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Why doesn't my dog ​​grow up?


Poor feed handling

This section includes those pathologies that we cause with our ignorance of the puppy, and can cause delays in its growth.
If we want to give a homemade diet , very fashionable in recent times, we run the risk of not properly calculating the needs of each and every one of the nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fats, ions...) , and at a critical stage such as the first months of life, it can lead to irrecoverable alterations.
The most striking may be the stunted growth , along with osteodystrophy hypertorphic that cause calcium supplements.We all remember "rickets", which although it was always related to lack of calcium and phosphorus, rather it is usually due to lack of vitamin D (without it an adequate metabolism is not possible of calcium).
Regardless of our goodwill, we must understand that Although we make very carefully and carefully the homemade diet, sometimes certain foods included, prevent the absorption of nutrients from others, and it is that not always a food with a lot of protein provides benefits (everything depends on the biological value of that protein, and the excesses are paid by the kidney), and sometimes the problem is that we fail to maintain an adequate relationship between the different trace elements.

How to avoid nutritional deficiencies in puppies?

If we want to offer our puppy homemade recipes, it will be essential to go to a nutritionist veterinarian to prepare a specific and appropriate diet for our puppy, otherwise we run the risk of suffering the health problems mentioned above.However, the ideal is to offer specific feedingstuffs for puppies that contain the "nutritionally complete" sign on the package label.
We must refrain from offering nu supplements tricional, since all commercial preparations (i.e.feed) of medium-high quality have an adequate calcium-phosphorus ratio, as well as digestible protein, fat percentage, unsaturated fatty acids, etc.
Our Puppy will not grow any more, or better (maybe quite the opposite) for providing extra supplements.It is obvious that they will be necessary if we opt for homemade diets, but we should avoid these during this critical period, for many advantages they could offer in the future.
At least in the first 12-18 months of life, depending on the type of dog breed, we should opt for a quality commercial diet , in which even the detailed daily amount to take and how to distribute it.
Why doesn't my dog ​​grow up?


Congenital hypothyroidism

If our puppy suffers from congenital hypothyroidism, we should know that our dog is born with an inability to produce enough thyroid hormones.That results in obvious abnormalities :
  • Growth retardation.
  • Dullness, lack of appetite, lethargy...
  • A little active, and clumsy puppy.
  • Little lustrous fur, and with puppy appearance, alopecia.
  • Lack of ossification in certain parts of the bones.
At first the lack of coordination of movements and the constant drowsiness, but with the passage of time it becomes evident.If we know other brothers of his same litter, we can notice how after a few months they reach a normal development, while ours continues with its appearance of a plump and inactive puppy.

Diagnosis

A complete analytical , which determines the production of thyroid hormones and the production of hormones As they force the thyroid to produce hormones (TSH and HRT), it will guide our veterinarian about the pathology of our puppy.

Treatment

Launica option is the supply of thyroid hormone (thyroxine) every 12 hours, for life.Periodic reviews are essential, in order to adjust the dose, as well as complete analytics to control possible metabolic alterations.


Pituitary dwarfism

Luckily, it's really uncommon, albeit to almost all veterinarians in more than a decade of experience, they will have to deal with some case.It is the congenital deficiency of growth hormone (somatotropin), which is produced at the level of the pituitary gland.Hence its vulgar name of "pituitary dwarfism".
As its congenital condition indicates, it is a hereditary alteration , typical of certain races, and the German shepherd is undoubtedly the most affected.To a much lesser extent, cases have been described in spitz and weimaraner.

Symptoms

After two months we begin to notice that our dog does not develop like the rest.As time passes, We found certain characteristics of this disease :
  • Persistence of puppy fur and later, alopecia.
  • Pyoderma, skin infections.
  • Body proportions are maintained (they are like an adult, but in small).
  • The gonadas suffer atrophy (the testicles, in males, are very poorly developed).
  • The fontanelles, that is, joints of the skull bones, remain much longer open.
  • Puppy denticion remains a long time, there is an obvious delay in the passage to the definitive denture.
If we cannot remedy, after a variable time, the effects of growth hormone deficiency and the lack of other hormones will appear pituitary (hypothyroidism), something that often happens after one or two years.In fact, practically those who suffer pituitary dwarfism develop hypothyroidism after this period of time.
  • Hypothyroidism : inactivity, lack of appetite, lethargy...
  • Renal alterations: because the lack of thyroxine thyroid hormone causes these damages.

