Puppy and Stairs = Joint/Hip Issues?

[Megan - Finn]

My husband and I have a 10 week old GD. We have read that dogs can develop joint and hip problems from walking up and down the stairs.  We live on the 3rd floor of our apt building (no elevator) and are worried Finn will develop joint/hip issues. Finn does go up and down the stairs at less 10 times a day since he has a puppy bladder. Should we be concerned? Does going up and down the stairs really cause joint/hip issues in puppies? Thank you a head of time for your advice!  

[Julie and Max]

Joanne I don't think you should feel bad, like Nicky said and I read the same that it's mostly hereditary and some things can aggravate but are not the cause. Also that for puppies less than a year old it's because their bones are not fully fused yet so if they are already predisposed to the condition that a lot of jumping and running will cause issues, but once they are a year or some recommend two it's okay to do all the fun stuff like agility, running jumping etc. 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

yep, sounds right to me  :)

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

We carried Wally up and down the stairs until we could no longer lift him, because we were advised to avoid stairs for just the reasons that cause you concern. Even now, I try to limit too much stair climbing and descending. When we got Charlotte, we also kept her from going up and down the stairs. We did allow both dogs to use the front steps to go into and out of the house, and we introduced them to indoor staircases, so that they wouldn't develop any fears related to going up and down. 

[Stella]

From the newsletter of the Canine Fitness Centre in Calgary:

New research into canine hip dysplasia

29 Dec 2013

Not all research has clinical relevance (i.e. some of it is boring garbage!). However, when research comes out that people should care about… it’s important to get that information out into the public!! One such bit of research with a high degree of ’give-a-darn status’, comes from the PhD work by Randi I Kronveit from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science.

Dr. Krontveit studied hip dysplasia in dogs (nearly 500 dogs from birth to 10 years - should they have survived that long). The breeds studies were Newfoundlands, Labrador Retrievers, Leonbergers, and Irish Wolfhounds. Her findings could be useful to both breeders as well as owners of dogs with any kind of predisposition to canine hip dysplasia.

Here’s a summary of some of her findings:
Rapid growth and high body weight in the first year of life did not result in an increased risk of hip dysplasia. In fact, of the 4 breeds studies, the breed with the slowest growth rate - the Newfoundland - had the highest incidence of hip dysplasia (36%). The Irish Wolfhound had only a 10% incidence, despite having the fastest growth rate.
Labrador Retrievers and Leonbergers developed clinical signs of hip pain (either from hip dysplasia or secondary degenerative joint disease) later in life than Newfoundland Dogs. If the radiological hip status (at 12 - 18 months) was either mild, moderate or severe for hip dysplasia, then the chance of needing a vet consultation regarding the hips was significantly increased. However, access to off-leash exercise at 12-months of age decreased the need for hip-related veterinary care.
Life expectancy was found to correlated with radiological hip dysplasia status and breed: among the cohort studied, 60.2% of Labradors, 28.8% of Newfoundlands, 16.11% of Leonbergers, and only 6.4% of Irish Wolfhounds were alive at 10-years of age.
Puppies born in spring or summer-time, either on farms or with other ample opportunity to exercise during the first 3-months of their life, had a lower risk of developing hip dysplasia. Recommendations could be made to allow daily outdoor exercise on soft ground in moderately rough terrain to decrease the risk of developing radiographically detectable hip dysplasia (in these 4 breeds).
Puppies allowed to walk on stairs from birth to 3 months of age (this was the time-frame studied) had an increased risk of developing hip dysplasia.

So, what do we do with this research? If you are a breeder: take your puppies out to exercise in the grass when able, (or in the winter, create an indoor playground with a good-footing surface as able); avoid stairs during this early-puppy phase; advise your puppy-people to do the same; and encourage daily exercise! (The papers don’t tell us exact timelines… so you may need to inject some common sense). If you own a puppy: get it out exercising!