When the dog jumps – these are the effects on the forehand

Whether in the forest over tree trunks or sometimes over smaller ditches and obstacles – almost every dog owner has let his dog jump. Regular jumps are also part of dog sports. But did you know that jumps have an extremely large impact on the dog’s forequarters when landing? Dog jumps

But how strong is the load really? Dog jumps

Roughly it can be said that all structures of the forehand, such as the joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc. are loaded with 2.5 to 5 times the body weight when landing after a jump (source: Meermann/Gräff – Sport physiotherapy for dogs). That’s quite a lot. Using the example of a dog weighing about 20 kg, this means that up to 100 kg act on the front legs. v

These factors influence how strong the load is during landing after the jump

There are several factors that influence the load on the forehand during a jump. This is, firstly, the speed at which the dog is traveling when it jumps. But the height of the obstacle also plays a role. Furthermore, it has a great influence on how the dog lands after the jump. After a straight jump, the front legs come up one after the other and the dog continues to move forward fluidly. If the dog jumps crooked or in a turn, the dog lands with both front legs almost simultaneously. There is intense compression in the joints. A particularly heavy load, which at the same time carries a high risk of injury.

Is a dog not allowed to jump?

With joint conditions such as elbow dysplasia or OCD of the shoulder, jumps should be avoided at all costs – no question about it. When a healthy dog plays and runs, it is sometimes hard to avoid jumping. In the game, however, he is usually warmed up. Dog jumps

I would rather not provoke the healthy dog to jump just for fun. Muscles, joints and ligaments are cold and not prepared for the load. He can quickly pull a muscle or sprain. If it is “daily business” for dogs to simply be asked to jump now and then, this can even promote the early development of joint diseases such as osteoarthritis. Something that only becomes apparent later,

Keyword Warm Up

To pick up on the warm-up again here, I would definitely urge you to only let your dog jump in dog sports after the warm-up. Completely cold “off the cuff,” jumps are poison to the joints and an awkward stress that you can easily avoid. Dog jumps