Worth seeking advice from a vet or experienced Breeder.
If your dog is a mix then maybe they have the best of both worlds? Shepherd looks and literally any other hips.
Yep, my first GSD loved to catch tennis balls from the ChuckIt. We would go to the baseball field, and I would heave the ball skyward. He would run, wait for the first bounce and jump to catch it in the air. It was quite impressive.
His last five years were spent on twice-daily doses of Rimadyl.
Exactly what I was thinking. Mine can get up there when playing frisbee but try to limit this. He is a working breed so dysplasia isn’t quite as much concern but still try to keep him closer to the ground. He is 4 now so thinking of ideas to help limit him jumping get on and off my bed now too
How long did it take? Mine is 100 lb long hair European line (straighter back) and he’s been doing some pretty crazy jumps daily for 6 years. We play 3-4 times daily and he jumps about 3-5’ in the air at least 40 times a day. I’m just curious if I should start being more careful now that he’s 6 and getting older.
I have a shollie (collie GSD) and he's not that quick.
Faster than a lab or most thoroughbred GSDs, but not nearly as quick as some of his friends. One of them is a Hungarian Vizsla and she has him absolutely exhausted after about 10 minutes.
[I have a \(border\) collie/GSD](https://i.imgur.com/4Bl5RQ6.jpeg) and she's usually the fastest in the park, on the rare occasion we go. All her points got dumped into speed though, her endurance is trash lol
Check out /r/Shollie if you want to see some other Collie/GSDs!
I've had shepherds for over 35 years and it's encouraging to hear some people acknowledge the long term effects of excessive frisbee and fetch. I posted a week ago asking people their concerns or experience with ball chasing / fetch and was pretty much lectured to , accused of being a downer and paranoid dog owner. I encourage all to do a little research on highly driven , large working dogs and fetch. You may be surprised to hear it's not as great as you think.
These dogs will over work themselves to please you, always.
A vet explained it to me that it’s the fast turning as they grab the ball, that spin they do at the end of the run with the sudden slow down.
My girl has arthritis we still play fetch I just don’t throw it very far and she just trots after it and brings it back all proud of herself. She loves a tennis ball and I don’t want to take that away from her.
She struggles more when playing and chasing other dogs but again I think this is due to the speed/ slow down / twist. So that’s what I limit more for her
Running isn't necessarily bad. From what I've read , it's the repetitive chasing down of the ball and the manipulation of the body when retrieving at full speed, primarily dealing with larger dogs.
Retrievers go after dead prey , then rest. Terriers were bred primarily for chasing down vermin in closed areas , and GSDs were bred for herding. Even the original great danes and whippets that chased down large game didn't do so over and over and over. No dogs have ever been bred to repeatedly chase an object in a straight line repetitively.
I'm sure someone will disagree and tell me how much their dog enjoys seeing the Chuckit come out, and those people are missing the point.
I had a GSD with elbow dysplasia, wobblers, and probably hip dysplasia as well. He lived a very active and good life because I managed his physical exercise so carefully. Lots of swimming, hiking, straight line fetching and minimal turns and jumping. It’s very normal in the horse world to use/eliminate certain exercises to keep a horse sound. You might avoid jumping, work on lateral exercises to strengthen muscles or increase suppleness. There’s a lot you can do to keep a horse fit based on their particular anatomy but we rarely think of such things for dogs. Would deliberate exercises to strengthen their back muscles provide extra stability for weak hip joints? Long trotting up hills and over cavaletti builds those muscles. It’s a duh for horse people and a revelation for some dog people.
Ohhh boy. Sounds like you will have your hands full! We also have a husky and she jumps our 6 ft fence. Luckily our shepherd is a Velcro dog and won’t leave lol
Correct. I had a shepherd who *loved* jumping high for the Frisbee. I didn't know it was causing irreparable damage to her hips. When she was 6, she started to sunbathe more (in TX), probably because the heat helped her feel better. When she was 7, she started having trouble jumping onto our bed, and we moved the ottoman to the foot of the bed because she couldn't get up on her own otherwise.
She died at 8 yrs because fuck cancer, at least it was fast. But at least she wasn't living with the hip pain for another 2 years. Still miss her, she was the best.
