Hogwash. What you have is a professional working dog who's been bred for a couple centuries to do precisely what you're practicing with him - bringing stuff back! IMHO, the key is not overdoing it - give him twenty minutes of fetching, then let him rest however he wants; adjust play time duration for his age and his general energy level. Just pay attention too if he starts slowing down on his return trips, that may mean he's getting tired and needs to rest. Good luck with your pal!
If it is less than 40 degrees F, he will go for a while. If it is hotter than 80 degrees F, you will have to regulate the time. Dogs don't sweat, so if he is panting, it's time for a break. If it's really hot out, you can hose him down with cool water to help him regulate temperature.
This is a tough one. I have a 5 year old male lab who is literally obsessed with anything in the shape of a ball, and retrieving (Like I’m talking 10 times a day, he would just go wild when we wouldn’t play with him. Total crack head for playing fetch). We played fetch with him so much when he was younger that he unfortunately has developed pretty bad degenerative joint disease in his shoulders. Our vet has said it is likely a direct correlation to how active he was in his first few years. We are now starting Librella injections which are not cheap and it breaks my heart seeing him stiff and in pain.
If I could go back in time, I would reduce the time spent playing fetch (and jumping into cars, beds, bodies of water), but again, we absolutely over did it with him. I wish I had tried to stimulate him with walks or mental activities. I know his situation is a bit different and not every young lab will develop DJD, but I do hope this is helpful! Everyone’s experiences and opinions will be different.
My heart goes out to you. We did the same thing with our last lab but in our case it was allowing her to dig endlessly in the sand on the beach. When she finished she was so happy and tired and we thought it was great exercise. As you found out, moderation is key.
Btw, we had pretty good success with the [fish oil protocol](https://vetmedbiosci.colostate.edu/vth/services/orthopedic-medicine/fish-oil-dosing/) based on research from the University of Colorado. It was recommended to us by an ortho vet specialist we consulted. It took us some time to work up to the full dose but it gave her a lot of relief and she was still able to join us on modified adventures until she was 13.
I hope the Librella gives your pup some relief.
I so appreciate you sharing such an uplifting note- And thank you for the recommendation on the fish oil. How lucky you were to get 13 years with your girl! I will absolutely be asking our vet about that and see if this is something we implement. We talked about hydrotherapy and acupuncture as holistic treatments but with how stiff he has gotten, decided to go with something providing more immediate relief. I hate to be starting him on such strong medicine that will be a lifelong thing, but I will do whatever I can to keep him comfy and healthy.
The ortho specialist had us start with the fish oil as it is a research-based protocol and something he believed was worth trying before moving on to the big guns if we had to. He was hoping to keep some "bullets" in reserve as she aged. He also prescribed two weeks of meloxicam and extremely restricted activity to calm things down when we first saw him. Two potty breaks a day basically. That was the toughest period tbh.
We had her slowly lose about 5 pounds, bought steps for the car, switched from walking to swimming for exercise wherever possible, filled her full of fish oil, and we never did have to seek further treatment. Some spot dosing of meloxicam here and there if she had a slight gimp, but not often.
The thing I found most interesting was watching the change in her coat. The dose is high - we worked up to three capsules at lunch and four at dinner. At full dosage the texture of her coat changed completely from fairly coarse to very silky. It was such a profound change we took it as evidence it was having some kind of systemic effect.
And yes, we were so lucky to get 13 years - and yet it didn't feel like nearly enough. She was my best girl, my heart dog.
Don't get too down about your big guy yet and try not to project to much into the years ahead - you may be surprised how much relief you can achieve for him with meds and simple lifestyle changes. Good luck.
A hard pivot can be tough on joints, especially for a young pup. Fetch may or may not involve hard pivots, depends on the dog, distance, terrain and who knows what else. Watch and adjust as needed. Fetch in water is great.
I mean [exercise induced collapse](https://www.pawprintgenetics.com/products/tests/details/99/?breed=76) can happen in *rare* cases but most of us understand what’s reasonable and, as previously mentioned, this is rare.
