10/08/2026
🐶 PUPPY GROWTH PLATES - WHY THEY MATTER MORE THAN YOU MIGHT THINK
Puppies are not simply smaller versions of adult dogs.
Underneath all that puppy energy is a developing skeleton that is still growing, changing and maturing.
And one particularly important part of that development is the growth plates.
🦴 WHAT ARE GROWTH PLATES?
⭐️ Growth plates - technically called physes - are areas of developing cartilage located near the ends of many of a puppy’s long bones.
This is where much of the lengthening of the bones occurs as your puppy grows.
⭐️ As skeletal maturity approaches, these growth plates gradually close and are replaced by mature bone.
Until then, they are structurally different from the surrounding mature bone.
⭐️ That matters because injuries involving a growth plate can potentially interfere with normal bone development.
⚠️ WHEN DO GROWTH PLATES CLOSE?
There isn’t one universal age.
⭐️ Different bones mature at different times, and breed, genetics, s*x and expected adult size all influence skeletal development.
As a broad guide:
🐾 Small breeds often reach skeletal maturity earlier - approximately 6-12 months.
🐾 Medium breeds may continue developing until approximately 12 months.
🐾 Large breeds commonly continue skeletal development until around 12-18 months.
🐾 Giant breeds can continue maturing until approximately 18-24 months, sometimes longer in aspects of musculoskeletal development.
So the statement:
“He’s a year old, so his growth plates are closed.”
…isn’t necessarily true.
Even within the same dog, different growth plates close at different ages.
🦴 WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
A growing puppy absolutely NEEDS exercise.
Movement helps develop:
✔️ muscles
✔️ tendons and ligaments
✔️ coordination
✔️ balance
✔️ proprioception
✔️ cardiovascular fitness
✔️ confidence
✔️ healthy body composition
So protecting growth plates does not mean wrapping puppies in cotton wool.
The important distinction is between appropriate self-directed movement and excessive, repetitive or highly forced exercise.
🌿 LET PUPPIES MOVE LIKE PUPPIES
Free exploration on appropriate surfaces is very different from making a puppy repeatedly perform an activity because we want them to keep going.
Think:
✅Sniffing.
✅Walking.
✅Trotting.
✅Playing.
✅Exploring different safe surfaces.
✅Changing direction.
✅Stopping.
✅Resting.
✅Moving again.
A puppy regulating its own movement has opportunities to change pace and stop.
Compare that with repetitive activities such as prolonged forced running, repeatedly chasing a ball, running alongside a bike, repetitive high-impact jumping or extensive repetitive stair work.
The puppy may enthusiastically participate - but enthusiasm doesn’t mean their developing body is ready for unlimited repetitions.
🎾 BALL CHASING DESERVES PARTICULAR ATTENTION
Repeated ball throwing can involve:
➡️ rapid acceleration
➡️ sudden braking
➡️ sharp turns
➡️ twisting
➡️ jumping
➡️ repetitive loading of the same structures
And because chasing can be extremely exciting, some puppies will continue long after sensible physical limits would otherwise tell them to slow down.
One throw isn’t the issue.
Repetition and intensity are.
🐕 WHAT ABOUT WALKS?
You may have heard the old:
“Five minutes of walking per month of age.”
There isn’t good scientific evidence establishing this as a universal rule. But - it may be a sensible guide to work around.
A 20-minute slow, sniffy exploration is not physically equivalent to 20 minutes of running, jumping or repetitive fetch.
Instead of obsessing over a stopwatch, consider:
Intensity + duration + frequency + terrain + repetition + individual puppy.
A growing Great Dane and a growing Chihuahua are not developing on identical timelines.
🧠 AND DON’T FORGET THE BRAIN
🤨 Puppies don’t need to be physically exhausted to have their needs met.
➡️ Sniffing, exploring, chewing, licking, problem solving, training, enrichment and appropriate social experiences can provide enormous amounts of stimulation without requiring repetitive high-impact exercise.
⚠️ And puppies need a LOT of sleep.
Often the answer to a puppy becoming increasingly wild, bitey and unable to settle isn’t:
“He needs more exercise.”
Sometimes it’s:
“He needs to sleep.”
🚩 WATCH THE PUPPY IN FRONT OF YOU
After activity, pay attention to things such as:
stiffness
limping
reluctance to move
altered gait
difficulty getting comfortable
reluctance to use stairs or jump
suddenly sitting or lying down
lagging behind
changes in willingness to play
sensitivity when touched
Persistent or recurrent changes deserve veterinary assessment.
❤️ THE GOAL ISN’T TO STOP PUPPIES FROM USING THEIR BODIES.
It’s to help those bodies develop well.
Give them opportunities to run.
Let them play.
Let them sniff.
Let them explore.
Build strength, coordination and confidence through varied, age-appropriate movement.
But be cautious about forced, repetitive and unnecessarily high-impact exercise while the skeleton is still developing.
Your puppy has their whole adult life ahead of them.
There is absolutely no rush.
Build the body first. Then ask more of it. 🐾
