When we adopted my little porkchop, Ranger, he was disgustingly overweight for a pup of 6 months. He could hardly run he was so fat. First thing I did was put him on a diet of non-crapass dog food (dog chow) and put him on a food that is grain free and has glucosamine (same food my old man eats). And we exercised. We made laps of my farm 2 or 3x a day. He looks wayyyyy better. Perfect weight for his size now and he is building muscle too. But he's off in his right front and I know he's probably a little dysplastic as well. Lola was too. Happens when they grow so fast and is worsened when they are allowed to get so fat. Lola was well managed on glucosamine and rarely rarely needed any NSAIDs. And Ranger is a full-blooded lab where as Lola was only part. So that just upped his chances. So the hip dysplasia I can't do much about. But this right front, I can't figure out.
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| fat puppy that could barely gallop |
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| in shape puppy. "look I haz hips!" |
Possible Diagnosis?
My old boss and our puppy class trainer says that he could have Panosteitis. Bascially growing pains in large breed dogs. I haven't put pupcake on a scale but I'm guessing he's around 70-some pounds. He's just a big boy. According to stuff online he should grow out of it. Said it's very painful, though, also and his hitch in his get-a-long doesn't seem to bother him much at all. He's stiff when he gets up in the morning but other than that...... And even if it did hurt him I'm not really comfortable giving an 8 month old puppy painkillers.
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| he always sits funky. after dealing with lola's hips for almost 4 years, I know that's most likely his dysplasia. |
And yes, I will consult my vet. We are going in 2 weeks when I take my old man to the vet for his old man blood work and check up. But until then......
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| Roader, my old man. He doesn't get enough blog time :P |
So my question is! Has anyone else dealt with growing pains in their large breed pups? How did you manage it? Did they grow out of it? If so, when? Or could it be another issue stemming from his months of obesity before being adopted by the crazy dog mom (me).
Thanks!!!
Remember my Shepherd mix puppy Liam? He had the same thing. Very, very ouchy in his limbs as he was growing. The vet put him on Cosequin and it helped him out a lot.
ReplyDeleteHe's on regular old glucosamine for people. But maybe I'll look into Cosequin. Sergio is always saying "look at him! he's lame!" :(
DeleteIt could very well be Pano. One thing to check is the dog food. Sometimes grain free isn't the best until they are a year old (mostly a Mastiff or Dane issue) but the main thing to check is the calcium and phosphorus ratio. It needs to be as close to 1 as possible. Most people get up in arms about large breeds and high protein being bad, but there is a study showing the protein didn't make a difference. It was the cal/phos ratio. An anti-inflammatory may be appropriate for really painful days. Or sometimes they just go so hard and strain something. I would take it easy for at least a week. One of the issues we run into is one day they will be feeling great so they will go out and play and run and make it worse. And as soon as they feel good again, they will go out and hurt it more. A vicious cycle. Maybe an injured growth plate from all of the exercise for an overweight/young fellow.Your vet should be a bit more helpful, but so far he looks great!
ReplyDeleteHe's always been kinda stiff since we got him. But I didn't think anything of it being as he was so fat. I wish it was warm enough to let him swim because that would be the best exercise for him. He is gimpier in the morning and works out of it for the most part.
DeleteI'll check his food. The protein isn't too high. Above average kcals because him and my old dog eat the same food and the old dog needs the calories. As much as I don't want to, I think I am going to have to buy 2 different foods for two different dogs. My old dog is having some issues due to his age (11) and then I have a puppy who will get fat just smelling food who also has joint issues.
I have a trusted confidant at my local feed store. She's the one that helped me pick out the grain for my horse and they only sell high quality holistic and grain free dog food. I'm going to ask her too.
i don't have anything in the way of experience or advice - just wanted to wish you good luck! your pups are very cute!
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