another email

so today i am adding a recent email that inadvertently covers two topics- training a behaviour and age specific behaviours- read on!

Hi Pam;

The video of Bruno was very inspiring, I have seen this couple in the cove using the ramp to get Bruno into the vehicle.

Keela still hates going near the truck so we've been lifting her in and out. When we get to a really fun place she stands on the back seat and looks like she'd like to jump down but you can just see she's so uncomfortable.

At 7 months old and still growing - I assume - when is it a good time to start training her to jump in and out of the truck? Thanks!

and the answer.......

There are 2 ways of looking at this problem.

The first way is that she is plenty old and plenty big enough to jump in and out of the truck by herself, this is silly, lets teach her now, my 18 wk Mexican puppy jumps in and out of Dave’s Silverado, yada yada yada…

The second way of looking at it is that she is still a puppy, and not physically mature, her growth plates are still open, maybe having her jumping and jarring herself isn’t a great idea, she could injure herself for life, especially if she slipped and fell.

So. Take your pick. Both sides are valid. A interm solution would be to borrow a ramp- I have ideas about where, and see if we can get her using that happily, and once she’s a bit older take the next step and get rid of the ramp. I did use the ramp with Bruno, and then graduated him to jumping in the same session, but he is older and BIGGER!

the current medical consensus is that extreme exercise and jumping can damage the growth plates in an immature dog's joints, creating a painful lifelong disability. the recommendation for agility dogs is that you do not begin training jumps until the dog is at least 12 months, and you cannot compete in agility until after that age. how much jumping and running is too much, i can't say. your vet may be able to help there, but its best to err on the side of caution, obviously.

it is never too early, or too late, to work on having your dog comfortable in the car. there are lots of things that can be done to help a dog that just doesn't really like car rides, including feeding meals in the car. also to be taken into consideration is whether you dog gets car-sick. if being in the car makes your dog nauseous, they probably won't be fond of car rides! as always, specific dogs and specific solutions, so don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it.