WATCH YOUR PUPPY BONES AND JOINTS!

Please keep it on mind that it is very important to be careful with puppy exercise and activities! ​

At the age of around 9 weeks you will bring your puppy home. In upcoming period you will really have to be very careful during puppy's growth because their bones do not even touch yet.
In this period puppies are totally sweet but also very vulnerable.

​
Early Age Exercise

​It is very important not to have your puppy jar or stress their limbs until the bones have joined.
Activities that can damage your puppy’s limbs are:
climbing stairs, jumping down from heights greater than themselves, falling down stairs, jumping on sofa, jumping off sofa, running uphill and downhill and even rough play with a larger dog. If you have stairs at home, carry your puppy when going up or down the stairs as long as you can carry their weight.

When you do not restrict their exercise you risk a lot!
But when you are letting puppy jump up and down off the sofa or bed, take them for long walks/hikes, letting them run uphill or especially downhill  you are damaging their joints.
If you have tiles or slippery floors, have on mind that puppy is damaging joints if scrambles without traction!

So, keep it really easy while they're still little puppies.

One radiologist said very wise advice:

Take 5 minute walk per month of puppy age.

So, if your puppy is 3 months old, walks should not be longer than 15 minutes or if your pupp is 6 months old, 30 minute walks are just fine. Later you may increase the length of your walks. Doing so, you will not over exercise your pupp.

After the age of 16 weeks you can gradually increase exercise until by about 12 month of age when your dog will be ready for normal adult exercise of 2-5km or more each day.

Once grown you will have the rest of their life to spend playing in higher impact exercise.
Then it will come the time when you will be free to hike, to take long walks and your dog can play like crazy with other dogs.

But still, bicycle is still NO GO!
Rhodesians are slow growing breed and they grow till the age of 2 years, so till their 2nd year they should not run after you riding a bike.
When they will be ready for bike exercise, please have on mind that you have to start gradually to increase exercise (starting with length of 0,5km - 1 km, after one week 1-2km etc).
Your dog should trot and not gallop when going after you on bicycle.​ 

Shared from Clinique Vetérinaire Vetolistic - Dr. Marie Eve Cresci
​
"When you finally welcome your 10 week old puppies, please keep this picture in mind. Their bones ain't even touching yet. They walk so beautifully with big, flexible legs and bench movements because their joints are made up entirely of cartilage, muscles, tendons and ligaments covered with skin. Nothing is well adjusted or has real grip yet.
 
When you make them run excessively or don't limit their exercise to prevent them from overdoing during that time, you're not giving them the chance to grow properly. Every big jump or bounce and excited run creates bone-breaking impacts.
In reasonable quantities, this is not problematic and normal wear and tear will do.
 
But when you let the puppy jump off the couch or bed, take him for long walks, you damage this joint in training. When you let the puppy move on slippery tiles, you damage the joint.
 
You only get once to make them grow up. A well built body is something that comes from excellent upbringing and good education. BOTH , not just one
 
Once you’re an adult, you’ll have the rest of your life to spend playing and engaging in high-impact exercises. So keep him calm while he is still young and give him the gift that can only be given once." 

Even the ball will probably NOT be point of interest to your Ridgeback, below you can read what does "ball chasing" to our dogs.