JenS Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I've rescued a pup from a neighbor where it's future was questionable. It appears at six weeks to have a bit of a odd rear leg/hip structure. Upon a vet visit, we were advised that at such a young age, we need to wait and see. The pup is now almost seven weeks old. It is healthy, acting normal and all seems well, except it seems a bit off in the gaits (hard to tell in a pup this young) The first thing noticed, and what brought the pup to me, is that it's stifles appear to be angled away from it's body. There was the thought it may have been stepped on by the "breeder". However, it really doesn't look like an injury, and the vet didn't seem to think it was. All palpated fine. so now I'm noticing the front legs may be bowing. Also, the pup falls a bit frequently when playing and frolicking. a bit more than it should. It gets some muscle tremors in the front legs as well when standing still. these do not appear anywhere else. It will occasionally stand with a front leg very "over at the knee" where it's foot is on the ground, and it's carpal joint is very flexed. This only happens on one leg at a time, usually while in a sitting position. I've looked up a few things (still very difficult with a pup this young) and I'm starting to think he may be an achrondroplastic dwarf. Has anyone had any experience with this in a non-bred-for-it breed? When did it first become apparent? Did it appear symmetrically? This guy appears to have a normal sized head. Is there anything else I can look for? I'm hating the wait and see approach, as I was hoping to rehome the little mite. the longer I keep him, the harder it is. If I can place him, and he is a dwarf, I'm considering a pediatric neuter, so some idiot doesn't think to breed "miniature" Border Collies. Any thought on how that will affect the development of his legs? If he is a dwarf. Which I'm guessing at. He is not full Border Collie, but 1/4 Kelpie. All working cow dog bred. No inbreeding that we are aware of. Any thoughts or experiences anyone has would be great to share. I'm puzzled by this guy. His issues are subtle, but if you look, noticeable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Wolf Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Sometimes a pup on poor nutrition will do that once he is introduced to good nutrition. If he was a true dwarf his legs would appear quite a bit shorter than norm for that age. I had a friend who bought a collie from a show breeder. The pups were in horrible condition. She took one nayway and within a few days the legs started to bow. She had put the pup on a good dog food and the bones were growing unevenly due to such a rapid increase in nutritional value. She had ot go to a cheap puppy food and gradually mix it with the good one. the pup changed to better structure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenS Posted January 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Thanks, Pam. The back legs (pelvis?) were "off" before the pup left the dam. Right at six weeks. No other pup in the litter of seven seemed affected. I'm actually watching a littermate today, and he looks just fine. My pup is a bit smaller. Not short, just proportionally smaller. I'm also noticing my pup doesn't walk or trot very much. He is either sitting, or running pell-mell around and attacking things. Very energetic. I'm not sure if his falling down frequently is because he just tears around so much, trying to corner and go over obstacles so fast his legs can't keep up. I noticed the front leg bends more after I took him, although another person who saw him at six weeks said he looked like a bulldog. Did your friend with the Collie notice if other pups from the litter were affected? Which bones were growing unevenly? I've heard, but have no experience, that dwarf pups may have varying degrees of affected bone growth. I'm wondering if it can vary in a non-symmetrical way, with one leg more bent than the other. I'm calling the vet back today to give a status update. wonder if he has anymore ideas...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Wolf Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 We didn't follow the other pups. My friend bought one of these (against my advice and in pity). Keeping it on a poorerquality feed and gradually increasing fixed this pup's problem Seems that one side of the bone was growing at a different rate from the other. The dog turned out fine. I never followed up on the litter and blasted the friend (she took it well after she saw the condition of the dogs) who reccommended this 'breeder' If the pelvis is tilted is it a chance the bitch stepped on the pup or some other injury? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 I'd ask the vet about the possibility of rickets. J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSnappy Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 A fellow rescuer had an achondroplastic dwarf border collie she got in, and was taken by the woman where I used to work my dogs. He was incredibly short, and shaped like a little tiny labrador. He never got taller than maybe 8" or so at the shoulder and at 10 weeks or whatever it was SUPER apparent he was not a normal sized dog. He did have bow legs, but was the size of an 8 week old puppy his whole (short) life. He had a multitude of other problems, I believe, that went along with it, including skin problems and kidney disease I think it was. Kristi would probably know more than me, I didn't see him very much. He was kinda ugly though. As for bulldog legs - Piper has had those her whole life. The upper bones in her front legs are disproportionately long, so she sits like a bulldog: Her ear never did stand up again either. Phooey. RDM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airbear Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 He never got taller than maybe 8" or so at the shoulder and at 10 weeks or whatever it was SUPER apparent he was not a normal sized dog. He did have bow legs, but was the size of an 8 week old puppy his whole (short) life. He had a multitude of other problems, I believe, that went along with it, including skin problems and kidney disease I think it was. Kristi would probably know more than me, I didn't see him very much. Assuming you're talking about Chance, he is the product of full-sized parents, and the family that bought him apparently didn't notice that he wasn't growing. Had he been taken to a decent vet as a youngster and given some thyroid therapy, he may have turned out a little bigger. Still, he's now about 7 years old, he runs the perimeter of the 1 acre field with all the 'big dogs' and the only meds he is on is a daily thyroid pill. He's probably about 14" tall and weighs maybe 20lbs. His coat has a slightly oily texture. Chance has wormed his way into my heart by having the exact same markings as Wick, down to the blue eye on the right, and the same ear set. We refer to her as His Mama, and Chance adores Wick (sadly it's not mutual). Here he is from last winter: And this past summer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted January 22, 2011 Report Share Posted January 22, 2011 That type of dwarfism affects the long bones only, so overall size would not be abnormal, just height. There are other types of dwarfism though that can affect the size of the dog (pituitary dwarfism) as well as overall health. Check out the photo gallery of Malamutes. The altered growth can affect the shape of the long bones (legs). http://www.malamutehealth.org/articles/chd_photo/chd_photos_main.htm And German Shepherds... http://www.siriusdog.com/article3.php?id=461 Compared to a pituitary dwarf... http://www.dogstuff.info/dwarfism_lanting.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airbear Posted January 31, 2011 Report Share Posted January 31, 2011 That type of dwarfism affects the long bones only, so overall size would not be abnormal, just height. There are other types of dwarfism though that can affect the size of the dog (pituitary dwarfism) as well as overall health. You are right, I asked his owner and his vet and Chance is not an Achondroplastic dwarf but probably more like a pituitary dwarf. And had his first owners noticed that he hadn't grown since they brought him home, and taken him to the vet and got him growth hormone and thyroid therapy, he might have grown a bit. Ah well, coulda, woulda, shoulda. He's Chancey-Pants, the biggest little dog in a house off 12 border collies. And he's not ugly, he's kinda cute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenS Posted January 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2011 Thanks everyone, for your insights. We are going back to the vet this week for x-rays and a more currant assessment. His front legs are still quite bent, but his proportions still seem ok. We just saw his brother yesterday and my guy is defiantly smaller, but not super tiny. He just turned eight weeks old and everything changes so much each day. I haven't had much luck trying to rehome the little guy, who I'm calling Oscar. Since it it likely he won't be a working dog or able to do agility and active things like that, not many folks seem interested. He has the working dog mind, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appyridr Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 He's Chancey-Pants, the biggest little dog in a house off 12 border collies. And he's not ugly, he's kinda cute. Yes Chance is very cute and THE man! Ton of personality and charisma! cheers Lani Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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