility, too? I've never done it, but there's a first for everything!

 

[Liz_M]

I would say yes, in my experience! I took a Rottweiler to GRACH (grand champion, UKC) in agility and he was always very sure-footed and athletic. My little JRT cross ditto, and she has also championed in agility and remains extremely athletic. Growing up we had working sheep farm Border collies and they were high-energy and athletic with tons of endurance as puppies and that did not change.


My EM pup on the other hand is enthusiastic (when he musters the energy) but clumsy as all get-out, he literally trips over his own feet and falls over on a daily basis and I don't expect that will change with him.

 

[scorning]

I plan on doing agility with my active dane, he just turned a year in August. He has been on some agility equipment at an indoor dog facility and loves it. We plan on starting a beginning agility class this month. He also trains for nose work (just passed his ORT for birch last weekend!) and barn hunt.

I think that if you live an active life style and make it fun for your dog, there is no reason why they wouldn't continue to enjoy being active when they are older.

 

[JamieHalverson]

I plan on doing agility with my active dane, he just turned a year in August. He has been on some agility equipment at an indoor dog facility and loves it. We plan on starting a beginning agility class this month. He also trains for nose work (just passed his ORT for birch last weekend!) and barn hunt.

I think that if you live an active life style and make it fun for your dog, there is no reason why they wouldn't continue to enjoy being active when they are older.

We love nosework! My Yogi passed his ORT for birch in June and hoping to enter an elements trial in Nov. Lillie starts Nosework 1 in November; I can hardly wait, I've been playing lots of scent games with her, and her breeder did an early odor stimulation (or something thereabouts, can't remember the exact terminology) with the litter, so I'm really excited to see how she does.

 

[DennasMom]

Denna (3.5 years old) also seems to have springs in her legs... she LOVES to bounce! One of her favorite things is to sit (with her rope-toy in her mouth) - and then SPRING straight up into the air! I then catch the toy on the way down, and we're off on a game of tug... She gets about 2ft off the ground from a sitting position. I think we need to enroll her in dock diving - as she's also a shark in the water, and can't keep herself out of any lake or river that she comes near.

I would discourage the leaping off the bottom of the stair case, though... that is a very hard landing (unless you put cushions down for her) - and it also encourages her to push past you to do her leap... and might end up pushing someone down the stairs. We have a strict SLOW rule on the stairs - and a no passing rule, too (I often body block Denna to keep her behind me)... more to keep the humans safe than anything, though.

 

[JamieHalverson]

I would say yes, in my experience! I took a Rottweiler to GRACH (grand champion, UKC) in agility and he was always very sure-footed and athletic. My little JRT cross ditto, and she has also championed in agility and remains extremely athletic. Growing up we had working sheep farm Border collies and they were high-energy and athletic with tons of endurance as puppies and that did not change.


My EM pup on the other hand is enthusiastic (when he musters the energy) but clumsy as all get-out, he literally trips over his own feet and falls over on a daily basis and I don't expect that will change with him.

Oh good, I'm glad to hear this. And yes, surefootedness is part of what I mean, she lands where she intends to, she climbs well and she is stable and seems aware of where her body is in space. Well, relatively anyway, definitely still some puppy akwardness! I've been clicker training her to walk on a plank, go through a hula hoop, sit stay on an elevated surface and she's played with tunnels at puppy class... but honestly I know NOTHING about agility except videos I've seen. How old do they need to be to start a beginners agility?

 

[JamieHalverson]

Denna (3.5 years old) also seems to have springs in her legs... she LOVES to bounce! One of her favorite things is to sit (with her rope-toy in her mouth) - and then SPRING straight up into the air! I then catch the toy on the way down, and we're off on a game of tug... She gets about 2ft off the ground from a sitting position. I think we need to enroll her in dock diving - as she's also a shark in the water, and can't keep herself out of any lake or river that she comes near.

I would discourage the leaping off the bottom of the stair case, though... that is a very hard landing (unless you put cushions down for her) - and it also encourages her to push past you to do her leap... and might end up pushing someone down the stairs. We have a strict SLOW rule on the stairs - and a no passing rule, too (I often body block Denna to keep her behind me)... more to keep the humans safe than anything, though.

Good point, the stair thing is pretty new, as in "holy crap did you see what she just did?!" so it's not too ingrained in her behavior, so I'll get on that and it should be pretty easy to remedy. As far as pushing past, she is actually kind of a stubborn little thing and will sit at the top of the stairs while I tell her "let's go" until she can't see me when I reach the bottom and turn the corner, then she comes racing down... That's probably not so good either. I hadn't thought much about stair safety for the humans in the household with what will be a very large dog.

 

[Liz_M]

Beginner agility can be at almost any age, just make sure the trainers are hip to jump heights and frequency so as not to stress your pup. Keep it low and slow at first!

 

[JamieHalverson]

Beginner agility can be at almost any age, just make sure the trainers are hip to jump heights and frequency so as not to stress your pup. Keep it low and slow at first!

YAY! but kind of "oh no" like, how many classes can we take at once? LOL

 

[JamieHalverson]

Ok, our training facility requires a minimum age of 9 months and previous obed training. So Lillie starts Obed 1 October 4 for 8 weeks, then will do Obed 2 so by the time she's 9 months old she will have completed Obed 2.

Holy cow... does anyone else have a REALLY hard time working out training schedules? With 2 dogs in classes I'm usually hoping to look out up to 3 months ahead to figure out what we need to sign up for.