[Hummingbird]

Hello

I have just rescued my 3rd Doberman. The mom (I'm assuming from a BYB) and her 7 puppies were dumped at a shelter severely malnourished and full of mange. She is in the worst shape of any of my rescued dogs. She was in vet/foster care for 6 weeks before I got her, and I can only imagine the shape she must have been in at that point. So, I currently have Roxie, a 6yo Doberman that I rescued at about 4 months of age, and now Karma who is approximately 4 months old. Her front feet are giant....but I notice they spread much more than Roxies, and her back legs are not that coordinated or strong yet. I am wondering if the giant paw spread is from malnourishment? I consulted a pet supply shop owner, who owns a Doberman, and her family used to breed/show Dobermans. She suggested calcium/bone meal for strengthening bones etc, but she didn't have any in stock. I am currently giving Karma the Purina Pro Plan Puppy food sent home by the rescue, Clavamox (dog equivalent of Augmentin) for the skin infection, and plain yogurt to help keep the bacterial overgrowth from occurring. She also has a medicated bath for the mange. I also purchased salmon oil, but will wait until the Clavamox is finished since she already has softish stools from that. Wondering if any other supplements would help bone development/ and or any possible neurological defecits?

 

[ECIN]

First of Hummingbird - A BIG Atta Gal to you for you Love to help these poor Dobermans get the love they so truly deserve !

Now for Ken's rant for the day ! Nothing - Nothing P.O's me off more than to see people mistreat dogs like that -- period !

I just don't get it ! Stupid people ! They should put them in a cage and NOT feed them for a couple of weeks !

Glad God put people like you on his mans earth !

Thanks for what your doing !

Oh yeah - lol Welcome from East Central Indiana :grin2:

... Ken

 

[melbrod]

Poor baby!! THANK YOU for taking her in.

 

[Beaumont67]

Bless U Hummingbird, for your utmost kindness.
- Roxie looks like she adapted to human Love and couch life, nice...:2smile:

Any Purina is not that good, typically full of cheap meat by-products soup protein & fillers.
Check this Link: https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/dry/all/
- 4 star kibble, should be a bare minimum
- I've found Nulo is high in quality meat protein, and also a 5 star rating
- we use Lamb & Lentils https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/nulo-medal-series/
- many dogs started on crap food, have an intolerance to chicken based ones / changing the meat source, can often help
- if Nulo is not within the budget / Costco has some decent grain free kibble
- cooked chicken breasts, is also a good idea...to supplement / a premium protein source

 

[dobebug]

I would not add calcium to the puppy's diet. Large, somewhat spread feet may be 1) hereditary or 2) part of a period of growth.

Adding calcium can have worse effects than a lack of calcium for big dog puppies. If you are feeding the regular ProPlan Puppy food, before you buy more check and see--I think that there is a Large Breed Puppy food. And I quit feeding puppy food and just feed ProPlan Focus (either Chicken and Barley or Sensitive Skin and Stomach--that's salmon for the protein). I think that ProPlan lists the Focus diets as All Life Stages.

There are some Dobes who simply have a loose somewhat spread food rather than the nice tight "cat" foot that they should have. You can't do much about that. A foot which is somewhat spread because they are going through a rapid growth phase will clear up on it's own as they mature.

The clumsyness of the hind legs is most likely just her age--good quality food (no added calcium) and muscle development will take care of that

I feed fish oil (not necessarily salmon oil--if the salmon oil comes only as a liquid I'd find some that is in gel caps--fish oils of any kind deteriorate rapidly with exposure to air even if you keep them refrigerated). I do not start feeding fish oil until the puppy is through teething (around 6 months). And if you are feeding fish oil of any kind you should also be feeding Vitamin E (available in capsules of 400iu) at the rate of 200 iu per 1000 mg of fish oil. I use Costco fish oil--comes in 1,000 mg capsules and their Vitamin E and give one fish oil cap and one Vitamin E cap for breakfast and one fish oil cap at dinner so the proportions work out right.

Congratulations on your new addition.

 

[Hummingbird]

Yes, I'm on a budget, and usually feed Costco brand food which is a 'generic' based on a high-quality brand. Roxie is allergic to wheat so she gets Kirkland salmon/sweet potato.