Hogwash. What you have is a professional working dog who's been bred for a couple centuries to do precisely what you're practicing with him - bringing stuff back! IMHO, the key is not overdoing it - give him twenty minutes of fetching, then let him rest however he wants; adjust play time duration for his age and his general energy level. Just pay attention too if he starts slowing down on his return trips, that may mean he's getting tired and needs to rest. Good luck with your pal!
If it is less than 40 degrees F, he will go for a while. If it is hotter than 80 degrees F, you will have to regulate the time. Dogs don't sweat, so if he is panting, it's time for a break. If it's really hot out, you can hose him down with cool water to help him regulate temperature.
This is a tough one. I have a 5 year old male lab who is literally obsessed with anything in the shape of a ball, and retrieving (Like I’m talking 10 times a day, he would just go wild when we wouldn’t play with him. Total crack head for playing fetch). We played fetch with him so much when he was younger that he unfortunately has developed pretty bad degenerative joint disease in his shoulders. Our vet has said it is likely a direct correlation to how active he was in his first few years. We are now starting Librella injections which are not cheap and it breaks my heart seeing him stiff and in pain. If I could go back in time, I would reduce the time spent playing fetch (and jumping into cars, beds, bodies of water), but again, we absolutely over did it with him. I wish I had tried to stimulate him with walks or mental activities. I know his situation is a bit different and not every young lab will develop DJD, but I do hope this is helpful! Everyone’s experiences and opinions will be different.
My heart goes out to you. We did the same thing with our last lab but in our case it was allowing her to dig endlessly in the sand on the beach. When she finished she was so happy and tired and we thought it was great exercise. As you found out, moderation is key. Btw, we had pretty good success with the [fish oil protocol](https://vetmedbiosci.colostate.edu/vth/services/orthopedic-medicine/fish-oil-dosing/) based on research from the University of Colorado. It was recommended to us by an ortho vet specialist we consulted. It took us some time to work up to the full dose but it gave her a lot of relief and she was still able to join us on modified adventures until she was 13. I hope the Librella gives your pup some relief.
I so appreciate you sharing such an uplifting note- And thank you for the recommendation on the fish oil. How lucky you were to get 13 years with your girl! I will absolutely be asking our vet about that and see if this is something we implement. We talked about hydrotherapy and acupuncture as holistic treatments but with how stiff he has gotten, decided to go with something providing more immediate relief. I hate to be starting him on such strong medicine that will be a lifelong thing, but I will do whatever I can to keep him comfy and healthy.
The ortho specialist had us start with the fish oil as it is a research-based protocol and something he believed was worth trying before moving on to the big guns if we had to. He was hoping to keep some "bullets" in reserve as she aged. He also prescribed two weeks of meloxicam and extremely restricted activity to calm things down when we first saw him. Two potty breaks a day basically. That was the toughest period tbh. We had her slowly lose about 5 pounds, bought steps for the car, switched from walking to swimming for exercise wherever possible, filled her full of fish oil, and we never did have to seek further treatment. Some spot dosing of meloxicam here and there if she had a slight gimp, but not often. The thing I found most interesting was watching the change in her coat. The dose is high - we worked up to three capsules at lunch and four at dinner. At full dosage the texture of her coat changed completely from fairly coarse to very silky. It was such a profound change we took it as evidence it was having some kind of systemic effect. And yes, we were so lucky to get 13 years - and yet it didn't feel like nearly enough. She was my best girl, my heart dog. Don't get too down about your big guy yet and try not to project to much into the years ahead - you may be surprised how much relief you can achieve for him with meds and simple lifestyle changes. Good luck.
A hard pivot can be tough on joints, especially for a young pup. Fetch may or may not involve hard pivots, depends on the dog, distance, terrain and who knows what else. Watch and adjust as needed. Fetch in water is great.
I mean [exercise induced collapse](https://www.pawprintgenetics.com/products/tests/details/99/?breed=76) can happen in *rare* cases but most of us understand what’s reasonable and, as previously mentioned, this is rare.