Vets offer stark warning on why you should never let your dog jump out of the car & the heartbreaking damage it can do
LETTING your pooch jump out of your car’s boot could seriously damage their legs, vets have warned.
A new study has found that dogs jumping down from a large 4x4 vehicle puts four times the force on their legs of a normal step.
The wear and tear this causes on their joints could put them at risk of issues like arthritis.
Medically known as osteoarthritis, it’s a very common condition affecting one in five dogs that causes stiff, painful, swollen joints.
The new Vet Record study measured the impact of jumping from boot height on 15 dogs.
And the boffins concluded that is isn’t a good idea for our four-legged friends.
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“Some people have very large vehicles and you often see them letting their dogs jump out of the boot,” Dr Alison Wills from Hartpury University Centre in Gloucester said.
“Dogs develop degenerative joint disease for a multitude of reasons over a lifetime.
“But there is a concern that dogs jumping repeatedly from car boots may be at increased risk of developing this type of condition.
“We would suggest that people consider using ramps stretching from their car to the ground for all dogs, instead of just for those with existing joint problems.”
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It is common for pooches to jump out of boots when they’ve been driven somewhere, usually for a walk in town or city green spaces.
Leading to arthritis, the jumps could cause musculoskeletal problems like elbow or hip dysplasia.
The study recruited breeds like collies, retrievers and Belgian shepherds to unearth the damage that boot jumping could be doing.
Researchers set up platforms set to heights of 1.8 feet, 2.1 feet and 2.5 feet to mimic boots - but warned some luxury cars have boots which are even higher.
The dogs jumped onto a force plate which recorded the impact on their fore-legs.
The force for the largest jump was four times the impact of normal walking for a dog.
“Owners need to be aware of anything that might inadvertently cause injury and should take their animals for regular veterinary health checks,” Gudrun Ravetz, senior vice president of the British Veterinary Association, said.