What's Wrong With My Puppy's Foot? Options

[poodlefan]

Definitely agree about talking to her breeder.

You've got a Boxer.. they aren't renowned for being picky. I'd be sticking to a simple diet without extras while she grows. Kibble and meat on the bone or a carefully researched raw diet is the go.

[laffi]

Definitely agree about talking to her breeder.

You've got a Boxer.. they aren't renowned for being picky. I'd be sticking to a simple diet without extras while she grows. Kibble and meat on the bone or a carefully researched raw diet is the go.

I agree with PF
Artemis is great food so I would stick to it. I would only add raw meaty bones (like chickens/turkey wings, roo tails. I would get rid of anything else; maybe except of BARF patties. I would probably keep these, but I would make sure I am not feeding too much of anything.

[ksmith]

She has soaked Artemis and raw chicken mince for breakfast which mixes up to the size of about a small apple. Then two scrambled eggs for lunch. More Artemis and a bit of BARF pattie for dinner, again mixing up to about the size of a small apple. Then about a dozen bits of soaked a little Artemis and a dollop of natural yoghurt for supper. Is that too much?

Sounds like to much food is quite possibly the problem.

How much does she weigh?

If you were feeding a totally BARF/RAW diet then you should only be feeding 10% of her body weigh daily. You should be weighing her every few days to make sure you adjust the food amount.

She's 4 kgs. Yes I probably am feeding her too much - she was so scrawny when we got her that I went straight into fattening up mode. She certainly looks better now, but I think I'll cut back now.

[ksmith]

Also regarding the breeder, she was feeding supercoat, which I haven't heard great stuff about. I guess that's why I'm not jumping at the thought of ringing the breeder for feeding advice. That's not to say she isn't a great breeder - she is - I just thought I could do better than supercoat. I think I'll stick with the Artemis, and some BARF patties, just lesser quantities.

[puggy_puggy]

She's 4 kgs. Yes I probably am feeding her too much - she was so scrawny when we got her that I went straight into fattening up mode. She certainly looks better now, but I think I'll cut back now.

Ok 4kg would be 400grams of food a day,at 10% of body weight, if feeding BARF. Usually split up into 3 meals.

Hopefully this makes sense.

Diet Suggestion-
Because you are feeding dry I would work out how much should be fed for her weight, look on the packet, and then only feed 1/3 of that a day. Your other 2/3rds of food will be made up of a Raw Meaty Bone (lamb flaps or necks) and BARF patty.

Breakfast -
Dry food (1/3 of what is suggested for her weight)

Lunch -
Raw meaty bone (approx 150grams)

Dinner - 150grams of Barf Patty (1/3 of 400grams)


The tiny rescue pups, Pippy & Poppy, that I raised were fed
Breakfast & Dinner-
minced chicken carcuss mixed with veggie slops and yoghurt

Lunch -
Raw meaty lamb bone

[ksmith]

Thanks everyone!

[ksmith]

I just wanted to let all of you who were kind enough to respond to my post that the vet said it might be bad news for our pup. She said it looked like a growth plate injury and that the outlook may not be good for her. She said the best case senario is that it does not get worse but the more likely outcome will be that it does become a more serious problem as she gets older. She even said 'a three-legged-dog is quite resiliant'.

I have been watching my pup really closely since we got her and I haven't witnessed any injury, so I am hoping the vet got it wrong.

She has referred us to an orthopedic specialist, which I will follow up. In the meantime I am getting a second opinion from my old family vet - a long drive, but I need to see some one whose opinion I really trust.

Does anyone know anything about growth plate injury in pups?

[Crysti_Lei]

its more likely a diet imbalance, vets wont always pick it. so don't go chopping her leg off just yet.

[cassie]

DEFINITELY get a second, even third or fourth, opinion.

[ksmith]

its more likely a diet imbalance, vets wont always pick it. so don't go chopping her leg off just yet.

Thanks so much, I really hope you are right. My gut tells me it will be okay. I am seeing my old vet on Tuesday and he has an orthopedic surgeon visting that day to do an op. So between the two of them, I am confident that the visit will provide the full story - good or bad. We love her anyway!

[Rysup]

All of my Amstaff puppies have knuckled over around 10 weeks of age. I just cut back their food for 2 or 3 weeks and the problem resolved itself. I think vets would be quick to assume its something more - cut back her food and wait a few weeks before making any rash decisions.

[neatz]

If it is an injury maybe it happened before you got the dog (you have only had it for a week or so) and the deformity is only showing up now due to growth. Maybe it would pay to call the breeder just so that you can obtain the most accurate history which you can pass on to the vet. It could be possible the pup had a fall or was dropped by a small child etc.
Good luck with your second opinion.

[puggy_puggy]

I just wanted to let all of you who were kind enough to respond to my post that the vet said it might be bad news for our pup. She said it looked like a growth plate injury and that the outlook may not be good for her. She said the best case senario is that it does not get worse but the more likely outcome will be that it does become a more serious problem as she gets older. She even said 'a three-legged-dog is quite resiliant'.

Does anyone know anything about growth plate injury in pups?

Have xrays been done to confirm? It looks like her foot is the problem not her leg. If it was her leg it would more likely be the growth plate but being her foot it's most likely to be diet. At 8 and a 1/2 weeks it would be very rare to see the results of premature growth plate closure.

Reduce her food and see what difference occurs in the the next week. I am pretty sure you will see a difference.

If it is a growth plate problem amputation is a last resort.

Previous thread on Premature Growth Plate Closure

Poppy has just had surgery to lengthen her radius as its growth plate prematurely closed.

This post has been edited by puggy_puggy: 24th Apr 2009 - 07:33 PM

[Nekhbet]

would you consider knocking back to something like Eagle Pack giant breed puppy food for a while? Its quite good for problems.

as for the growth plate injury make sure they x-ray and have a qualified person see it. No one can accurately predict the future, if it was my dog and chopping off the leg was the only option I'd reduce the diet to something like IP and let the puppy grow slowly and on the lighter side. You never know how they grow and they do have a lot of growing to do

[ksmith]

would you consider knocking back to something like Eagle Pack giant breed puppy food for a while? Its quite good for problems.

as for the growth plate injury make sure they x-ray and have a qualified person see it. No one can accurately predict the future, if it was my dog and chopping off the leg was the only option I'd reduce the diet to something like IP and let the puppy grow slowly and on the lighter side. You never know how they grow and they do have a lot of growing to do

Which one would you suggest? The holistic or the other one?