DDB what sports can I do?

[helga]

Hello everybody,

my DDB "puppy" is turning soon 9 months old.We do a lot of walking and hiking alone and with a bunch of other dogs as well. She is quite energetic for a DDB, but she has sometimes a limp on her front legs (have it checked out regularly, according to the vet it will disappear over time, and it did get way better). Because of that and and in general because i don't want any bad health effects later in her life, I am trying to find some sports etc I could do with her without putting too much strain on. I would love her to pull a cart, but that I think have to wait until she is more grown.
Oh, and to add I live in Mongolia so we don't have agility parcours or clubs etc.
I hope you can help me with some ideas

 

[musicdeb]

All mastiff puppies should not be exercised aggressively, i.e. hiking, jogging, running, until they are at least 12 months of age to prevent injury to their bones and joints. You can exercise a pup 5 minutes for every month of age at each exercise event, meaning you can exercise your girl for 45 minutes.

She probably has pano which can be very painful and requires little exercise until the pano subsides.

Do you give her glucosamine to help her joints?

Once she's 12 months of age, you can do agility courses and she could pull the cart. However, remember that DDB's do not do well with heat due to their short muzzles and they can die of heat exposure rather quickly. Titan does not do well in temperatures above 80F.

 

[musicdeb]

Leerburg | Panosteitis or PANO

Using Glucosamine to Prevent Canine Osteoarthritis - Whole Dog Journal Article

What do you feed your girl? Check the calcium and phosphorous on the food to be sure it's not too high because that causes fast growth = unhealthy mastiff.

Calcium & Phosphorous Requirements for Dogs

 

[helga]

Thanks for the answers. Yes, she is getting glucosamin. I also have regular blood tests run to check on the levels. Mongolia is really cold, at the moment she is loving the weather (around 0 degrees Celsius).
I think her growth is normal, not to heavy she weighs 35 kg at the moment. I try to keep her lean for the growing phase. So it means I can't do anything except walking for exercise until she is 12 months? Any other ideas?

 

[musicdeb]

While she is in pain, I would limit all exercise until the pain subsides. She can walk, run, jump normally but excessive exercise can harm her bones and joints.

May I ask what levels are you checking when you run the blood tests?

Can you post a pic of your girl? We love pics!

 

[marke]

a properly raised , conditioned , healthy ddb could do anything any dog of any breed could do ...... I would agree with a lot of the previous advice . I think a lot of problems folks have with their dogs is a result of exercise ..... imo , a puppy doesn't need an exercise schedule , they should be given free access to a large fenced area in which to grow up in .......the absolute best exercise for a pup , is a yard and another puppy ......... if you don't have access to a yard or another puppy , take your pup to a park as often as possible and just follow them around as long as possible ..... there is no quick easy way to raise an orthopedically healthy dog , you can go to fast , you can't go to slow .....your pup will learn a lot from just you following them ...... I think fetch/chasing is the most detrimental game I can think of off the top of my head to play with a pup............ I would never exercise a dog with a limp ..... but then I don't have a lot of experience with a dog or puppy limping ......... I think you need to recognize and let the pup or dog show you what they are physically capable of comfortably and safely doing . jmo

 

[KMD]

My DDB does tracking, agility (although only a few low jumps and no A Frame yet) and a little obedience work (though that is a struggle!). We also do a lot of "pre-hab" that a canine conditioning vet recommended for her... so going through positions on a teeter board, running through low hurdles for rear end awareness, sustained paw touches at various heights and a lot of work on fitpaws discs.

 

[KMD]

Shameless brag time - my girl passed the second leg towards her tracking title on the weekend. One to go!

We're still training for obedience. The recall can be very interesting as I'm never sure if she will pull up in time before she runs into me...

 

[NYDDB]

She really does look like an athletic, happy Dogue.

Mateo will barrel into me on a recall sometimes, just because he can, LOL.
Always great fun, that one...

 

[KMD]

She is very active. I can't keep much weight on her but she's got great muscle tone so maybe that's just the way she is...

Human vs Speeding Dogue rarely ends up in a upright human haha. I tend to stand with my feet apart almost shoulder width, in case evasive action is required to save my kneecaps. I'm sure the judge won't penalise me toooo much

 

[KMD]

Same training session, practicing recall through a bunch of people. Flying Dogue!