May 20, 2011
I have a 2 story house, is it OK for me to let my 8 week old pup go up or down the flight of stairs (about 20 of them) on leash - will this have the potential to mess up his hips and elbows?
Full Question:
Hello Cindy! I just got almost $500 worth of your good DVDs. I have seen 2 of them and they are the best. My question for you Cindy is: I have a 2 story house and is it OK for me to let my 8 week old pup go up or down the flight of stairs (about 20 of them) on leash - will this have the potential to mess up his hips and elbows? Or should I just carry him up or down until he is a little older? If this is the case, how old should he be until I let him up or down by himself? Also, is it OK to let my 8 week old pup jump up into or down from my SUV? Will this be OK also for his hips and elbows? I just want to be VERY careful not to do any harm to his elbows and hips. I hope these going up or down my stairs and my SUV is OK because I don't want to baby my pup and I want to have him start getting used to these things ASAP. Thanks a million again Cindy! I will be buying equipment for protection training my pup soon!!!Mark
Cindy's Answer:
Hi Mark,
I teach my pups to do stairs right away, but I don’t let them race up and down multiple times a day. I’d teach him to do the stairs, and keep him on a leash so you can control his descent. I think going down has more potential to do damage. I would NOT let a puppy jump in an out of an SUV, too much trauma on the elbows when they jump down and too many opportunities for injury. You won’t be babying him, merely protecting his skeletal system.
I can’t say how old he should be before you let him do this, a lot depends on his size and coordination. A larger heavier boned dog has more potential to damage himself than a lighter built less bulky dog.
Cindy
I teach my pups to do stairs right away, but I don’t let them race up and down multiple times a day. I’d teach him to do the stairs, and keep him on a leash so you can control his descent. I think going down has more potential to do damage. I would NOT let a puppy jump in an out of an SUV, too much trauma on the elbows when they jump down and too many opportunities for injury. You won’t be babying him, merely protecting his skeletal system.
I can’t say how old he should be before you let him do this, a lot depends on his size and coordination. A larger heavier boned dog has more potential to damage himself than a lighter built less bulky dog.
Cindy
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