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Feet Splaying


shekhina
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From memory there could be quite a few things that can cause splaying in Rotti's.

Weight can be one of them. It can also be hereditary a weakness in the foot, or it can be nutritional. Over supplementing or deficiencies can also cause it. I know my breeder said that if the toes are tight - it means their food intake is well balanced.

Is your Rotti from a registered breeder? If so, you should be able to talk to them about it - they may be able to give you advice, or alternatively, speak to your vet.

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Although my breed is not a large one, they are muscular and weigh heavy for their size, and this breed can also suffer from splayed feet, sometimes it is hereditary, but often it is because they are mainly kept on soft surfaces.

My dogs run on concrete & scoria, volcanic pebbles red in colour, the hard surface keeps their feet tight and the scoria acts like a pumis stone and keeps nails short, I never have to cut toenails in this house :thumbsup::swear:

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Yes, Daegon is from a registered breeder...one I cannot get in contact with :thumbsup:

He is eating both supercoat puppy with pet mince and chicken wings. Also he's both inside and outside, so on firm surfaces. I'll try getting in contact with the breeder AGAIN...thanks guys :swear:

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5 months? He is likely teething. This can sometimes affect things. Some seem to go 'off' around teething time (down in pastern, feet splaying etc).

Definitely talk to your breeder if you can. Failing that, maybe get in touch with Lew (www.b-naturals.com) who is a Rotti breeder and a wealth of knowledge on nutrition.

Walking on gravel and/or sand is often suggested to help tighten feet.

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Shek are you adding Glucosamine and Vitamin C to his food? They were some of the things that were HIGHLY stressed as being necessary to support rapid growth in the breed by Luther's breeder.

ETA: What were his parent's feet like? Sometimes flat/splayed feet are genetic. DAMN my father for giving me the gene for dropped arches!!

Edited by ellz
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Yep, he's still teething at the moment, poor boy. Parent's feet were both OK, father's were better than mothers.

Where do I get glucosamine and vit c for him from, just a health food store?? Also, roughly how much does it cost so I can be prepared :thumbsup:

Thanks guys, wish there were a beach here I could walk him on.

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It can be nutritional - had it happen with our youngest ACD when we changed from Advance (we were having problems with supply when they rebadged) to another premium brand. Quickly changed back and feet tightened up again.

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Most common problem for feet splaying is if your dog is fed in a bowl on the floor!!!

You must in all larger breeds feed from a raised feeding bowl - this also helps food go down at the right angle and prevents bloat in deep chested breeds.

Do you feed on the floor or raised? This goes for water as well it must be at a correct height for your dog.

I use horse feeders with the metal hooks on the back for water with my Newfies - i have always fed them raised and have never had a problem with their feet.

Hope this helps

regards

Debbie

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Daegon is fed on the floor...I keep meaning to find something to raise his bowl with, will look for something tonight before I feed him. I never had a problem with my shepherd's feet so this is all a bit new.

Thanks for the tips guys, if raising his bowl doesn't work I'll get onto the other suggestions :thumbsup:

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Just to add - DO NOT try to supplement calcium yourself. If you suspect there may be a calcium deficiency go to your vet to 1) diagnose and 2) give you the dosage for the calcium.

Over supplementing can lead to a whole bunch of other problems in a 5mth old Rotti.

My thoughts (on hearing everything you are already doing) is that it will work itself out, and not to worry too much at this stage. :thumbsup:

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Raising his bowl is a must! At least he is young enough to hopefully correct this - please raise his food and water.

An old table with 2 holes cut into it would suffice but it must be adjusted as he grows. have the bowls just below his mouth so he just leans forward rather than bends down to eat.

Give it a couple of months and he should be good.

I would never give any supplement to a large puppy he will get enough goodness from his puppy food. Extra supplements will just cause problems later on in life.

let us know how he gets on in a couple months

regards

Debs

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Raising his bowl is a must! At least he is young enough to hopefully correct this - please raise his food and water.

An old table with 2 holes cut into it would suffice but it must be adjusted as he grows. have the bowls just below his mouth so he just leans forward rather than bends down to eat.

Give it a couple of months and he should be good.

I would never give any supplement to a large puppy he will get enough goodness from his puppy food. Extra supplements will just cause problems later on in life.

let us know how he gets on in a couple months

regards

Debs

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There was a large study done by one of the US uni's on bloat (Purnell I think - can't find the link at the mo) which found that elevating the bowl actually increases the incidence of bloat so I would be very caution about doing so. Will keep trying to find the link so you can all read it yourselves.

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There was a large study done by one of the US uni's on bloat (Purnell I think - can't find the link at the mo) which found that elevating the bowl actually increases the incidence of bloat so I would be very caution about doing so. Will keep trying to find the link so you can all read it yourselves.

I stand to be corrected :thumbsup:

Bloat

The above site is really good - i was always told elevated bowls reduced bloat - you live and learn

regards

Debs

At least this should correct his feet - just beware of bloat then!

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Use the raised bowls.

My newfies have never had bloat or splayed feet. The raising of the bowl will definately help his stance while eating - if worried give him smaller portions of food at different intervals.

Fast eating greedy dogs will take in air with their food which will add to the Bloat problem - read the link above its very informative.

regards

Debs

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