when do boxer stop growing height and weight?

[dayday]

i was just wondering if anyone have an idea when boxers stop growing? like a typical or general time period. My female boxer is 11 months now and shes 19inches in height from shoulder and 50lbs. even though shes 50lbs she looks like shes 40...its weird because she has a small head and her body is not meaty but lean but she weighs 50. so what i am wondering is how long she has before she stops growing???? maybe ill post some new pictures so i can get some opinion base on her size now.


-another question ihave is it possible to stun my dogs growth with running in morning and aftertoon 30min walk with 20 min fetch time. ???

 

[Dempseysmama]

Boxers grow tall until about 18 months and fill out until about 3 years old (very slowly).

Playing fetch and short walks are fine, but until 18 months any forced excersise (jogging, bike riding, agility, long walks) should be avoided. Not because of stunted growth but because you can end up with long term damage to the delicate growth plates.

 

[dayday]

thanks for info. what do u mean by forced? so should i avoid long walks and running ? or could i still continue ot do it?

 

[gmacleod]

"Forced" exercise is the sort of thing - like walking on a leash - where the dog is likely to try to keep up with you (or outpace you!) without taking the sorts of frequent short breaks and pauses that they would if they were running offleash. It doesn't seem dangerous and it's much easier to see why things like jumping, weaving, or running beside you on a bike would do damage to still-soft joints - but continuous pounding can be problematic also.

A rough rule of thumb for how long a puppy can walk on leash is 5 minutes for every month of age, from 2 months onward (5 min for a 2 month old, 10 min for a 3 month old, etc). So that would be around about 50 minutes for your 11 month old pup (which is long enough for a pretty decent walk).

And of course, that doesn't apply to times that the dog is offleash. When there's nothing for them to try to outpace and they're able to run ahead, pause a bit, then bounce off again - there's no problem. That's not continuous pounding. Same goes for running freely at the dog park or playing with other dogs - they'll take lots of little pauses in that situation, so no need to limit their fun

 

[char-andrew]

It may be a bit soon but to expand on this question a bit more...

We run and moutain bike and would love for our boxer to join us. Our 8 year old Border Collie cross has been mountain biking with my husband for years. Our boxer Hugo is 16 months old now and full of energy. We know that he would enjoy biking with us too. He loves his runs through the wooded trails. We were wondering when he's ready, what is a reasonable distance and pace to expect from him while we are mountain biking? We have computers on our bicycles so we know how fast we are riding and how far we have gone in a certain amount of time. Just like us, we would ease him into it, with short, slow rides but as we increase the distance and possibly the speed as time goes by we would like to know what the limit should be. We know not to expect Hugo to go as far or as fast as the Border Collie cross but as far as boxers go we think he might be suited to some running. He's fast, has a small, lean, muscular build right now - 63 pounds, tiny waist, lots of muscle definition - especially in the back end. We don't want to hurt him, we just want to find some fun ways for the family to get outside and an outlet for all of Hugo's crazy energy. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[gmacleod]

Well, at 16 months, he's not far from the point of skeletal maturity that would enable him to go with you

Obviously, you've got to work up to any distance gradually, and pay attention to temperature with a boxer (they, like other brachycephalic breeds cannot regulate temperate well, so can't go running in heat). But beyond those bits of common sense (that I'm sure you knew already), then there's no reason why he can't go biking with you.

As for how far.. well, boxers are built more for endurance than speed. They should be able to jog a good 20km without issue (subject to the above provisos, of course). Not sure how fast the mountain biking you're talking about is - but if it's at a pace that generally allows him just to jog to keep up, then I don't think you'd have a lot of trouble. Do watch the heat though - it's amazing the toll it can take on these guys.

 

[char-andrew]

Thank you! That is great news. We've been preparing him for the day in hopes that he can come riding by practicing in small areas. He gets very excited when the bikes come out - loves it. He's learned to trot either beside or behind the bike and not to bite at the tires. We never exercise him in the heat for that very reason. Hot days we get out his swimming pool and he happily amuses himself retrieving toys from the bottom.

 

[LANDANO77]

walking

my pup will be 4 months this month does that mean he can go for a good walkk for 20 minutes..not a fast walok but a nice pace.. He is in a crate from 8 to 12 then from 1 to 3 then he is out for the rest of the evening until bed time around 9pm.. and then he is out at 5 am until8 and then the cycle repeats it self.. I am also worried about doing damage to his joints..

 

[gmacleod]

No, not 20 minutes. More like 15 should be the limit. 5 min for every month of age from 2 months is a good rule of thumb. So a 2 month old is good for a 5 min stroll, 10 min by 3 months, 15 by 4 months, and so on. And if the pup will take lots of minute breaks to sniff or investigate stuff, all the better. If he really will stop often to smell the roses, or you're not above picking him up and carrying him once in a while, then you can probably go further.

But also bear in mind that that's continuous pounding time - the on-leash part of a walk. There's nothing to stop you letting him run and play off-leash to his hearts content at the dog park, or in your back yard if you've got one. That's really how his exercise needs should be met. The leash walking at this age is really just for socialisation purposes and for teaching him how to walk on leash correctly (ie. beside you without pulling). And this stage is a very good opportunity for that teaching, then when you get to the point that you're taking him for walks for actual exercise, he'll be well enough behaved for it to be a pleasure for both of you