Diagnosis

The clinical evolution in the periodic reviews of our puppy will make our veterinarian suspect, who will perform a blood determination of the IGF-I (is the Insulin-like Growth Factor) , that is, something that the liver synthesizes by direct order of the growth hormone or somatotropin.It is easier to detect that the hormone itself), and will determine its absence.However, it will previously rule out other alterations, such as metabolic or poor management, before proceeding to establish a treatment.

Treatment

There is no exclusive option and the survival of these dogs is less years than a normal dog, but they can have a good quality of life for a while if they are treated.
  • Hormone growth (human or bovine).It is complicated to acquire and expensive, but applied 3 times a week for a few months can give good results.
  • Medroxyprogesterone or proligestone: Analogs of the hormone progesterone.Before starting to treat with any sex hormone, it is necessary to castrate both males and females.Pretty employed, especially the first one.
  • T iroxine: As everyone develops hypothyroidism after a couple of years, thyroid function is usually measured every few months, and when you notice its decrease in analytics, medicate for life.
Why doesn't my dog ​​grow up?


Heart problems

Occasionally an inadequate blood flow can cause growth delays.It is common to observe in numerous litters some individual who grows less than the rest, and detect in the heart murmur in the auscultacion.
Sometimes it is a valve stenosis (it does not open properly), so the blood ejected from the heart to the organs is not the same and the Most characteristic symptoms is a somewhat more inactive puppy with stunted growth.It is a congenital pathology, which is why the parents of that puppy should stop reproducing and their litter brothers too.
Other times it is a persistent ductus arteriosus , it is a conduit that is present in the fetus before birth, through which venous and arterial blood (oxygenated and non-oxygenated) is mixed.nothing happens, since the mother is responsible for providing oxygen, but if it does not atrophy before birth As it should happen, the consequences will be:
  • A puppy that does not grow, with symptoms of lack of appetite.
  • Weakness, tachypnea.
  • Position to treat of breathe better (head extended).
  • Collapse, total exercise intolerance...

Diagnosis of ductus arteriosus

Auscultate a single continuum in the base of the heart (upper zone) in a puppy that does not grow, along with weakness and exercise intolerance usually indicates this pathology.If it is also of a susceptible breed (maltes, pomeranian, German shepherd...), we will be on the clue.It would be necessary to perform plaques, electrocardiogram and possibly ultrasound .

Treatment

The ductus is easy to resolve by surgery relatively simple but that involves addressing the thorax.The duct is ligated, and the heart begins to work normally.It is a somewhat painful postoperative period, but the dog can complete its normal development and grow like any adult of its breed.Of course, it depends on the degree with which it is detected, and on the previous damages that the heart has suffered before being intervened.enido.
A stenosis of a valve (Aortic, Pulmonary, etc.), is something much more complicated, the surgery of the cardiac valves is not as developed as in humans.


Other pathologies

There are a lot of metabolic or structural problems with which our puppy can be born and that can lead to a delay in its growth.Next, we will briefly summarize some of them:
  • Hepatic disorders : The liver is the purifier of the body and its malfunction due to congenital or acquired problems, can lead to abnormal growth.
  • Intestinal problems : Calcium is absorbed at the intestinal level, and its metabolism is directly related to vitamin D levels.Any failure in the enterocytes (gut cells) can alter calcium absorption.
  • Kidney problems : All calcium and phosphorus homeostasis depends on proper renal function.
  • Diabetes mellitus : An insufficient production of insulin by birth may cause cause abnormal growth.
Why doesn't my dog ​​grow up?
This article is merely informative, in https://animalsandpetsonline.blogspot.com we have no power to prescribe veterinary treatments or make any kind of diagnosis.We invite you to take your pet to the veterinarian in case you present any type of condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Why does my dog ​​not grow? , we recommend that you enter our Other health problems section.
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