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Rock walking flat!!

2K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  sam77755 
#1 ·
Hi Everyone
This is my first post here, been always a Great Dane person and lately I decided to get a dobie.
To make a long story short I took the wrong route and I did not get the Puppy from a breeder, Rocky is about 6 month old and we were a hair away from not getting him because he looked ridiculously malnutritioned and very very skinny… However my wife and I looked at each other and decided to pay the lady the money she wanted for him (just to get him out of there and provide him the care he needs since we are looking for a family dog and not a champion)… now that he is our new family member I have several questions to you Dobie experts. (his first appointment with the vet is 1 week from today).
1. What is the best way to get his growth back on track (food, supplements, exercise ect..)
2. He seems to be walking flat especially on his hind paws ( i.e. not on his toes but rather more on the sole of his foot) is this normal? Do they outgrow this? He seems to be very mobile and coordinated.

Thanks in advance.. I will try to post pictures soon.
 
#2 ·
How long have you had him? From what you are saying about his condition, you should be doing your best to get him in to see the vet as soon as possible, rather than waiting until next week. If you vet is open on Saturdays, I would be there when they opened. If he is truly malnourished, your vet should run bloodwork to check for organ damage. And no, him walking on his hocks is not normal. It could be the result of malnutrition, or it could be from poor conformation.
 
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#3 ·
These items need to be evaluated by your vet. It's impossible to say what he needs via the interweb.


1. What is the best way to get his growth back on track (food, supplements, exercise ect..)
2. He seems to be walking flat especially on his hind paws ( i.e. not on his toes but rather more on the sole of his foot) is this normal? Do they outgrow this? He seems to be very mobile and coordinated.
 
#8 ·
I'd be very careful using Satin Balls to put weight on a puppy who may have been malnurished at the breeders. Satin Balls were intended for use in older dogs--usually being shown to make sure they maintained weight if they were away from home showing.

That much fat and protein in quantity is not the best thing to give puppies. It'd be better to give a little extra food and put the weight on slowly. And I'd wait for the vet to see him and hear what advice the gave.

The fact that the puppy is not up on his feet may be a conformation issue--he simply has bad feet with long toes or just plain flat feet. But it's also possible that he really did lack something in his diet--in which case a good diet should take care of getting him up on his feet. Again--a question best addressed to your vet first.
 
#9 ·
Thank you to everyone who provided valuable information on this thread.
After being with our family for only about 4 days, Rock started to look alot better and healthier, his coat started gaining it's shine, his ribs are starting to show less, his hind legs are getting stronger due to playing with our 1 year old Vizsla all day long and daily 1 hour running sessions in the offleash park).
His vet appointment is on Thursday and we are hopping all will be well.
 
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