Hips, stairs, puppies, hearsay, evidence based medicine

[otolith]

Our GSD is 13 weeks old. We've been carrying him up and down the stairs - the breeder told us no stairs until he is six months old. He's about 11kg now and growing rapidly, and I'm concerned about how long this is going to be a practical thing to do. He's likely to double in size between now and mid November, and my wife is already complaining that he's too big for her to carry him up and down the stairs.

There seems to be a lot of opinion about the risks of stairs and when dogs should be allowed to use them, but very little evidence. I found one paper suggesting an increased risk of dysplasia from daily use of stairs by puppies in the first three months of life, but nothing else.

I meant to ask our vet's opinion when he was in for his last jab, but forgot. Will raise it when he's next in, but what say you?

[rohrl]

I say that it sounds like bks and that the weakness in the dogs hips is more to do with selective breeding than climbing stairs. I'd also suggest that you're right in that the opinion of a vet will be worth more than my musings.

[CAPP0]

I've no idea about the stairs thing, but I would say it's still probably a good idea to keep picking the dog up (by which I mean, lifting him up and moving him from a to b) on a regular basis just so he's used to it; reason I say that is that our GSD is middle-aged+ now, and although she can still jump in and out of the cars, it's clearly starting to become just a little more effort for her. We had her several years ago as a rescue with no history, and she REALLY doesn't like being picked up. She'll tolerate it if I snatch her up quickly enough before she's had time to remember that she doesn't like it, but otherwise she'll wriggle like a 35kg fish out of water to avoid it if she can, and that can make things interesting!

(Before anyone says ramps, steps, etc, been there, tried that, she's having none of it, even for treats).

[otolith]

rohrl said:

I say that it sounds like bks and that the weakness in the dogs hips is more to do with selective breeding than climbing stairs. I'd also suggest that you're right in that the opinion of a vet will be worth more than my musings.

Hip dysplasia is very significantly heritable, yes, and we know that the parents have excellent hip scores, but there is also a significant environmental component. Diet, growth rate, size and weight are involved to various degrees, but it would seem that exercise may also be a factor. The question is where the idea that certain activities are risky comes from - or is it just someone guessing?