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Knuckling Over


AmericanBulldogPuppy
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Hi there, I'm new here so forgive me if I'm doubling up :)

We recently brought home an American Bulldog puppy. In the last few weeks we have noticed him 'knuckling over' (I got the term from some internet searching)

It seems that we may be over feeding him, causing him to grow to fast. Apparently if we adjust his diet now we may be able to slow his growth and fix the 'knuckling over'

Has anyone here dealt with this before? What food is best for him? We are feeding him Purina Supercoat puppy biscuits at the moment. He is about 11 weeks old.

We are looking to keep him on a mainly dry food diet.

Thanks :)

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I had a problem with my Dogue and put him on Eagle Pack Giant when he was a pup. That is quite severe knuckling particularly when you're already feeding a food that is not very high in protein. I would be taking him to a veterinarian to check out what is going on.

Oh, do NOT desex him until he's an adult if you're having problems like these. Testosterone is a growth hormone.

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I would be taking him to the Vet first has Nekhbet suggested. He is knuckling over very badly in the photo you have provided.

Have you contacted his breeder regarding this issue? I would be doing that if you haven't already.

I haven't had much to do with problem but my son has a Dogue /Mastiff & I remember he had to be very careful that this didn't occur with her. She is a very big girl.

Knuckling over usually can be corrected by diet. Personally I wouldn't feed my puppy Supercoat. I think there are far more nutritious dry foods on the market. I would be feeding mostly raw & maybe some dry in the morning perhaps. That's just me.

There are quite a few fellow Dolers that are very experienced with these type of issues so hopefully they may be able to help you.

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I had a problem with my Dogue and put him on Eagle Pack Giant when he was a pup. That is quite severe knuckling particularly when you're already feeding a food that is not very high in protein. I would be taking him to a veterinarian to check out what is going on.

Oh, do NOT desex him until he's an adult if you're having problems like these. Testosterone is a growth hormone.

Thanks Nekhbet :)

Where can I get Eagle Pack Giant from? Is that a vet brand? I have taken him to the vet and he gave us some calcium and phosphorus supplements and to see how he goes in 2 weeks. He's due to go back this week.

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What sort of surfaces is he spending time on? Slippery flooring can make these problems a lot worse. I really you want something with grip and little bit of give.

I would be changing him to a good quality large and giant breed Puppy food straight away.

Edited by raineth
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What sort of surfaces is he spending time on? Slippery flooring can make these problems a lot worse. I really you want something with grip and little bit of give.

I would be changing him to a good quality large and giant breed Puppy food straight away.

He is mainly in our paved courtyard. Maybe I can get some rubber mats while he is healing..

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Definitely check with the vet as that is severe in your photo. You won't find the Eagle Pack Large and Giant Breed Puppy any more. But exactly the same formulation (what it has been replaced with in stores) is the Holistic Select Large and Giant Breed Puppy. I recommend this. This is the food the Great Dane Lady (link in Rebanne's post - definitely recommend reading that) used to use before she switched allegiances. You can find it at Petbarn.

I would not personally be recommending calcium supps - usually the opposite is needed....

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/04/09/slow-growth-diets-for-giant-breed-puppy.aspx

http://www.lgd.org/library/Optimal%20feeding%20of%20large%20breed%20puppies.pdf

http://personal.palouse.net/valeska/Growth-calcium-energy.htm

Edited by espinay2
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I know a dog that had this problem as a little baby, hers was exceptionally severe and due to malnutrition. I know the person who was looking after her at that point was doing quite a bit of physiotherapy exercises with her, gettting acupuncture and also hydrotherapy. This was done on veterinary and holistic advice. Certainly an improvement in diet played a big part in helping her improve.

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I wouldn't be giving calcium supplements as that would be accelerating the bone growth, the soft tissue can't keep up so you get knuckling over as the skin and muscle etc pulls against the bone growth. Go to a good quality adult food.

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  • 4 weeks later...

