#115 – Top Tips to prevent injury to your puppy

Ways to Keep your Habibi Bear puppy in Tip-Top Shape!

We know that you love your Habibi Bear puppy to the moon, no- the sun, and back and you want to make sure that your pup stays in the best of health for years to come.

Keep Reading and we’ll let you in on some tips and products to make it easier!

If you’ve ever been a runner, martial arts enthusiast or any other type of athlete, you are well aware of the type of damage that can occur from overuse, be it swollen tendons, pulled ligaments, or stress fractures. Maybe even now, as an adult, you are still suffering the consequences of a sports injury in your younger days. What might surprise you is that the same thing can occur in your tiny puppy.  Like other small breeds, our Habibi Bear guys and gals are popular because they are the perfect size. They travel well and those low little legs! Simply put, these furry little “lowriders” are just the most adorable things cruising around your home and hearts!

There are specific areas of concern to watch for in most dog breeds. You may be aware that Pugs, Pekinese and flat-faced dogs have breathing issues and need special care during hotter weather. Large dog breeds are susceptible to stomach torsion and hip dysplasia. And in the case of our small and mini Habibi Bear pups, as owners we need to pay special attention to their backs and knees so that they are not injured from seemingly harmless activities, such as jumping on and off the furniture or walks that are too long for their smaller carriage.

I always remind my families that even though they CAN do this, it isn’t good for them.  In fact its very harmful.  This would be like us jumping off the roof every day…Ouch!

A Cautionary Tale

One of our families told me recently that they were careful not to allow their dog to jump on and off the sofa for six years.  Until the fateful day their sister’s bouncy dog came to visit and taught their well mannered dog a bad habit.  He started jumping on and off the furniture and one day, they heard a yelp… and he had injured his patella.

Of course, an ounce of prevention is worth a $3500 cure, the low to median cost of a surgery once a dog is injured. 

We can prevent such tragedies by taking a few precautions that are fairly easy and painless.

• Teach your Habibi Bear puppy to use doggy ramps if you allow them up on furniture. Ranging in cost from $35-$120, these can really save the joints and articulations in your dog from the impact of leaping down from a couch or bed. Relatively speaking, this action is the equivalent of a 5’10” person leaping off of the roof! Ouch!
• Allow your Habibi Bear puppy to be fully grown and mature before their spay or neuter appointment. Those floppy baby puppy joints aren’t completely connected while puppies are under 18 months old. Waiting until they are fully mature can lessen the chance of tears, abnormalities, or injuries from accidents or overuse.
• Make sure to moderate exercise, rough play, running (at full speed crazy Zoomie mode!) as well as really strenuous long walks which could injure their growing bodies. Puppies were made to play for a bit, snooze, wake up and start all over again in small bursts and not prolonged periods of time. Sleeping is an essential part of their day while they are still developing serves as nature’s protection. Balance out play and rest to ensure a Habibi Bear pup in tip-top shape!
• Add a quality supplement to their daily routine. We at the Habibi Bear Central Hub use NuJoint Plus K-9 wafers    Use Code: 517391 to support our Habibi Bear puppies (and moms and dads!) joint health. Packed with beneficial ingredients such as Chondroitin, Glucosamine, and MSM, this pharmaceutical grade supplement supports your pup’s joints and cartilage in a wide variety of ways. NuJoint Plus was developed by a veterinarian and is manufactured in the United States and uses the highest quality ingredients available to keep your pup healthy for years to come. We love how much our pups gobble the wafers down enthusiastically, and some of the more tenacious pups often will try to finagle an extra wafer just for the taste.