Is my puppy growing too fast? 0.5kg in 2 days! Also, signs of hip dysplasia?

[basilcrow]

@joyousli I have an 8mo Beagle Lab mix and I remember when he was around 14 weeks old he was gaining about a pound per week. His weight gain did slow down once he was between 20 - 30 weeks old.
Keep in mind that (just like humans) puppies have growth spurts as well and it is my understanding that they grow tall/long between 3-6mo and then thicken out when they turn 12mo.
My best advice to keep track of his weight is to follow this chart: https://images.app.goo.gl/fLVXpFBHuMu1HDr67

 

[joyousli]

@basilcrow Thanks!! I think Bloo is between 3 and 4 before eating and 5 with a full tummy

 

[basilcrow]

@joyousli Sounds like Bloo is in the ideal range then! It's normal for a puppy to look thin because they're just growing really quickly.
As long as Bloo seems happy and has lots of energy then I wouldn't worry

 

[valleygal]

@joyousli My Aussie grew in spurts. On some weeks he barely gained weight and on some he gained a ton. I could tell he was going through a grow spurt because he would start sleeping a ton.

He is 6-months old now and was just diagnosed for hip dysplasia. The telling sign was that he started swaying his hips when walking (around 4 1/2 months). The vet said it’s normal for them to bunny hop or sit funnily when they are young since they have more flexibility. The swaying is a more definite sign, but it still needs to be confirmed by the vet.

They are able to test for hip dysplasia around 3 months old, so I’d say get him tested to put your mind at ease.

 

[joyousli]

@valleygal Oh no! Sorry to hear about that. May I ask how much swaying was enough of a sign? I can't tell if it's just normal movement swaying or hip problem swaying. And did he always sway when walking or just sometimes?

 

[valleygal]

@joyousli Thank you. I'm not sure how to explain it... it's a noticeable sway, kinda like when a person sways their hips on purpose. Sometimes his sway is less noticeable, but he definitely sways all the time. At first he didn't do it all the time though, so that's why it took me a while to get him tested.

Once I got concerned I recorded him and brought the video to the vet's office and after that they told me I should get him tested. Perhaps you could do that?

 

[joyousli]

@valleygal Thanks for the update! I will do that for the next visit. Thankfully, Bloo doesn't sway like how you described, but I'll keep an eye out to see if anything changes.

 

[valleygal]

@joyousli Sure! Worst case scenario, the earlier the diagnose, the easier it is to treat. We have an appointment with an specialist next week and that’s when we’ll find out what we can do. For now, they gave me some supplements that will help his bones.

 

[jimpaterno]

@joyousli We had a boxer growing up that did the wiggly hip walking thing when he was excited, no issues even as he got older. My mutt puppy does the "sloppy" sitting, I read somewhere that that's a thing heelers just do but it's pretty common in puppies anyway.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@joyousli With a mixed breed, it’s very hard to know if the sire is the sire the “breeder” says it is. It could be the dog down the road for all they know. So never assume the puppy is going to be a particular size especially with a variety of possible breeds in the pedigree. Sounds like you are feeding the right food. Stay away from grain free foods, they have been proven to cause heart problems.

Hip dysplasia is diagnosed through x-rays, not visually. Most dogs with hip dysplasia you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at them. Here in North America we have the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) that takes care of the hip scoring. Here’s a link to how hips are x-rayed and scored and what the x-rays look like. https://www.ofa.org/diseases/hip-dysplasia Good breeders will have both parents scored before breeding to make sure they aren’t passing on problems. In North America we cannot do hip x-rays until the dog is 24 months old. In the UK, 18 months old is their standard. You can score mixed breed dogs, so there is no limit that only pure bred dogs can be hip scored. You could ask the breed if this was done.

Have fun with your puppy sometimes we can get overly analytical on watching our puppies for any sign of problems. Sometimes they are just goofy puppies.