This subject came up at a dog show, a year or so ago. A lady had purchased an Aussie Bulldog puppy and was having the same issues as your having. A lady who breeds Great Danes suggested that she has a look at the following page:

http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/knuckling_over.htm

I'm pretty sure its an American site but some of the information may be of use to you. It might also be handy to share this information with your vet as they may be able to access some of the suggested food/supplements and may take you through the taping process described on the link. I hope this helps your beautiful puppy.

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Definitely no calcium supplements, that will make the matter worse not better. (And consider finding a new vet!)

I don't breed a large breed but have seen this a couple of times in rescues over the years.

Personally I prefer to feed primarily raw, but in cases like this I think a super-supreme quality giant breed puppy food is the way to go until you have this under control, take the advice of people who breed giant breeds as to the brands to consider.

Good luck, and please phone the breeder for a chat.

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Hi there, I'm new here so forgive me if I'm doubling up :)

We recently brought home an American Bulldog puppy. In the last few weeks we have noticed him 'knuckling over' (I got the term from some internet searching)

It seems that we may be over feeding him, causing him to grow to fast. Apparently if we adjust his diet now we may be able to slow his growth and fix the 'knuckling over'

Has anyone here dealt with this before? What food is best for him? We are feeding him Purina Supercoat puppy biscuits at the moment. He is about 11 weeks old.

We are looking to keep him on a mainly dry food diet.

Thanks :)

Are you adding anything at all to the supercoat? Is that the ONLY thing he is eating?

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My golden retriever puppy was being feed optimum puppy but I'm slowly switching him over to black hawk puppy. He also gets raw pet mince,nature goodness dog roll and puppy milk. Not giving him bones at the moment as I did give him a chicken neck and he swallowed it whole.

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A good quality puppy food for medium to large dogs should be sufficient - and no additional supplementation. It is very uncommon for these to need specific treatment but limited / monitored exercise and non slip footing are important. Walking on grass and uneven surfaces are good for developing and maintaining strength but it is important that the pup does not get too tired. You might need to stop up the mental stimulation.

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My golden retriever puppy was being feed optimum puppy but I'm slowly switching him over to black hawk puppy. He also gets raw pet mince,nature goodness dog roll and puppy milk. Not giving him bones at the moment as I did give him a chicken neck and he swallowed it whole.

keep feeding the non-weight bearing bones but go bigger for large breed puppies. Our lab pups never started on chicken necks as we had the same issue as you. We start them on half chicken frames and then as they get bigger we expand to lamb necks and turkey necks. Be persistent with the bones; it's worth the effort.

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My golden retriever puppy was being feed optimum puppy but I'm slowly switching him over to black hawk puppy. He also gets raw pet mince,nature goodness dog roll and puppy milk. Not giving him bones at the moment as I did give him a chicken neck and he swallowed it whole.

keep feeding the non-weight bearing bones but go bigger for large breed puppies. Our lab pups never started on chicken necks as we had the same issue as you. We start them on half chicken frames and then as they get bigger we expand to lamb necks and turkey necks. Be persistent with the bones; it's worth the effort.

Thanks I love to give my dogs bones as it keeps there teeth clean and jaw muscles a work out. Couple of days ago I did give him another bone this time a turkey wing and he managed to chew that great.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have to say I'm pretty concerned you're not at the Vet. This is a serious problem, if you don't sort it out immediately those ligaments will stretch out and you'll have a dog that knuckles over as an adult.

Your need to get your dog onto an appropriate diet. Your breeder should have told you what to feed and you should be communicating with your breeder about this issue.

Absolutely No Calcium.

I wouldn't feed Supercoat because it's a low quality kibble. There's plenty of high quality kibbles for slow growth such as Canidae Large Breed Puppy, Holistic Select Giant Breed Puppy, Blackhawk Fish & Potato (because it is an adult kibble you have to at least double it).

Make sure this puppy is not on any slippery surfaces, use rugs and block off access to areas you can't rug.

Edited by sas
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