What you need to know about your baby puppy and exercise!

This is something everyone should see.
The Xray directly below is of a 2 week old puppy.

New Puppy! Such an exiting time!
Introducing a puppy into your life is a special and exciting time – there are many crucial things to be aware of in these early days, including the importance of exercise. Not only is exercising your puppy beneficial for their health and behavioral development – it’s a great opportunity for your puppy to socialise with other friendly puppies, dogs and people too.

It is possible for us to get lost in the excitement and forget that puppies are just babies – and like babies, puppies have limited physical abilities while they’re still developing. So, it’s just as important to ease your puppy into all things, including exercise

Puppy Bones
When you get your 8/10 week old puppies, please keep this image in mind. Their bones do not even touch yet. They plod around so cutely with big floppy paws and wobbly movement because their joints are entirely made up of muscle, tendons, ligaments with skin covering. Nothing is fitting tightly together or has a true socket yet.

When you run them excessively or don't restrict their exercise to stop them from overdoing it during this period you don't give them a chance to grow properly. Every big jump or excited bouncing run causes impacts between the bones. In reasonable amounts this is not problematic and is the normal wear and tear that every animal will engage in.

But when you're letting puppy jump up and down off the lounge or bed, take them for long walks/hikes, you are damaging that forming joint. When you let the puppy scramble on tile with no traction you are damaging the joint.

How long can I walk my puppy?

• Allow your puppy to choose the speed and take plenty of breaks for sniffing.  Avoid trying to pull your puppy!. If you must walk on pavement, keep walks shorter. Walks on grass or dirt are easier on your puppies growing bones than pavement.
• An 8 week old puppy can walk 5-10 minutes. If they are tired and don't want to walk then carry them home.
• A 12 week old puppy can walk about 15-20 minutes.
• A 16 week old puppy (4 months) can mostly do a 30 minute meandering walk.
• At 6-7 months if the puppy is coping you can increase the time to 45-60 minutes as your.

Key points:

• If your puppy is not yet fully vaccinated then you can still take them out.  Carry them or invest in a dog stroller if you want to take them to public areas.
• At 12 months small dogs will become physically mature.
• 18-24 months larger dogs will become physically mature.
• An injured growth plate can cause the bone to stop growing early. This can result in lifelong orthopedic problems.
• Free Run Instead. The best exercise for puppies is safely free running. Let your puppy choose their own adventure and play at their own pace.
• If you have access to a fenced yard, allow your pup to wander freely, choosing their speed and direction. Stay with them! They will naturally regulate their activity, going fast when they want to and slowing down when they get tired.
• If you don’t have a fenced yard, let your pup play on a long line of around 15 feet for young puppies in a safe space. Hold the end of the line while they play, keeping it slack as much as possible.
• Hold off true hikes or long purposeful walks on pavement until your puppy is physically matured.
• When walking in grass make sure to check their paws for bindi and grass seeds when you finish the walk.
• Don't walk in the heat of the day or when the pavement is too hot.
• Make sure you provide plenty of clean drinking water.
• Longer Walks  and participating in active sports Will Come

It can be tempting to take your puppy for a long walk to wear them out but resist the urge. Instead, treasure these meandering strolls  while their body grows and matures. Try to see the world through your puppy’s eyes and enjoy their antics as they zigzag around the yard and explores their world. Everything will be so new and exciting for them at this age. Let them learn about the world.  

Once grown - around 12-18 months depending on their breed, you will have the rest of their life to spend playing and engaging in higher impact exercise. So keep it calm while they're still little baby puppies and give the gift that can only be given once.

You only get the chance to grow them once. A well built body is something that comes from excellent breeding and a great upbringing-BOTH, not just one.