When the puppy arrives at our house it is normal to ask us some basic questions, especially if it is our first dog, such as how long it will take to learn to urinate in the right place or how long it will take to do so.reaching their adult size are among the most common in veterinary practice.
Sometimes we notice a difference in our dog’s growth compared to others and ask ourselves “Why doesn’t my dog grow?”In this article by Animal Expert we explain some of the diseases that can prevent your dog from developing normally.
- In this area we cover all the diseases that we unknowingly cause.
- Which can cause delays in the growth of the puppy.
If you want to offer your dog a home diet, you run the risk of not properly calculating the needs of all nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, fats …) and, at a critical stage, how the first months of this can lead to irrecoverable changes.
The most common is stunted growth as well as hypertrophic osteoarthritis caused by calcium supplements.”Rickets” comes to everyone’s memory, usually associated with a lack of calcium and phosphorus, but can be caused by a lack of vitamin D (without it, calcium cannot be made metabolism).
Regardless of our goodwill, we must understand that making food with love and care is not enough, some nutrients prevent the absorption of others and foods with more protein are not always beneficial (it all depends on the biological value of this protein and the kidney ends up paying excess). Sometimes the problem lies in the right proportion of trace elements.
If we want to offer a homemade diet to our puppy it is essential to go to a veterinary nutritionist who develops a specific diet adapted to our dog, avoiding the health risks mentioned above, however the ideal is to offer specific food for dogs.containing information that they are nutritionally complete.
Nutritional supplements should not be offered, as all medium-high quality diets have an adequate calcium-phosphorus ratio, as well as digestible proteins, a percentage of lipids, unsaturated fatty acids, etc.
Wondering about a growing dog supplement?The puppy will no longer grow better by taking additional supplements. It is obvious that they will be necessary if we opt for homemade plans, but we avoid using them at this critical time, because of the many benefits they have.can offer in the future. If you want to know if your dog is going to grow a lot, read our article on this topic.
At least in the first 12 to 18 months of life, depending on the type of breed of the dog, we should opt for a commercial quality diet, which includes details about the daily amount to be ingested and how to distribute it.
If the puppy suffers from congenital hypothyroidism, it means that it was born with an inability to produce enough thyroid hormones, leading to obvious changes:
At first we think that your lack of coordination of movements and your constant drowsiness were due to the fact that you are a puppy, but over time it becomes more evident.If you know your siblings from the same litter, you may notice that after a few months, they will develop normally while yours remains small and inactive.
A complete analysis, which determines the production of thyroid hormones and the production of hormones such as TSH and TRH, directs the veterinarian towards pathology.
The best option is the administration of thyroid hormone (thyroxine) every 12 hours, regular visits to the veterinarian are essential to adjust the dose, as well as perform thorough tests to control possible metabolic changes.
Fortunately it is rare, although almost all veterinarians with more than a decade of experience have already had one of these cases in their hands, it is a congenital deficiency of growth hormone (somatotropin), which occurs at the pituitary level.common name “pituitary dwarfism”.
As its congenital state indicates, it is an inherited alteration, typical of certain breeds, being undoubtedly the German shepherd the most affected; cases of spitz and weimar hems have been reported on a much smaller scale.
From the two months we begin to notice that our dog does not grow like the others, over time, there are some characteristics of this disease:
If we do not act in time, after a variable time, the effects of growth hormone deficiency and the lack of other pituitary hormones (hypothyroidism) will appear, which usually occurs after one or two years, so that virtually everyone with pituitary dwarfism develop hypothyroidism after this period.
The clinical evolution of our dog’s periodic visits will result in the suspicion of the veterinarian, who will perform a blood test of IGF-I (Insulin Growth Factor), that is, something that the liver synthesizes in direct order of growth hormone or somatotropin, it is easier to detect this factor than the hormone itself and therefore its absence is determined , however, other alterations, such as metabolic or mishandled, should be ruled out before determining treatment.
There is no exclusive option and the life expectancy of these dogs is less than that of a normal dog, but they can still live a few years with a good quality of life if they are treated properly.
Sometimes inadequate blood flow can cause stunting.It is common to observe in individual litters that one individual grows less than others and detecting a heart murmur during auscultation.
This may be valve stenosis (it doesn’t open properly), which means that blood expelled from the heart to the organs is not the same.Clinical signs are an inactive dog with stunted growth.It is a congenital disease, which is why the parents of this puppy should stop reproducing, as well as the siblings of this litter.
Other times we find ourselves in a persistent arterial canal, it is a duct present in the fetus before birth, through which the venous and arterial blood (oxygenated and not oxygenated) is mixed.Nothing happens to the fetus, as the mother is responsible for providing oxygen, but if she does not atrophy before birth as she should, the consequences will be:
Listening to a continuous breathing at the base of the heart (upper area) in a puppy that does not grow, as well as weakness and intolerance to exercise usually indicate this pathology, if it is also a sensitive breed (Malta, Pomerania, German Shepherd …) is a strong indication that it is a disease, so x-rays, electrocardiograms and, eventually, Ultrasound.
The canal is easy to fix with relatively simple surgery, but it is about opening the chest, once the duct is connected, the heart will start to function normally, the postoperative is painful but the puppy can continue its development normally and grow like any other.adult of your breed It all depends on the condition in which it is detected and the previous damage suffered by the heart before the procedure.
Valvular stenosis (aortic, pulmonary, etc.) is much more complicated and valvular cardiac surgery is not as developed as in humans.
There are many metabolic or structural problems with which our puppy can be born that can stop its growth.Let’s summarize some of them:
This article is for informational purposes only, in Animal Expert.com.br we cannot prescribe veterinary treatments or make any type of diagnosis, we suggest taking your pet to the veterinarian in case of any type of condition or discomfort.
If you would like to read articles similar to, we recommend that you visit our Other Health Problems section.