I know that some breeds are more prone to hip problems etc as they get older and to try and help this, dogs should be stopped from going up/down stairs and restricting the walks to short ones increasing gradually as the puppy gets older (someone suggested on CD 5 mins for every month of the puppy's life?)

Hopefully someone can put me at ease a little.  Upstairs in our house is an animal free zone and always has been and as I have a 2 year old, we have stairgates so that isn't a problem.  What I am more concerned with is jumping on the furniture and jumping up when playing etc.  How much jumping has to be done for it to start causing damage and over what period of time?  Our 11 week GR puppy is now able to go out and about and we have started on just 5 mins walk, 3 or 4 times a day (we overlook a green that most people use for dog walking).  I'm afraid that I don't particularly like having her on the settees although she is pushing the boundary on this one (OH is the worst for letting her!)  She is also trying to jump up at us although we are obviously trying to train her not to!:rolleyes:

Its just that my OH's ex has a 10 month old basset who has just been diagnosed with severe hip problems and she took it upon herself to give us a lecture on not allowing our puppy upstairs etc etc etc.  (as you can tell we don't get on!! :D :D) but she did get me thinking as to how much is too much?
Kerri x

I may have been extremely lucky, I don't really know, but I lived in an upstairs flat. My (now 7 years old) puppy used to run up and down the stairs at high speed, jump onto furniture and do a defying lap around the living room every day. Her hip score came back as 5/2 = 7 total! Maybe her hips would have been better if I had been able to stop her? ;) Her son, who hasn't had stairs, but has been allowed to jump up on the furniture and has a variety of land to run on (some steep bits, some level) has a hip score of 2/3 =5 and an elbow score of 0.

Yes, it can make matters worse, but I believe that pups will be pups and need to be able to develop in a way that their muscles develop strongly. And that means all their muscles. :)