Karma just vomitted her food, and a couple large wiggly hookworms. I do understand the vet that runs the rescue is on a budget, and gets by on donated/expired meds, but as a pharmacist I gave her a lecture on giving me antibiotics that expired Aug 2015. Now wondering if they used expired ova & parasite tests since they have been dewormed and tested negative for O&P, and perhaps expired dewormer. Yes, I understand rescuing animals is done out of love and is the right thing to do...but as a pharmacist I realize that antibiotics, O&P tests, and dewormers need to be stored properly and not expired to actually do their job correctly!!! Taking her to vet/rescue tomorrow for deworming and weighing.

 

[dobebug]

Yes, I'm on a budget, and usually feed Costco brand food which is a 'generic' based on a high-quality brand. Roxie is allergic to wheat so she gets Kirkland salmon/sweet potato.

I have fed the regular Costco Chicken and Vegetable--my dogs have done fine on it--had one that couldn't eat it without ending up with diarrhea.

Karma just vomitted her food, and a couple large wiggly hookworms. I do understand the vet that runs the rescue is on a budget, and gets by on donated/expired meds, but as a pharmacist I gave her a lecture on giving me antibiotics that expired Aug 2015. Now wondering if they used expired ova & parasite tests since they have been dewormed and tested negative for O&P, and perhaps expired dewormer. Yes, I understand rescuing animals is done out of love and is the right thing to do...but as a pharmacist I realize that antibiotics, O&P tests, and dewormers need to be stored properly and not expired to actually do their job correctly!!! Taking her to vet/rescue tomorrow for deworming and weighing.

If Karma puked up something visible it wasn't a hookworm--they aren't visible to the naked eye. But the only other common worm that is visible without magnification would be tape worms and typically they don't get puked up--but you'll see shed segment around the anus and in bedding. If it was large and wiggly it was probably a roundworm or two roundworms. Puppies need to be wormed multiple times for roundworms--typically we (at the clinic where I work) do a fecal float on the puppy and even if it's negative we dispense enough dewormer (in liquid form) for four doses three weeks to a month apart for puppies in the 2 to 3 month range.

But unthrifty puppies can pick up round worms from the environment and they lay eggs in separated batches which is why the pups should be rewormed on a schedule. Wormers typically aren't sensitive to temperature and although they do have expiration dates the reality is that they are still very effective long long after the labeled expiration.

While we do pull all meds and food at or before the labeled expiration date in the clinic we also do donate them to rescues and vets who are doing two or three week trips to countries without adequet veterinary coverage. A couple of our vets went to Peru a year ago with a boxful of expired medications.

 

[psmithone]

please look into Nzymes.com. they have some products for just such a case as yours. they are dedicated to dog health and the products are true to their claim. i have been adding this to my dobies diet for 6 mos. and her coat is beautiful. she was also a BYB rescued from a kennel at age 5 mos.

i have a 16 1/2 yer old mixed breed Am. Eskimo and this has given her new life since being diagnosed with Cushing's Disease 2 1/2 years ago. She actually runs in the yard and rolls in the grass, something she hasn't been able to do for a long time. i truly believe in the holistic approach.

make sure to occasionally add raw eggs and meat to her diet. that is sure to help her grow healthy.

 

[sireed20]

Poor baby! She's a precious little thing! When I rescued mine, she was anorexic and threw up nonstop the first week no matter what the vet had me try (even rice and broth). I found she was allergic to grain and all her awful skin rashes weren't from the shelter, but from her diet.

Maybe for now keep her on a clean kibble, but you might want to look into a raw diet? Keep it low calcium (meaning less bones) until she stops growing at her joints. Yen was 10 months when I rescued her and I was able to get her up in weight within two months or so. I just fed vitamins mixed into raw meat, some raw bone, fish oil, and then those Darwin packs or freeze dried toppings to cover any nutrients I might have missed. It's the only diet Yen can tolerate and she does amazing on it! She's pretty much all muscle and no more rashes. Poor thing is allergic to potatoes as well. So much for "grain-free" kibble options...