Cross Breeds

Does taking a golden retriever puppy on the beach hurt his joints?

We have a golden retriever puppy who is 15 1/2 weeks old. We go to the beach 1 or 2 times a week, but only for 15-20 minutes. That is his only walk for the day. He walks calmly on the soft sand, and then on the hard sand he sometimes runs, but not fast. He doesn't go in the sea. Will doing this hurt his joints? I don't want to hurt him! Thank you! :) Thank you for all of these fantastic answers! Donut (my puppy) says thank you and that he will now go on the beach without worrying!!! Does anybody know when he might like the sea? (he thinks it is chasing him!)

Public Comments

1. It probably just feels weird to him, he gets excited when you go there right? You need to walk your dog more often and elsewhere he will get bored quick.
2. No.. excercise is good for dogs and helps to strengthen muscles and joints. If you want to keep his joints healthy I suggest feeding him a quality food, with an added supplement of glucosamine and chondroitin.
3. It will only do damage if you are forcing him to exercise and not giving him breaks. Pups can free play forever with no damage because they take micro breaks. It's the forced exercise that does the damage to young joints.
4. Water, sand, cement.. makes to diffrence... the dog will be fine!!
5. no he'll be fine but every now and then when the waters not too rough you can take him for a swim, retrievers are athletic dogs and he's still a puppy so he'll love it, and i would recommend walking him more than once a day unless he gets a lot of exercise at home.
6. I think that this is very good for him. I would be more concerned if he ran on pavement. Running in sand really works your muscles. Running on pavement is jolting. I run and I prefer sand over pavement. I have problems with my knees. it seems that the sand is better for me.
7. Oh no....sand is really soft and a golden retrievers are used for hunting as well. I think your puppy is quite safe :)
8. it will actually strengthen his muscles and joints.
9. try this website, i just bought boots for my beagle to protect her feet from cold/snow/ice(i'm a trucker) and they have awesome product, and ronnie the lady that runs the site, is very helpful. http://www.neopaws.com/index2.html my golden loves the beach, he runs, chases seagulls, etc, but the sand makes his feet sore. a lightweight boot can solve that problem.
10. Hi! As a former breeder and owner of many Goldens I can tell you that NO it's not harmful to walk your pup on the beach. The sand is very forgiving under their paws, even the harder sand still gives a bit. Walking on the sand will help develope thir muscles and make walking a fun thing for you to do. He will learn to love the surf in time so don't worry. It is more stressful to walk any big boned dog on pavement or cement. I always walk mine on the grass while I walk on the sidewalk. Now you have to be a good owner and pick up after your dog if he poops. Have a great time with you pup and as he gets older walk a bit longer. Even Golden's need a good long walk! :) What a sweet name for your puppy! It took my golden's to actually want to go into the ocean a bit of time. But what did it for them was a ball being tosed into the waves. I first only threw it a very short way into the water then as they got used to that then a bit further until they were totally comfortable with going in after the ball. Now your little girl needs to grow quite a bit before I would start to do this with her. I would wait unit she is 5 or 6 months old OK. Start to teach her to fetch a ball and really love doing that with you. Golden's are natural water dogs but some do need to be taught to swim so don't think she will swim from the get go.
11. why would it?
12. wow are you seriouse no of course it wont hurt his joints the best thing to do to prevent him from later on having hip and joint problems is by watching his weight, keeping him on a low protein diet , and by actaully excercising . and let him swim! i have a golden my vet says that one of the best things for his joints and hips is swimming