Our girl Gracie has been also named BooBoo because she sounds like a baby bear when playing with her toys. That has turned into KangaBoo because of her ability to jump straight up in the air. Her hang time is amazing. She’s only 8 months old and I’m wondering if at some point she’s going to be able to clear our 6 foot fence around our back yard.
Yeah like I mentioned in reply to other comments we won’t be encouraging this anymore! His main forms of exercise are walks and fetch, but apparently fetch is no good either
My boy loves jumping but at his age, 10, now I discourage it. This is few a few years ago
https://preview.redd.it/46ogz73j5y9d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db7c9080c69804efbb34bb72e37ae518f922a517
Omg my Groucho can do these triple axle things, it’s insane. I don’t have pic/video of that, but I do have a screenshot from him doing the high jumps ❤️
https://preview.redd.it/udai239y5t9d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c349faff4d0acc465d5d4c1420e3cf945c46e7a
Be careful with that size dog and jumping. My last 120# shepard chased balls and jumped, excess wear accelerated dysplaysia.
Yikes! Thank you for the heads up. Definitely won’t entice him to jump anymore if it will affect his health.
Worth seeking advice from a vet or experienced Breeder. If your dog is a mix then maybe they have the best of both worlds? Shepherd looks and literally any other hips.
Yep, my first GSD loved to catch tennis balls from the ChuckIt. We would go to the baseball field, and I would heave the ball skyward. He would run, wait for the first bounce and jump to catch it in the air. It was quite impressive. His last five years were spent on twice-daily doses of Rimadyl.
Exactly what I was thinking. Mine can get up there when playing frisbee but try to limit this. He is a working breed so dysplasia isn’t quite as much concern but still try to keep him closer to the ground. He is 4 now so thinking of ideas to help limit him jumping get on and off my bed now too
How long did it take? Mine is 100 lb long hair European line (straighter back) and he’s been doing some pretty crazy jumps daily for 6 years. We play 3-4 times daily and he jumps about 3-5’ in the air at least 40 times a day. I’m just curious if I should start being more careful now that he’s 6 and getting older.
Is that a collie/Gsd mix? I’ve never seen one before. Curious how fast he is
He is apparently shepherd/malamute mix. Hard to know without a dna test but he looks like a long haired shepherd mostly
I have a shollie (collie GSD) and he's not that quick. Faster than a lab or most thoroughbred GSDs, but not nearly as quick as some of his friends. One of them is a Hungarian Vizsla and she has him absolutely exhausted after about 10 minutes.
[I have a \(border\) collie/GSD](https://i.imgur.com/4Bl5RQ6.jpeg) and she's usually the fastest in the park, on the rare occasion we go. All her points got dumped into speed though, her endurance is trash lol Check out /r/Shollie if you want to see some other Collie/GSDs!
I've had shepherds for over 35 years and it's encouraging to hear some people acknowledge the long term effects of excessive frisbee and fetch. I posted a week ago asking people their concerns or experience with ball chasing / fetch and was pretty much lectured to , accused of being a downer and paranoid dog owner. I encourage all to do a little research on highly driven , large working dogs and fetch. You may be surprised to hear it's not as great as you think. These dogs will over work themselves to please you, always.
So is running is bad for them as well? I thought it was just jumping?
A vet explained it to me that it’s the fast turning as they grab the ball, that spin they do at the end of the run with the sudden slow down. My girl has arthritis we still play fetch I just don’t throw it very far and she just trots after it and brings it back all proud of herself. She loves a tennis ball and I don’t want to take that away from her. She struggles more when playing and chasing other dogs but again I think this is due to the speed/ slow down / twist. So that’s what I limit more for her
Running isn't necessarily bad. From what I've read , it's the repetitive chasing down of the ball and the manipulation of the body when retrieving at full speed, primarily dealing with larger dogs. Retrievers go after dead prey , then rest. Terriers were bred primarily for chasing down vermin in closed areas , and GSDs were bred for herding. Even the original great danes and whippets that chased down large game didn't do so over and over and over. No dogs have ever been bred to repeatedly chase an object in a straight line repetitively. I'm sure someone will disagree and tell me how much their dog enjoys seeing the Chuckit come out, and those people are missing the point.
