Hi, I heard something the other day which i'm sure the vet can answer when i go and see them, but in the mean time i was wondering if anyone else has heard this, either being the truth or not.

I always thought that the size of bone was down to genetics and that being pretty much it.

Now a friend who has a different breed to me was told that too hardly any exercise when young can cause the bones not to grow so heavy. They said that their dogs had the free run of their fields, though has been told now that breeders of their breed don't allow their dogs to run free until they are 9 months old.
They think that the reason their dogs bones compared to the litter mates are slimmer due to this reason. I always thought exercise can cause extra wear and tear on the joints and be a problem for displasia and the like but not the heaviness of the bone.
Also the breeders told them not to allow their dogs to do any serious play with each other. Now to me this means you have a very lazy dog.. For the large giant breeds i thought that 10 mins a day leaded walk while they are 4 months old was enough, thought this seems to be too much in some peoples eyes..

Any advice or thoughts very much welcome.

>I always thought exercise can cause extra wear and tear on the joints and be a problem for displasia and the like but not the heaviness of the bone.

I think exercise can strengthen bones and make them bigger & denser, but I wouldn't have thought it would be visible?
It's over exercise or prolonged/repetitive/forced exercise that can cause/contribute to problems like displasia.

> Also the breeders told them not to allow their dogs to do any serious play with each other. Now to me this means you have a very lazy dog.. For the large giant breeds i thought that 10 mins a day leaded walk while they are 4 months old was enough, thought this seems to be too much in some peoples eyes..

For my Mastiff pup, at 4 months old 10 mins lead walking would have been too much, for other Mastiff pups it wouldn't be enough, it's best to pay attention to the pup and what they are capable of, if they seem like they could walk forever then I think it would be best to stick with the '5 minute rule'.

For fast-growing/large/giant breeds too much rough or heavy play can cause knocks or strains to the joints, lots of play is fine but when it gets rough it can cause problems.

My pup loved playing roughly with my older dog, 1 day I let the game go on too long and pup got knocked over, he fell hard on the floor and landed on his right elbow, 10 days later he could hardly walk, soon after that he was diagnosed with ED in the right elbow. I'll never know for sure if it was a coincidence that he took a hard nock to the elbow or not, but the next pup I get will not be allowed to play rough atall :(

Thanks for that, i was thinking the same that too much or a little more than some breeders allow of exercise isn't going to slim the bones down.
Anyway at the vets tomorrow so will ask them what they think and then post on here the answer.

Sorry to hear about your pup having ED, that can't be fun for him at all..

The ED was awfull for a while, but now you really wouldn't know he had it :)

I know in humans that bone density is affected by weight training/load bearing exercise. Did they mean the size of the bones or the density of them? Like you, I thought that the size of one's frame was pretty much laid down in the genes. I could see where inadequate nutrition might make achieving a dog's genetic potential harder but I can't see how exercise would change the size. It's effects on the joints in another matter.

They were talking about bone size, as this is what is visible to the eye.
It is a question which i think should have an answer out there as the size of bone is looked at in many breeds..
My friends have Wolfhounds so i would like an answer for them, though i'm sure as with anything every vet will have a different opinion.

> I know in humans that bone density is affected by weight training/load bearing exercise.

Don't think you can compare dogs with people as people mature over about 20 years and dogs about 15 months as far as bone is concerned. Neutering, if done before maturity, makes a difference to the final bone length and density, and exercise in the young can damage the joints or growth plates but have never heard of too little causing a noticeable difference in the amount of bone.

I have been to the vets now for our booster jabs and asked about the bone growth.
The vet confirmed that the size of the bone has nothing to do with too much or too little exercise. The only thing that affects it is genetics.

He also confirmed which is what we knew that before a dog reaches 8-9 months old it shouldn't be allowed to run hard due to the causing damage to the plates which causes joint problems later on in life.

Will now contact my friends to advise them.