Appropriate courses and at what time?

[gordnbec]

I have just started my 16wk old pup on obedience lessons and am planning on working him thru to some sort of agillity based activity later. Just would like to know what type of excerise to avoid until he is matured. The club i am going to has manily collie,sheltie and kelpie type dogs that are obviously lighter and earlier maturer than boxers so what might be right for them is not going to be right for my boy is it? Thanks in advance

[IluvLucy]

You should avoid a lot of jumping until they are18 months. Concentrate more on tunnels and contact obstacles. Weave poles can cause problems if overdone but you can also space them further apart to make it easier for them.

Have fun!

[gmacleod]

I think it is very good that you're thinking of this, and that you realise that a boxer is a different proposition to lighter dogs of similar size. You'd be surprised at how many people refuse to accept that there should be any difference!

Boxers are, however, a very slow maturing dog for their size. With most medium sized dogs, you'd generally expect to be able to count on their growth plates being closed and hardened (and hence it being safe to engage in strenuous agility-type manouvres) by about 12 months of age. Well, its not really the case with boxers. Most reach their full adult height somewhere between about 12-15 months, which actually means that the growth plates - which CANNOT be closed and hardened until some time after all growth has ceased - aren't likely to be solid enough for that sort of thing until the dog reaches about 18 months.

Growth plates, for anyone who doesn't already know, are those soft areas at the ends of all the long bones that are maleable and allow for the skeleton to grow. Of course, being soft, they're also extremely vulnerable to injury, especially from things like jumping, weaving, or repeated pounding. This is why young dogs should not engage in those sorts of agility manouvres or long periods of on-leash running or non-stop walking until after the growth plates are fully set (instead they should get most of their exercise needs from off-leash running and playing, or low impact activities).

Returning to your actual question - it would be wise to avoid things like weaving or any sort of jumping until 18 months or so. You can still have low-impact fun with your dog though, and use the time to build up a solid obedience/training base that is going to be essential for later agility anyway. Better to hold off those extra few months (which isn't long) than risk damage early that will affect his ability permanently.

[gordnbec]

That's about what i thought so after his been thru the stages of obedience and ground based agility it'll probably be about the 18mth mark anyway. Jumping by himself might be hard to stop as being a boxer he can do a good impersonation of a pogo stick sometimes.