OPINIONS ON GROWTH OF A PUPPY - Page 1

I am starting this thread to get the general idea of what you Guys think regards the rearing of a 8 week old Pup with a view of it having good quality Hips and Elbows as it reaches adulthood
So we know Hereditary plays a big part, what the die casts at conception is very much it,
But can we help or aggravate the growth of Bone structure in over developing it or under developing it once the Puppy is in our home meaning can we turn really good hips at that young age into bad hips. By the way we feed it , what exercise we give it, and by what else we give it regards supplements etc
For myself in my life with dogs i have only had 8-9 week old Pups to bring on no older dogs but these were of many breeds
What is your thoughts on the above, I think we could get some interesting answers, I hope it remains light hearted but it may also help someone who may have a young Puppy and is not treating it correctly , by that they mean well by how they are going on but not in the correct way, if so then it will be worth debating on it
Steve1

Well, I certainly stay away from any long period of running, especially on hard surfaces such as pavement. No jumping or climbing. I usually lift them in and out of my car, or at least support their weight until they are mature. Correct weight plays an important roll as well.

Only after my dogs ahve been xrayed at 12 months of age do I allow them engage in more rigorous activity.

A correct and well balanced diet and weight for the puppy is important.  Light exercises with minimum impact on hard surfaces.  Climbing stairs is a no-no as well as walking or running on slippery surfaces.

Steve,
I'm glad you brought this topic up.  Since my puppy was just diagnosed w/moderate dysplasia I've been wondering if there was something I did wrong.  I tried really hard to do everything right to the best of my knowledge, but was there something else I could have done or something I should not have done.  I gave her large breed good quality puppy food until she was eight months old, then put her on Taste of the Wild (bison) until she was 15 months old, then put her on Orijen adult.  She has always got fish oil not much else for supplements.  Occasionally she got yogurt, pumpkin, cottage cheese, raw egg, or table scraps.  I did no hard exercises with her until after one year old, no jumping nothing just walks.  I always keep her slim, even now she is slim.  She did a lot of running around in the yard with the kids and other dogs, but that is on grass.  I was told to give my next puppy a lot of milk and cottage cheese for more calcium.  Should you give a puppy more calcium, I always thought keep it low?

QUOTE Yogi Bear:  If we have a puppy and we don't feed high protein and they grow at a slower pace than they would by feeding them a higher protein food - I think there is less stress on those hips and elbows. Not to say that this is the answer to keeping your puppy from springing up like a weed.

It is my understanding high protein levels in a diet do not affect bone development.  Do you have information/research to support this statement?  If so, can you please post it?

http://www.breedsmartpartners.com/bronline/en_US/jsp/BO_Page.jsp?pageID=RLDP&articleID=60
In the past, some diets were said to be “too hot” (ie, contained high levels of dietary protein) and promoted rapid growth rate predisposing large and giant breed dogs to skeletal problems. However, controlled research done in 1991 by Nap et al.,2 showed that protein was uninvolved. Great Dane puppies were fed identical diets except for the protein content from weaning for 18 weeks. These diets had a broad range of dietary protein compositions of 31.6%, 23.1% and 14.6%. This research demonstrated that skeletal development problems were NOT related to variations of the dietary protein content. Thus, protein in and of itself does not effect bone development or influence the incidence of developmental bone diseases.2,3 (The low-protein diet did have some problems keeping weight on the pups.)

I read the same article a couple of months ago, I was looking at switching food from Innova Large Breed Puppy, I really like the Orejen but decided against it because of the protein levels.  I still want to feed the Orejen to my girl but at what age is it ok?  This is a great topic.  I have also read about not giving a large breed puppy calcium supplements.  I believe that environment plays a big roll.
GSDSHOW

condition of the dam before conception, during pregnancy and lactation; her age and the number of pups in the womb.  the acetabullum is formed in the womb, making the dam's condition all important.  if her metabolism or ability to transmit nutrients to the tiny pups is lacking.....that is where problems begin.  as the pup gets older, his nutrition  and excercise becomes more of a factor, but to start out with the greatest chance of success, it must come thru the dam.
pjp

There are some good replies here, It is said that nothing will change what is given at conception but of course none of us know what it is anyway it is something we cannot see, So providing the Pup shows no signs of leg &Joint problems as it grows i guess we all hope it will be okay
For me the most important thing is not to feed too much Calcium at a high rate
I did feed one Pup completely on Orijen Large breed Puppy, High Protein some 40-42% he was fine but then i thought why is the need for such high amounts so i fed the next one on Acana large breed Puppy and Acana Adult I think the protein content was about 32%, and the Calcium level 1.2 which was okay i did not want to go above that in the basic feed at 6 months old i switched to the Acana Adult kibble this has about 29% protein, The only grain these kibbles have is steamed Oats which is fine, plus meat vegetables and fruit
To date all Dogs from Pups have had a normal Hips, Of course i do not walk or overdo the walking when babies and i lift them in and out of the car, I think a little jumping when young is okay at three months one foot high on grass does no harm Izzy is now 12 months old and she would easily clear the one meter jump but i keep it to three quarter height more so as she retrieves the block and brings it over still time enough to go full height 
Plus i only let them jump one time not repetitions of it, same with the A Frame but at a lower angle when young
Steve1

 Keep them lean!  Research has shown that puppies who are overweight and genetically predisposed have a higher rate of dysplasia.  Grow them slow.

Exercise enough to build muscle mass but don't over exercise pups.  Avoid activities that put jolting pressure on the joints.  

I didn't have qualms with feeding a high protein diet appropriate for large breed development.  

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