Signs to look for
- a visible growth spurt around 4–6 months
- limping late in a walk
- the shoulder muscle looks wasted
- fed by eye, and the bowl is always empty
Why it happens
An actual case: a male Great Dane, almost seven months old. His owner was a Great Dane breeder and he was one of a litter of five. He looked healthy, but his gait was awkward and by the end of a walk he was limping on his right foreleg.
He weighed 44kg at a body condition score of 4/5 — somewhat overweight. He had shot up between four and six months and had a strong appetite. On palpation the muscle over his shoulder blade was mildly wasted, and both shoulder joints gave mild crepitus and pain. An X-ray showed a wedge-shaped radiolucent area in the head of the humerus — consistent with osteochondritis dissecans (OCD).
Then they looked at the food. The breeder had been feeding the puppy the same reproduction-formula diet he gave the dam, assuming it would suit him too. And he had recently started adding a calcium supplement to strengthen the skeleton.
In numbers: fat at 23% (recommended 8.5–17% for large-breed puppies) and calcium at 1.6% (recommended 0.9–1.2%). Both are nutrients proven to be risk factors for developmental orthopaedic disease. On top of that, the label’s feeding guide was treated as a suggestion and portions were judged generously by eye, and competing with his littermates meant he always cleaned the bowl.
The conclusion first: the stage at which diet alone could have turned this around had already passed.
Calcium is the trap. A puppy’s ability to regulate calcium absorption does not work strictly. Feed a high-calcium diet between two and six months and the gut cannot suppress uptake, so it is absorbed in excess. That regulation only settles in around ten months. In other words, calcium added "for strong bones" goes straight in during exactly the window where nothing stops it. If you are using a food formulated for large-breed puppies, a calcium supplement is unnecessary and may do harm.
And this is the heart of it. Adult size has little to do with growth rate. A puppy growing normally will reach the same adult frame on restricted feeding. Feeding for maximum growth rate raises the risk of skeletal disease and nothing else. Growing them fast does not make them bigger — it only wears the joints.
The puppy was switched to a large-breed growth diet (31% protein, 17% fat, 1.2% calcium, 0.9% phosphorus). Lowering the fat slows the growth rate. Feeding by eye stopped: daily energy requirement was calculated and split into two set meals. The target body condition score was 2.5/5 — the "isn’t he a bit thin?" range is the correct one.
Developmental orthopaedic disease also raises the risk of degenerative joint disease after maturity. How you feed now is still there in the joints years later.
Signs that mean go to the vet
An awkward gait or a limp needs a vet first. Lameness during growth has things that only an X-ray will show, and once the window for dietary correction closes it becomes a surgical problem
Do not add a calcium supplement on top of a large-breed puppy food. At this age a puppy cannot regulate calcium absorption on its own
Do not feed several dogs from one bowl. Competitive eating can lead to gastric dilatation-volvulus, which has a high fatality rate. Feed them separately, somewhere quiet
Related ingredients
Related behaviour
General nutrition information. It does not replace a diagnosis or a prescription. If your animal has a medical condition or is on medication, talk to your veterinarian first.