Growing pains?

19 15:40:57

Question
Rocky

Rocky I have an almost 5 month old (in a few days) very handsome male boxer puppy. He is such a sweetheart and we love him to death. When we got him from the breeder, he weighed 6.6 kg (14.5 lbs)at 9.5 weeks and now he is about 18.5 kg (nearly 41 pounds). Is this the right weight for his age? I haven't been able to find an average boxer growth chart online. He has been gaining weight steadily at about 1-1.2 kg a week (about 2.2 - 2.6 lbs), though he isn't overly interested in his food and rarely eats all his food at once. We feed him 3 times a day and he looks good, if a bit skinny. We've been having a problem with his front right shoulder and he's been limping for over 2 weeks now. Especially after he's been lying down, he looks like an old dog initially getting up and walking around, but once he's up it's not bad, hardly noticeable. This of course, has not stopped him from running around and jumping. He's been x-ray'd by the vet and they see "something" but it's hardly there and they think it may be the beginning of something, but to just wait it out for a few months and re-xray. Have you ever had anything like that in a growing puppy? He has been growing fast, is it possible it's growing pains? The vet said he didn't really believe in that and if a young puppy is limping, there is probably something wrong. I just don't know what to do. Also, I've gotten so much conflicting info on what to feed him. The breeder noticed he was "down" on his front feet (I sent them pictures) when they should be tight like a cat's paw and suggested a calcium supplement. The vet said not to because he's getting enough calcium in his puppy food and didn't want to get too much. I noticed you suggesting whole plain yoghurt, but I've heard dairy is bad for them. Just getting confused with all the conflicting info. Mostly, we're concerned about his shoulder. As a result, we haven't been taking him for walks because it seems worse the next day when he's out running around. Any advice would be great!

Answer
Read about hypertrophic osteodystrophy:

http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/dog-health-issues-questions/156781-hypertrophic...

( and join the Boxer World and go into the forums and read and post-- Boxer owners will help you and you can learn a lot from this great forum-- and also, join the Boxer Forums http://boxerforums.com )

This occurs in fast growing larger breed dogs, but middle-size breeds as a Boxer are effected too:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1561&aid=446

http://www.provet.co.uk/health/diseases/ortho-hod.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertrophic_osteodystrophy

http://www.vetinfo.com/dencyclopedia/dehod.html#b

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/dog/health/muscles/osteodystrophy.php

http://www.workingdogs.com/doc0018.htm

Google images (just Google hypertrophic osteodystrophyand select images to see x-rays, etc.)

http://www.google.com/search?q=hypertrophic+osteodystrophy&hl=en&prmd=ivns&tbm=i...

As far as adding plain, whole yogurt (no flavors) to his food once a day- or give by itself as a cool treat once a day or every other day; it is very healthy for dogs and not like other "dairy" products. Yogurt aids in healthy digestive tracks and keeps good bacteria in the track and over powers bad infectious bacterias. Just as in people, the benefit for dogs is the same. Excellent cool summer treat. All other dairy is not good as you know, however, egg is added into dog foods and causes no harm but some dogs can be allergic to eggs. I would not test him on eggs until over 1 year old at this point.

A good quality, holistic, all-natural puppy food that DOES NOT contain corn, corn glutens, and any glutens and additives is best for Boxers. I prefer Dick Van Patten (a retired actor) Natural Balance Dog Foods: http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/home.html

You can click on the "shop online" link in the upper left and find locations close to you that you can order from online and have it sent to your front door.

Or, any dog (puppy) food that is comparable to Natural Balance; read all ingredients and everything about it and use it as your guide to selecting another brand.

Also, since he is a puppy, I recommend feeding him 4 times a day-- not 3. Growing puppies need to be feed more because of higher metabolisms and energy. This will help with his size.

Talk to your vet about the possibility of hypertrophic osteodystrophy and if he or she is not familiar with it or doesn't satisfy your questions with testing and treatments-- get a second opinion with another vet. Do not be afraid to change vets any more than you should be changing doctors.

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Growing pains?

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