Puppy Elbows?

[tfof]

I have a 13 week old girl. It looks like her front elbows bow outwards with her left front paw being exagerated more than the right. She is large boned and still has some girth in her belly. It reminds me of a bulldog stance with toes slightly inward. She moves and plays with no problems. It didn't seem as pronounced even a week ago, but now it looks a little odd. Is this normal developmental akwardness? Just curious.

[ThreeTs]

When you lift her front end up off the ground, so her front legs hang freely, do her legs straighten out and look good or are they still bowed?

If they look normal hanging in the air, but not when bearing weight then it could be a nutritional imbalance or over-nutrition. If that is the case you need to adjust the food to something with less calories (but still with Calcium levels controlled). This is according to Pat Hastings, a judge and puppy evaluator, from her book.

[bett]

i'd point it out to the vet.

[Canyon Labradors]

It's hard to comment on this without seeing. Maddy was broad in the chest as a pup so that her legs and elbows stood out a bit more. I attributed it to short upper arms and when she got some height, it fixed itself.

[tfof]

Here are some pics:

[ThreeTs]

Where are the photos?

Edit: When I go to your posts through your profile page I find the picture link, strange.

cali :: 000_0079.jpg picture by prepstarter - Photobucket

My word! That puppy looks to be knuckling over a lot on the left. What brand and formula of food are you feeding her?

What does her breeder say about this? Last time we chatted you were looking for a show breeder right? If you found a good one they would have more knowledge about your puppy than we do.

You need to talk to her breeder (I hope they are knowledgeable) and maybe a good breeder vet ASAP to determine what is causing this and get it corrected. If it is nutritional it may be fixable with a food change, the longer you wait the harder it is to correct, once the growth plates close it is permanent.

[tfof]

Thanks everyone. I am switching her to an adult large breed formula for a while to slow her growth. The breeder told me the same thing. One of her littermates is experience the same growth spurt.