9 Month Sighthound Basic Condition Advice Please

[tb25 4,626]

Dog looks fine..

[Squeamish5 309]

Dog looks fine..

Hey. Look, I really don't want to be being tiresome or needy but, as I've embarked on this, just want to say..... Obvs I can see he looks fine and healthy... I lived with him and fed /exercised him every day since he got here a few months ago. My main question, that I was hoping for an answer to, probs should have been more clear... 'is (knobbly/ boney to touch) normal for a 9 month dog?' If the knobbles are to do with growth plates or growing/ 'developing', is letting him run at will over various incl hard surfaces going to have an impact on his skeletal integrity in the future?

Seriously, very grateful for all your replies. and the cakes are in the oven. X

[skycat 6,172]

To me, the dog looks like a normal pup of that age with a dash of Saluki in its breeding. The knobbly wrists (the bumpy bits above his front feet) are the growth plates, which is where new bone comes from during growth, to make the long leg bones. The growth plates are absorbed by the time growth has finished, but with so many tiny bones in the wrists they are always going to be a bit 'knobbly', especially in that type of dog where everything is much finer and more obvious than on a Labrador, for example.

It is impossible to get more weight on a pup of this type whilst it is growing, and with Saluki in there the dog will always look skinnier and less bulgy-muscled than a Greyhound, which is after all, a sprint runner as opposed to the marathon type. Just look at the differences between human athletes and how their body type varies depending on whether they are sprinters or long-distance runners.

If the dog has been castrated early, it may grow taller and more lightly built than if its hormones hadn't been removed during the growth period. Although I agree with rescue charities neutering all dogs, it is a mistake to do this before the dog has finished growing, and bone may be less substantial than if the dog had been allowed to grow naturally.

[mushroom 12,399]

Add some raw fat to its meals imo a pup of that age should have more reserves on its bones. It doesnt look unhealthy though.

 

Sky is right the nobbly bits are the growth plates which are far more pronounced in tall, gangly breeds when they are saplings.

[Squeamish5 309]

Thanks Skycat and Mushroom.

[boyo 1,398]

Mushy. I think someones hacked your account .. Thats two posts of yours ive read & not one mention about beating the crap out of the dog?? Haha Atb

[mushroom 12,399]

Gotta be nice sometimes