Excessive Puppy pastern angle – any way to help? - Page 2

I have a rescue boy who was very bad in this. My vet suggested lots of walking/working in sand. It really did the trick. It strengthened the muscles and made a tremendous difference. When I rescued him at 6 months old, it was painful for me to watch him walk. Now, 8 years later, he is still doing great. It will take several months to build the muscles up.

Molly - thanks for the excellent advice. -Calvin

Calvin, I too see bowed front legs in two photos. One is standing and is cut off so the entire front legs are not visible, and the other is one where she is down. It might be good to retake some photos. If indeed they are not bowed, then fine. But they sure strike me as bowed and I too would be VERY concerned that the dog has ricketts. It is also possible that she is simply too heavy boned at this point as she is relatively heavy boned in my opinion, although a nice looking pup. The pasterns are weak and yes, at this age this is structural and genetic. Just how much improvement can be made remains to be seen. She may tolerate it well, and even excel in sports as long as you don't run her all the time. Try the sand idea. Also, be sure you keep her leaner than normal and minimize extra weight. Keep her off concrete if at all possible and don't worry too much unless you note issues. But I would reconsider the bowing....it does indeed appear she has some bowing and though not extreme, it is abnormal. Good luck.

Hodie, Any chance sh could grow out of it? My wife and I actually put a straight edge on the front legs last night and they were very straight. -Calvin

Calvin, If the leg bones are not now bowed, maybe they never were, or perhaps the vitamin D deficiency has been corrected. I would be very careful none the less with her weight. She is very heavily boned to begin with. With the weak pasterns, which are very clear, you want to minimize stress while hoping to build some muscle strength. Personally, I do not believe pasterns genetically weak as she exhibits will correct themselves despite what you might do. However, that does not necessarily mean it will be an issue. I have a GSD female in my rescue program here whose pasterns are even worse, and she runs with the strongest of the dogs without trouble and is now 12 years old. But she is also kept lean. Good luck. She looks like a nice pup in many respects.

Hodie, The concern is that she was purchased a Schutzhund/sport dog. Not just 3 and out to a pet life rather with the hope that she'd have a working career. That is where the concern comes in. We've got 2 pets right now and my current Schutzhund dog is 5 and although strong for a showline dog is essentially a club level dog. He probably could have been more with a better start or more capable handler (he's my first) but the reality is that once he's done there's not much reason to keep going - hence the working puppy purchase. We'll just have to wait and see how thing go - thanks for the advice. -Calvin

I would give her large raw beef bones to chew on, if you are not already doing that.

Calvin, Believe me, there are many dogs doing just fine in sport and have weak pasterns. So I say go for it. But only you can decide what is best as you see her daily. I bet she will be fine, weak pasterns and all. They are certainly NOT the worst I have ever seen...... Best of luck.

Hodie, Would you mind contecting me via email - I've got something to get your take on related to the subject. My email is my username here @ ureach.com Thanks either way for all of the help - I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. -Calvin

Personally I think that as others have mentioned the pasterns will improve somewhat and that anyway it won¿t be too much of an issue in Schutzhund. I wonder if a supplement with chondrotin and glucosamine might help? I am not sure, but its supposed to help joints and tendons...