This is a placeholder text
Group text

by Niesia on 22 May 2012 - 06:05

I would like to add my 'few cents'.

The dog may not have the best conformation ever, BUT, right nutrition in the first few months of life is extremely important. He is probably much more underweight than he looks... This is a long hair pup and all that hair masks his real state.

I don't know how much you should feed with kibble, but my pups at this age still ate 3 meals at approx. 1,5lb each of RAW a day... I like my puppies 'plump' till they are about 8 months of age. Then I reduce their food so I can see some ribs...

We all wish that the puppies we buy were perfect no matter what we do to them. Some dogs have iron stomachs - can eat sticks and grow up perfectly, others will wilt and die. Some pups fed perfectly will never grow up right while others will flourish....

I have seen many kibble fed puppies going thru the 'horrible' growth stage (4-6 months) where they look like something is terribly wrong with them.

I hope that this case is not so bad that simple change of food, its amount and quality won't help the pup to grow out of it quickly. Puppy also should have a crate big enough to be able to stand and turn around in it - especially if he spends a lot of time locked up. Weak muscles, joints and pasterns are often caused by lack of exercise and hours spent in the crate.

Good food, plenty of it, lots of 'play' exercise on a grass and you should see a big difference in a month or two. All the best.

by Nellie on 22 May 2012 - 08:05

They pup is way over angulated, 19yrs ago i had a pup like this at the same time he was a very poor eater, I am curious to know if the pup bunny hops when running,
The best thing for him is swimming and then being allowed free running, no throwing balls excetra which causes sudden bursts on his joints, if ligaments are loose the hip joint will not stay seated and will cause damage to the ball and socket, . Feed him well , the only food that did work for my angulated dog was RAW, and free exercise with swimming, stop having him pull weights he is too young for this type of training. Hope the hips come back good, my boys hips were horrid, but he was one of the best dog's i have ever owned at jumping, and after the initial growing phases he never had problems again......Please note i only changed his food to RAW after he was a yr old and had developed, You boy is going to be a stunner when he matures

by Blitzen on 23 May 2012 - 12:05

This puppy is clearly sickle-hocked as the result of having too much rear angulation. Very common in ASL's, getting to be more common in GSL's since SV judges are rewarding over-angulated dogs. He may improve a bit, but IMO he will always be a "hock walker" and compensate for his inability to straighten his hock joint by roaching his backline. It's not a fatal condition, but will probably prevent him from doing well in a performance venue. It has zip to do with his diet, exercise, etc. It's in the genes, baby.

AKC people see it all the time in many breeds and have coined the term "sickle-hocked" to describe a dog with hocks that are shaped like sickles rather than being perpendicular to the ground when the dog stands naturally. Some dogs are worse than others. Every dog anatomy/movement book I've ever read show examples of sickle hocks and how they effect a dog's movement and performance.

http://www.google.com/search?q=sickle+hocks+in+dogs&hl=en&sa=N&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=5tO8T_-WN9LzggfGhrG5Dw&ved=0CG4QsAQ&biw=1093&bih=531

BTW this dog does not have "downed pasterns". His pasterns are weak, that happens with many GSD puppies. Most times that improves with maturity; housing a dog with weak pasterns on a floor of pea gravel or walking it in sand may help. Downed pastern are a way different issue.

by Blitzen on 23 May 2012 - 13:05

The brother pictured here is slightly sickle-hocked assuming he is standing with his hocks open as far as possible.