# When are puppies' joints fully developed?



## HaPpY AnImAl LoVeR (Dec 7, 2018)

How old are puppies when their joints are fully developed? Like, when can you stop worrying about them putting stress on their joints (ex. Jumping, running, etc.)?


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## AustinIllini (Jun 20, 2018)

Question one: When are their joints fully developed? *Between 18 months and 2 years*
Question two: When can you stop worrying about them putting stress on their joints? *This is crazy tricky. Realistically, it should scale up. I'm inclined to believe that a puppy of 6-12 months of age won't overrun itself. No one seems to be able to determine 100% what causes joint issues (with the exception of early fixing, which appears to be a major risk factor), but I still am conservative with how long I exercise my dog. 

That being said, everyone I have talked to suggests limiting jumping (which shouldn't be terribly difficult)*


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

12-18 months. I don't start jumping a dog until minimum of 12 months. You should always worry about over stressing their bodies. I worry more about their backs than hips.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Are you talking about a dog just running around and jumping as part of play, or as training? I've never worried about what my dogs do at any age _on their own_. 

Since Cava will be doing a sport, I've been careful with what I ask her to do while she's still young. So far, we mostly do leash hikes on rolling hills. I want her bones and joints to have time to develop before I do anything that might stress them and possibly cause damage. 

At about 8 months old I started bringing her to flyball practice, but all she was doing was running short distances in a straight line to a tug. At 11 months old we introduced jumps, but our jump bases are only 6" high, so she's not really jumping, she can basically run right over them. She turned a year old last weekend and I still don't let her jump out of the car. I don't plan to start working on her box turn until she's 15 months old.


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## HaPpY AnImAl LoVeR (Dec 7, 2018)

I just mean in general. I started a thread about how to make sure get exercise young puppies without hurting their joints; I mean when they can start jumping more, running more, etc. without worrying about hurting their joints' development.


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