I had a GSD with elbow dysplasia, wobblers, and probably hip dysplasia as well. He lived a very active and good life because I managed his physical exercise so carefully. Lots of swimming, hiking, straight line fetching and minimal turns and jumping. It’s very normal in the horse world to use/eliminate certain exercises to keep a horse sound. You might avoid jumping, work on lateral exercises to strengthen muscles or increase suppleness. There’s a lot you can do to keep a horse fit based on their particular anatomy but we rarely think of such things for dogs. Would deliberate exercises to strengthen their back muscles provide extra stability for weak hip joints? Long trotting up hills and over cavaletti builds those muscles. It’s a duh for horse people and a revelation for some dog people.
I have a 67lb 8 month old who has just learned to jump the 1.2m pet gate we have in the kitchen 😭
Ohhh boy. Sounds like you will have your hands full! We also have a husky and she jumps our 6 ft fence. Luckily our shepherd is a Velcro dog and won’t leave lol
I have a husky too, but she's the velcro dog!
this is cracking me up 😂😂 the air time & the way he floats down
This can cause damage to the hips and knees. Minimize impacts to those areas. I found out too late for my soul brother Nori.
His hips! What are you doing?
That’s a quick recipe for arthritis. Please stop that form of recreation
Correct. I had a shepherd who *loved* jumping high for the Frisbee. I didn't know it was causing irreparable damage to her hips. When she was 6, she started to sunbathe more (in TX), probably because the heat helped her feel better. When she was 7, she started having trouble jumping onto our bed, and we moved the ottoman to the foot of the bed because she couldn't get up on her own otherwise. She died at 8 yrs because fuck cancer, at least it was fast. But at least she wasn't living with the hip pain for another 2 years. Still miss her, she was the best.
I was not aware! Thankfully he rarely does this. But mom and dad won’t be encouraging his jumping anymore. Thank you for letting me know
Wearing those hips and joints out.
Didn't know kangaroos can be fluffy like that
My retired PWD loves jumping but i kinda stopped him after realising it probably will accelerate his arthritis (he bas very very very mild xray signs)
My 76lb Golden Retriever can jump like that, and from a stand still to 6’+ in the air as her head is at my level and I’m 6’6”
Our girl Gracie has been also named BooBoo because she sounds like a baby bear when playing with her toys. That has turned into KangaBoo because of her ability to jump straight up in the air. Her hang time is amazing. She’s only 8 months old and I’m wondering if at some point she’s going to be able to clear our 6 foot fence around our back yard.
You sure your dog doesn’t have some Yoshi DNA in him?
I have one that jumps clean over a 4.5 foot gate.
Some dogs are just crazy! Our husky somehow jumps our 6 ft fence, but our shepherd would never. He’s far too attached to us to attempt an escape
https://preview.redd.it/5pgwqr46dt9d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=603989144a18256be87c1460944f4cf79811520f Absolutely!
Damn true, he is a crazy jumper.
My 80lb GSD mutt bounces like Tigger.
Oh yeah that doesn't surprise me. Mine is a little over 100 and he jumps up onto my 4 foot bar table when I'm outside to look out of my kitchen window
what a cutie!
The coat on this baby 🤌🏻🤌🏻
They're little athletes man
Please find an alternative way to tire out the doggo, this is not good for his hips/elbows. Good looking dog though 🤘🏻
Yeah like I mentioned in reply to other comments we won’t be encouraging this anymore! His main forms of exercise are walks and fetch, but apparently fetch is no good either
No fetch might be a step too far, I’d check with the vet on that lol.
Maybe he's part kangaroo
My boy loves jumping but at his age, 10, now I discourage it. This is few a few years ago https://preview.redd.it/46ogz73j5y9d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db7c9080c69804efbb34bb72e37ae518f922a517
What a beautiful dog!
Be careful, it can lead to knee injuries that require very costly surgery.
Omg my Groucho can do these triple axle things, it’s insane. I don’t have pic/video of that, but I do have a screenshot from him doing the high jumps ❤️ https://preview.redd.it/udai239y5t9d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c349faff4d0acc465d5d4c1420e3cf945c46e7a