[Soundtrack]

I have a four month old male pup, gorgeous except that he is now resting his weight on the outside of his front left foot (I'll try to get a picture of it). He was normal before and was my choice for pick male. It started around 10 weeks and I've been supplementing with 1/23 half tums (with vet approval), because a friend of mine with shar-pei did used calcium when her pups did something similar. This seems to be having no effect and now another male is showing signs of going the same way. They were on ProPlan puppy until this started, then I put the on the large breed puppy formula. Has anyone seen anything like this? I've seen it in adult dogs of other breeds (mostly shelties) but I'm wondering what is causing it and if it can be fixed.


The second boy is supposed to be going to a show home, if his foot goes off I'll be seriously not happy.....

[ December 25, 2004, 03:37 PM: Message edited by: Soundtrack ]

 

[pinehawk]

Miriam, do you own both the sire and dam?

 

[Soundtrack]

Only the dam, the sire is imported from Sweden.

These are bigger puppies than I'm used to, I'm wondering if there's a nutritional problem making them grow funny ie if I should be feeding them differently than I usually do.

[ December 27, 2004, 09:01 PM: Message edited by: Soundtrack ]

 

[Mikey T]

supplementing with calcium may do more harm than good. Excessive calcium has linked to a whole host of bone growth abnormalities especially in large breed dogs.

 

[pinehawk]

what do other puppies from his other litters look like? do they have the same problems? was this a total outcross or a linebreeding? i know you said the stud was from Sweden,but just wondering on the bloodline.Ike is 4 months old and on 30% protein 20% fat formula food. he weighs in at 35 pounds( 16 kilos ) with no leg problems. me personally would be looking at the pups bloodlines,in no way am i being disrespective on your dogs or the sires bloodlines,but i would be looking for a possible link to a recessive trait. just my thoughts and i hope it all works out for the best.

 

[bubbad]

Has your dam produced before and has the sire produced in the USA before? Can you compare to any breedings done with either of them ? Is the foot taking a turn making the pup look like he has a mismatched front? How does the leg/foot look when the pup is coming towards you -going away from you. These questions are only for you to help evaluate the situation. you don't need to give any answers in this forum I'm just trying to think of anything you may not have looked at yet. I know how unnerving it can be when a puppy's body does something we didn't expect it to do.

 

[Soundtrack]

This is the dam's first litter, but I haven't had this problem before (she's my third generation, and I bred her litter sister last year with no leg problems). The sire's owner has had a fair number of pups from him, she hasn't seen this before. It's not like a mismatched front, it's almost like bowlegged but it's just the foot. He's resting his weight on the outside edge of the foot. I'm hoping to go to a friend's and get a pic on Sunday.

The vet didn't seem too concerned when they went in for their 12 week shots, they're going in soon for their final ones. Unfortunately, I've had a series of disasters in last few months (vet bills and car repair bills, about $2500 in unexpected expenses), so even though I'd love to rush them to an ortho specialist it'll be a few more weeks before I can even think of that. Just getting them their shots will be a balancing act.

[ December 30, 2004, 11:10 PM: Message edited by: Soundtrack ]

 

[Guest]

Miriam, I can't help with any information or enlightenment about the foot, but I've spent $8,000 in the last 6 months at the vet alone!! Does that make you feel a little better? Hope all works out with the puppy. Take care, Belinda.

 

[bubbad]

Hmmmm. I'm having a terrible time visualizing the foot. I hope you are able to get pictures. Is it possible he has pain somewhere else that is causing him to over compensate on that foot? Any one of the inside toes sore? I totally understand the financial end of this,isn't it funny how some people think breeders can get rich.Like I always say," If you are doing it right you won't get rich breeding dogs". Take Care

 

[Huckleberry]

I'll take a stab at this with a little bit more of a low-tech approach, rather than try to analyze his DNA structure.

Bassets have skeletal problems. Whether its their back or abnormal dwarf legs, they are prone to skeletal problems. This sounds like it may be a typical leg problem. Maybe Pano or the beginnings of an elbow dysplasia. Just a guess or two.

Bassets are also a large breed and as puppies, should be fed a large breed puppy food. They've got muscular and skeletal growth demands (especially Bassets because of their odd growth spurts) that other smaller puppies don't have. I've had Doc on the Iams large breed puppy food and he loved it. Just this week (now that he's a year old), I'm slowly switching him to ProPlan large breed adult.

Toughynutter is right - don't overdose the pup on calcium. Just like with humans, it can have very bad side effects. He should be getting plenty of vitamins in the food he eats 2-3 times a day. See if this little puppy paw problem just plays itself out. Maybe his bones are a little sensitive to the winter cold.

I hope it all works out for the best of the pup and he has a wonderful happy life, regardless of his leg. Keep us posted and good luck!

 

[bubbad]

Miriam,I know, you know ,what you are doing.I know you have been doing this for many years and if it is something strange to you then by God, it is something strange. Have any other breeders you know been able to come up with anything. How is he growing at this point. You can e-mail me privetly if you want,I just want to know how the pup is doing.