i stay in a apartment and iam afraid tht my puppy's legs may be effected by the joint problems as i heard from my friends tht if the pup is kept in apartment on a smooth flooring it may have joint problems.So i need asuggestion abt how to avoid this problem and wat r the immediate precautions tht are to be taken.iam giving Calcium regularly to my puppy from the age of one month.is this sufficient to aviod the problem.
Answers:
Actually most of the giant breeds and a lot of large breeds develop panostetitis as they grow - don't panic, that is growing pains, literally. The bone grows so fast that it actually hurts. They go on again, off again lame. Your vet can give you anti-inflammatories to ease the discomfort and you restrict his activity level. They outgrow it.
DO NOT FEED SUPPLEMENTS. Too much is as bad as too little. You can create a phosphorus imblance with calcium supplements. 99.99% of the world gets it wrong and excessive stimulation of the calcium levels can trigger panostetitis. DO NOT DO THIS UNLESS RECOMMENDED BY YOUR VET AFTER REVIEWING HIS DIET! DO NOT BELIEVE THE ADVERTISING SNAKE OIL SALESMEN
With the giant breeds, we get them off puppy food at 6 months as it is too rich for their bone development. Too much protien, too much CALCIUM, too much of everything.
From weaning to 4 -6 months use a top quality puppy food - Iams will do. Use the regular puppy food - the large breed puppy food is too rich and unnecessary. These dogs have survived for centuries on what they could scavange for food and their systems can't take it.
After 6 months, switch to a food for ADULT LARGE breeds. Iams makes one that is okay but my crew turn up their noses at Iams and Science Diet (and Purnia should be placed directly in the trash in their view.) . Solid Gold Dog Food which was designed large breeds is excellent and was developed by a Dane breeder for the large/giant breeds. You can talk to their nutritionist. (Can't buy it at the grocery or Wal-mart or petsmart). Go here to find a dealer
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/.
Wood floors won't create joint problems in the bone with a puppy so much as aggravate existing conditions like elbow dysplasia and hip dysplasia (all the diet in the world can't fix those problems - they are born with it.) A dog either is born with dysplasia (hip/elbow) or not - it is GENETIC which is why a responsible breeder, before breeding, zryas the dog and submits them to the OFA for grading. . One can not "cause" dysplasia by exercie or nutrition but the excessive exercise too young can trigger the symtoms (lameness, pain etc.)
To keep him from slipping and sliding and pulling muscles and tendons around the joints and thus causing damage, put down some heavy throw rugs - braided or similar weight. Oriental rugs are good. Use some runners in the hall.
If you live near an area with a beach, take him there for runs. The impact in the sand is soft so it doesn't damage young growing bone and it develops wonderfully strong muscles and tendons (and wears him out faster since it is harder work to run in the sand so he plays himself out more quickly.)
Please talk to your breeder - I do hope you got him from a responsible breeder who is active in the breeed and showing and keeps complete records on their dogs and their genetics and devlopement and does all the health exams before breeding; and not a backyard, wouldn't it be fun to have a litter, gee I love my doggy breeder.
Hard-wood floors are actually bad for all dogs, but especially on dogs that will be as large as yours. Make sure to have stable area rugs that won't slide all over your apartment.
The calcium should help, but also do internet research on other things you can do. Most Mastiff's end up needing surgery at relatively young ages, so just be prepared for that.
Throw down some area rugs with a good sticky backing, give him some glucosamine and ask your vet about adequine shots.it's a steroid they inject into the joints i believe. It worked so good on a severely displastic Rottweiler puppy I had who I was told would need to be put down because of the hip problems. She lived to be 10 (old for a Rottie!) and I seriously believe it is because of the adequine.
Letting the animal get overweight is more of a problem than its environment, speak with your vet to determine a good weight for your puppy, another problem could also be that they grow too fast, don't overfeed him now when they are young.
Talk to your vet about the calcium. Too much can be just as bad as too little. Also, don't feed "large breed puppy food" they actually cause some joint problems.
The best thing to do is feed a good quality adult food right now. They have all the nutrition they need and they do much better on it.
Look up Innova, California Natural, Artemis, Wellness, and Canidae. All are great. They have websites that will tell you more about puppy nutrition.
Glucosamine and Choindroitin work best if they are given long term, and have no side effects, so start those now. Get it from a vet or holistic pet food store.
He should be fine on those floors, or get runners or area rugs.
With all very large breed puppies you should be careful to feed a low protein diet so that they do not grow too quickly, putting strain on the joints. Generally speaking, you do not want to feed "puppy" food - large breeds should be raised on adult dog food. Also, do not overexercise your Neo puppy. Be careful with this until he is about 2 years old. There is evidence that too much exercise at a young age can cause hip dysplasia. I would get some throw rugs for the floor so that he can walk more easily though I don't know if slippery flooring, per se, causes joint issues. I would talk to a vet about proper diet and supplements and other concerns related to your Neo's joints.
OK, well, as for the calcium.. I would slowly ween him off of that. he doesnt need it. I also agree not to feed him the large breed puppy food. I have seen the results of some studies done on these dog foods and they caused more damage than being good. I personally recommend you pick what kind of dog food you will feed this dog for the rest of his life and put him on it now and stick with it. I like the natural diets but you might not be up for making it yourself. other good choices are Nutri-Care (plus it is pretty cheap) and Beneful. I do not like Iams or Pedigree or Purina. Also, the reason I say you need to get him off the calcium now is that it could overdose the little guys system with calcium and could end up making things worse for him in the long run.. ( I have seen it do this before to pet owners who tried to give their pets the best and it backfired on them). Wait until he gets older and IF he does end up getting joint or hip problems in the future. then start giving him Glucosamine. I had a 36 year old horse whos old joints and hips were hurting. he was almost to the point where he couldnt move.. started giving him the glucosamine pills and within a week and a half he was running and bucking.. he moved around great until the day he dies 2 years later. I wouldnt ever return to the calcium, it really is having no positive effects. only risking having adverse effects by using it. Another BIG point is to keep your dog fit. The more physically fit your dog stays, the fewer problems will occur. As for the apartment. unnless it is slick floors, it wont cause any future problems. if they are lsick floors, make sure you pupt down almost constand carpeting in the form of rugs so that your puppy wont have the chance to slip and slide. Good luck!
you need to make sure that you dont over feed him, and give him a proper diet, lots of excercise to keep the weight down, because they are such a big breed there hips can go bad with too much weight, it will make the hips sepearte
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