creating issues in pups - Page 2

I bought my 4 y o from working line parents. Hip scored, but not elbows. I have had GSD's for 30 years. I know about not letting them jump, go upstairs, and restricted exercise. Fed him on a raw diet. Didn't let him go potty with the older dogs etc etc etc. Lo and behold, elbow dysplasia!!!! Fragmented coronoid process and OCD!
( breeder was not interested. Told them and never heard from them again)
As long as you are sensible, I think there should not be problems. We are too paranoid with our dogs at times. My youngster has a hip score of 4/2 and clear elbows and has not been raised any differently.

Chrissie that GSD in your avatar is awesome

IMO, HD or ED are primarily genetic, but environmental issues can cause or worsen it. Like having a young pup and allowing them to constantly jump on hard surfaces, running on hard surfaces, falling from high surfaces, or constant impact of hard surfaces. Like always being on concrete. A lot of the time it's genetic moreso than environmental. But accidents can cause ED or HD, and constant pressure on the growing hip joints can cause them to be shallower.

"But accidents can cause ED or HD..."

Nope!  Accidents can cause injuries that manifest themselves in much the same way as ED or HD and those conditions, when they are preexisting, can be exacerbated by environmental conditions but true ED or HD is 100% genetic.

Seems to me that Common Sense is just something that's just lost...Where did it go? And why did it go?

Common sense is the least common of all the senses!


Nope! Accidents can cause injuries that manifest themselves in much the same way as ED or HD and those conditions, when they are preexisting, can be exacerbated by environmental conditions but true ED or HD is 100% genetic.

Exactly correct, IME!   However, some breeders prefer to blame the puppy owner / buyer for the dog's genetic problems.  We've seen that over and over. 

Thanks Jay, for the compliment for my Rosco. He is an awesome dog, at about 48kilos, and not an ounce of fat, but therein lies the problem. By 7 months he was about 37 kilos, and never fat. I do like to keep my dogs lean. All of the litter grew at an alarming rate, and apparently the father was a very big dog.
 I think the fact that he grew so big, so quickly caused his elbow problems.Fragmented coronoid process is caused by the differing growth rates in the lbones in the leg. So that would to my mind be a genetic fault.
 However I don't think any of the rest of the litter had problems, but the breeder did try to breed from his littersister??????

Thanks Jay, for the compliment for my boy Rosco. At about 48kilos he is a n awesome dog. But by 7 months he was about 37 kilos. Apparently all of the litter grew really quickly, and had outgrown mum by about 6 months. I think this contributed to his ED, as FCP is caused by different growth rates in the bones in the leg. His dad was a big boy I was told. The breeder did go on to try and breed from his sister, I was told. I don't think raising him any different would have stopped his problem.
 Pups should be able to stop when they are tired, and get enough rest. I think the mental stimulation is always more important than the physical, especially in a breed like the GSD. And as they get older, the more exercise they get the fitter they get, and the more they need. If you play with them, and that is not throwing balls for them ( extra strain on growing joints) You build a rapport with them, and if it is fun they want to stay with you. Result all round.

" If you play with them, and that is not throwing balls for them ( extra strain on growing joints)..."

I've been doing limited ball work, 10 or 12 tosses every few days, with my 6 month-old for a couple of months.  He's fine.  You simply need to tailor the exercise so that it is appropriate for the pup.  There is no reason why a healthy pup can't chase a ball.  See Q man's comment on common sense.

When I say throwing balls for them, I mean ball chuckers, and frisbees etc. I throw balls for mine, but not continually! It comes back to the old common sense thing, doesn't it? And I use a ball for training so mine are doing things for the ball. The more they have to earn the ball, the more committed they are to playing with you. Mine love play training. And so do I.