LGD puppy developed bowing of legs

Beekissed

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.....home remedies for this? When she arrived her legs were nice and straight but a mistake on my part of adding higher protein food to her diet caused a sudden bowing of her front legs. Decreased the protein but added milk and a B complex vitamin to her diet and that seemed to be taking care of the problem, so yesterday I didn't add the B complex to her bowl and today I noticed more buckling and bowing of the legs. Side note~I'm also adding some joint supplements to her feed each day.

Continue the B Complex and whole milk? Or is that a mistake? I never had this in a pup before....always fed them regular adult dog food and never had a problem but with this one I just happened to have some high pro on hand I wanted to get rid of and mixed it in with the regular food about a week after she arrived....a few days of that and I started noticing the bowing.
I'm reading conflicting reports online.....give more high protein, they said in one place. It was the higher protein that started all of this, I do believe. Give less calcium, they said, but when I added some calcium supplements the bowing started to abate.

Anyone have experience with this?
 

Grant

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Take the puppy to the vet. You need to find out why the legs are bowing before treatment. It could be from an injury that needs surgery. It could be from the puppy growing too fast and added weight on soft bones. It could be a lack of calcium, or the dog not absorbing calcium properly which will cause a calcium deficiency. It could be a genetic deformity…just to list some examples. All of which have different treatments, a brace, surgery, medication. Only a vet can diagnose why.
 

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Take the puppy to the vet. You need to find out why the legs are bowing before treatment. It could be from an injury that needs surgery. It could be from the puppy growing too fast and added weight on soft bones. It could be a lack of calcium, or the dog not absorbing calcium properly which will cause a calcium deficiency. It could be a genetic deformity…just to list some examples. All of which have different treatments, a brace, surgery, medication. Only a vet can diagnose why.

Not a genetic deformity...she was just fine when she arrived here. Could be the growing too fast...others on LGD groups I belong to have had similar issues when feeding foods meant for puppies(higher protein foods). The food I feed has served several puppies well, so it's not the current feed....could be she's not absorbing calcium well. But, it didn't start until I switched up feeds and it started to get better when I switched back and added more calcium to her diet....but as soon as I didn't continue that, she started to show bowing. It all evidences very quickly....straight legs one day, bent the next, back to straight, back to bent...all in a matter of days. To me that sounds like something acute and not chronic, but I'm not sure.

Vet visit is out....just experienced a drastic reduction in income in this house, which is why the need for a home remedy.
 

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Grant

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Also make sure she’s getting plenty of vitamin C. Fast-growing puppies, especially the heavy breeds, have considerable pressure on the long bones of the legs while they are growing. Vitamin D gets calcium and phosphorus from the gut into the body, and Vitamin C gets calcium and phosphorus into the bone.

If the diet is short on any of the needed vitamins, minor minerals, calcium or phosphorus, the puppy is slow to calcify while the frame is still being built; soft bones are the result.

Keep her on a lower calorie and protein diet for a bit to let the bones catch up with the musculature.
 

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All of which have different treatments, a brace, surgery, medication. Only a vet can diagnose why.
Take the puppy to the vet. You need to find out why the legs are bowing before treatment.
Vet visit is out....just experienced a drastic reduction in income in this house, which is why the need for a home remedy.
I understand not being able to afford a vet visit. But it doesn’t bode well for the puppy to have something this serious treated by the vastly opposing advice of the internet. While you goof around trying one person’s advice then another’s, whatever is truly wrong with the puppy gets left incorrectly treated and could lead to life long consequences. Too bad there’s not some way to squeeze out some vet money. Hm, maybe a Go-Fund me?
 

Beekissed

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I understand not being able to afford a vet visit. But it doesn’t bode well for the puppy to have something this serious treated by the vastly opposing advice of the internet. While you goof around trying one person’s advice then another’s, whatever is truly wrong with the puppy gets left incorrectly treated and could lead to life long consequences. Too bad there’s not some way to squeeze out some vet money. Hm, maybe a Go-Fund me?

I think I'll manage just fine, thanks. Would I "goof around"? No, I never "goof around"....I'm a nurse and have been treating my animals at home for decades without any "life long consequences", so I'm fairly confident I'll be able to manage this pup as well. Asking for advice from anyone who has experienced this before is hardly "goofing around"....that's what these forums are for, to network and trade experiences with livestock, farming, etc. Since the "Anyone have experience with this?" doesn't seem to include you, why in the world would you answer this post? To simply insult someone because you hide behind the anonymity of a screen?

Squeeze out some vet money? You want to donate? :D =D We'll let you be the first, since you feel I'm so very negligent and "goofing around" with this poor puppy's life. ;)
 

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Maybe switch her to a food formulated for large breed puppies. She's a beautiful pup and it would be a shame if she went the way of Murphy, who was also beautiful.
We keep our dogs on puppy food for 18 to 24 months...per advice from our vet, larger breeds , sometimes longer....
 

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