Will this effect him?

I wasnt sure where to put this so I just put it here. I came to you guys with this question because I figured a pit bull forum would know more about a working dogs anatomy than a bully forum.

I have a 9month old male American Bully and I am really looking into starting him in weight pull to add some muscle to him. So far ive started getting him used to the harness and pulling things behind him(I tied a milk carton to the harness) and he seems to love it. Now ive read here and there that straight stifles can cause some problems and my boy has very straight stifles(I hate it). He has great drive and determination but I dont know if pulling will have the same effect on him as it would on a dog with good stifles. So do you think I should keep training him? Or should I try a different method of exercise?

Here are some pictures of my boy:
<a href="http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/?action=view&amp;current=C360_2012-07-11-16-28-47-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/C360_2012-07-11-16-28-47-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/?action=view&amp;current=C360_2012-07-11-16-28-38-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/C360_2012-07-11-16-28-38-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/?action=view&amp;current=C360_2012-07-11-16-27-52-2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/C360_2012-07-11-16-27-52-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/?action=view&amp;current=C360_2012-07-11-16-27-40-2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/C360_2012-07-11-16-27-40-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/?action=view&amp;current=C360_2012-07-11-16-18-27-2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/C360_2012-07-11-16-18-27-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

dont look like nothin is wrong with that dogs stifles hes kickin em back straight like that cause hes posing

 

That picture I had to physically bend his leg. His legs are very straight. It might be more of his rear angulation but I know his back legs are not normal.

 

I think you'll be fine.

 

hand walk em and do what ur doin ,dont let him get overheated thats all id worry about,at least ur spending sometime excercising and enjoyin ur dog .

 

Here's an idea- Just enjoy him and let him be a pup for another 12 months. What's the big rush?

 

Thank you for the tips Damion. He does pretty well in the heat. I dont have any problems with him, we go on long jogs every day.
StosMan, im not rushing into anything. I am enjoying him and he is being a puppy. He loves playing fetch and everything and now ive just added putting the harness on while playing the games he loves. I havent even though about adding any weight any time soon. I want him to mature first. I was just trying to get all my facts straight before starting anything. I dont want him to get injured because I didnt do my research. Is there anything wrong with being a concerned pet owner?

 

Dusteeh,
in your first post you stated "I have a 9month old male American Bully and I am really looking into starting him in weight pull to add some muscle to him." as well as "So do you think I should keep training him? Or should I try a different method of exercise?"

My suggestion was to allow him to be a pup. Why are you concerned with him building muscle at 9 months through resistance training? You can't have it both ways, by now writing you're a "concerned pet owner" when you're the one that is trying to build muscle in a hurry. Again, what is the rush? He will build muscle- but Hell- he's not even a year old, cut the little guy some slack. Patience is a virtue, let him develop with typical exercise and the muscle will build by its self at this age. Too many dogs get messed up because we humans are impatient.

 

I didnt mean right away though, I meant in the future. Sorry for the confusion. I am not trying to build muscle in a rush I was really just wondering if he was at higher risk of injury because of his back legs. I should have worded my post different. Thank you for the suggestion though. I will definitely follow your suggestion. I want to make sure he has as much fun as possible and I dont want my impatience to ruin things for him.

 

nah, sounds like you're off to a decent start: getting him used to the 'feel' of the harness and pulling light objects around. nothing wrong with that. praise him often, so as to build his confidence. he's young, so your 'work-out' sessions should not be too long. as mentioned watch him in the heat. bullies get heated easier than the APBTs do. just keep it short and sweet with lots of positive praise.
good luck!

 

IMO, the only way to increase a pups routine would be adding different games for him/her- never weight. Don`t forget mind games, and find a nice big hill to play on occasionally to really tucker him out. As long as your pup is doing what it likes to do, you wont see his stifles past his smile.

 

Thank you for the tips guys(: Yall are helping out a lot. I took him on a 1/2 mile walk today with a 5lb chain attached to the harness. I tried to make it as fun as possible and I made sure to praise him often and he seemed to enjoy it. Im just going to stick with the 5lbs until he matures a bit more. Here are some pics:
<a href="http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/?action=view&amp;current=C360_2012-07-16-14-12-22.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/C360_2012-07-16-14-12-22.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/?action=view&amp;current=C360_2012-07-16-14-12-36.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/C360_2012-07-16-14-12-36.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/?action=view&amp;current=C360_2012-07-16-14-12-41.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/C360_2012-07-16-14-12-41.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/?action=view&amp;current=C360_2012-07-16-14-12-55.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/C360_2012-07-16-14-12-55.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/?action=view&amp;current=C360_2012-07-16-14-13-29.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Dest56/C360_2012-07-16-14-13-29.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


Please let me know if I am doing anything wrong. I did a lot of research and just about everything I read said to let them drag around small weights to get the feel of it, I just wasnt sure how small to go so I went with 5lbs.

 

Five pounds is fine. The idea at this point is to make it fun, build his confidence. If you are going to compete with him always make sure that he starts and stops only when he is told to.

 

Im teaching him the stay command and he already has the pull command pretty much learned so I think we are going to be good there(: Though I dont plan on competing with him.

 

I started a blog to keep track of his progress,
theobidiaries.tumblr.com

If anyone wants to see how he grows and how we do with weight pulling your more than welcome to check it out(:

 

First of all if you want to put serious work on him wait until he´s fully grown.
You can let him pull little weight just to get him used to.
Before you start him in serious training or competition please do a vet check on him!
You should check for Hips, Ellbows, Patella and Cardio that´s the most important!
If your vet will give you the ok there´s no reason why you shouldn´t compete at weight pulling!

 

I will be getting him checked out as soon as I can. He wont be doing anything serious until I do get him checked by a vet. I dont plan on working to hard for a good while.

Thank you for the advice though doginhold(:

 

You´re welcome dusteeh!