Puppy Growth and joint care

[Kylos86]

Hi Everyone,

 

I have been visiting this site for a while now and have gained a wealth of information thats helped me with my 8month old male BC Django. I am yet to find answers specific to my situation at the moment though.

 

My BC puppy is called Django he is;

 

8 months old

23 inches at the shoulder

44lbs (20kg)

 

My first question is, is he big for his age? We changed him over to adult food at 6 months and supplement his dried food with tripe and other kinds of meat twice a day.

 

Also he has a strange gait, when walking slowly off/on leash he walks normally and both his hind legs work independently, he is able to 'frog leg' when laying down and extend them backward with no problems or pain. When picking up speed though he starts to use his hind legs together, has anyone had experience with this? He also has no problems getting up/down stairs or jumping up on furniture and has never shown any lameness.

 

He gets plenty of excercise and swims at least once a week to strengthen him up and I limit his ball/frisbee play due to him running so fast and not knowing how to stop yet. I never encourage him to jump.

 

Would anyone recommend any supplements to support this rapid growth rate? I have loved every aspect of his puppyhood but part of me cant wait for him to be fully grown so I can stop worrying a little.

 

Here are a few pics

 

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

[Gideon's girl]

Does he do a normal trot? and then as he speeds up out of that do the back legs together gait? If so, he may be just saving his energy. Many dogs that have hip issues have a gait issue at the walk. They pull their hip to the side with each step and if one hip is worse than the other, they will pull to that side more than the other. I think of it as a Mae West wiggle.

[BMS]

That is quite large for a BC pup! Did you get him from a breeder or rescue?

 

Like Gideon's Girl mentioned, that frog hop is usually (but not always!) an indication of rear end problems. My male will start getting stiff when something is amiss...I just take him into the chiropractor and voila! Problem solved.

 

I've also found that some dogs don't know how to trot..they almost want to go from a walk to a gallop! But remember, he's 6 months old and just a wee baby who doesn't know how to use those limbs.

 

If it's something that concerns you, I'd say take him to the vet.

[kingfisher7151]

44 lbs. at 8 months is definitely not unusual. Liz P has an 8 month old who is 50 lbs., they can vary so much in this breed. My 8 mo. old is 39 lbs. for comparison.

 

I know the 'bunny hop' can definitely be a sign of hip problems. But it also can just be a young dog still learning where their legs are. It sounds like you've done everything right as far as encouraging slow growth and avoiding concussive activities. Perhaps others will have supplement suggestions, but I think the lifestyle is most important. I definitely would not hesitate to have a vet check him out though, and if anything is questionable I'd do some x-rays.

 

If you can take a video of his movement I'm sure plenty of people here can take a look and perhaps give an opinion or two!

[BMS]

44lbs isn't unusual..but 23" already? He shot I pretty fast!

[Gideon's girl]

My dogs, as full grown filled out adults, are 45# at 22" so I would expect an adolescent that weighs the same to be taller. It still isn't outside the range of BC normal. At this age, I would expect him to grow very little more height, maybe 1/2", maybe 1".

 

The largest BC I have heard of was 25 1/2" and 65# and was said to be very thin.

[GentleLake]

I don't know the height, but the largest border collie I knew was a skinny 70# at a year old. I suspect he filled out at around 3 years old and probably ended up weighing a little more than that.

 

His mother was a trim 36# and his father a very thin 48#.

[Kylos86]

Hi,

 

Thanks for all your answers

 

Yes that is exactly what he does Gideons Girl, he walks at a trot pefectly fine then gaits as he speeds up so maybe you are right, his hips stay straight as he walks and there is never any stiffness. I'm baffled by his weight also as he is super lean he could be taller I measured him a couple of weeks back now.

 

BMS-I did think he might just not have learnt how to use his legs properly yet especially the way they grow! It probably feels like a new set of legs each week we got he from a breeder in Wales here in the UK we chose him as we liked the odd coloured eyes.

 

Kingfisher- Yes it is a challenge holding him back from excessive play, his lifestyle at the moment is all promoting strength and conditioning with plenty of swimming and off leash walks in the woods and country parks. His recall is great and on the whistle, off leash he is a dream always looking to me for instruction

 

As an added question he behaves really well for myself with only the odd correction required now and again which I think is great for his age but he is really 'naughty' with my girlfriend when I am at work. He kind of teases her and gets up to all kinds of mischief as puppies do, any ideas for her to try?

 

Thanks again

 

[Gideon's girl]

Is she up to teaching him tricks? BCs seem to love learning new things and keeping their brain busy wears them out and keeps them too busy for much trouble.

 

As far as his weight. keeping him thin is best, at least until he is fully grown.

[Kylos86]

At the moment it is me doing all his training and walking due to it getting dark early at the moment (It wouldnt be safe and the parks are not lit very well) but I will suggest some in house training of an evening (I work nights) and see how she gets on.

 

Thanks

[stockdogranch]

I've seen some pups do that at about that age, and have been worried about hips, too. Even had one xrayed some years back. Hips were fine on the rads. Turns out the pup (whom I did not have from tiny) had just never really had an opportunity to really stretch out and run any distance, and had not yet fully learned how to run. A little time running in pastures and the bunny hop went away,

A

[chene]

Is she up to teaching him tricks? BCs seem to love learning new things and keeping their brain busy wears them out and keeps them too busy for much trouble.

 

As far as his weight. keeping him thin is best, at least until he is fully grown.

 

I second this. Not only would teaching him tricks keep him busy, it would strengthen the relationship between the girlfriend and Django. No wonder he has no interest in being good for her if she never participates in anything that would cultivate the relationship - not to mention making him aware that she also holds the resources and has the power to dispense them.