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-   -   Does anybody know of a heredity issue that could cause lack of weight/muscle gain in (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=62035)

jaclmickles April 10th, 2009 12:42 AM

Does anybody know of a heredity issue that could cause lack of weight/muscle gain in
 
Great Danes? (Sorry, the Title line wouldn't let me be that specific [long winded] in it.)
Also, sorry if this whole post is so long.

When we rescued Athos a few years ago he was really skinny. I figured it was poor care by the previous owner. I started him on raw, and he gained a little, but you could still count his ribs from across the room. When he went to the vet I had them start testing him to see if there was a medical cause. The vet we had at the time did every test they could without coming up with an answer. I have also mentioned it to ither vets, but none have been able to give me a reason. I have tried to search online, but have not found an answer there either. I know Great Danes are lean animals, but when they look malnourished, even though they are not, it's too lean.
Okay, here's where the heredity comes in to play. (Though I can give the details as to how we had puppies, I wanted the original topic here to focus on the weight issue. However, if you would like my assurances it was in no way intentional and I have, and continue to, take full responsibility for all the puppies, I will go into that detail in a reply upon your asking.) Anyway, I, myself, have three of the puppies. Pacino is well filled out, like Sabine. D'Artagnan is in between, but Odinn takes after his Dad. The puppies are now 10 1/2 months old. Odinn is growing height wise, but is not filling out at all. We feed Canidae. For a while we mixed with Taste of the Wild. We did not want to feed straight TOTW because of the high protein content. Anyway, the diet change, after months, did not change the growth pattern. So, we went back to just Canidae for now. We've tried probiotics and digestive enzymes. Unfortunately, there's nothing that helped Athos, or Odinn. Though a few of the other puppy siblings are on the lean side like Athos, not Sabine, it is most prevailent in Odinn. I've asked various vets, but none seem to have an answer. I don't know if it's just something they can't figure out, or if it's because they aren't as familiar with giant breeds. Athos was a very tall Dane, (I am 5'6", and his head came to my chest, his shoulders at my waist.) but he only weighed 120 lbs, if he ever even made it that high. With his height he should have weighed a minimum of 150.

Can anybody help me or give me suggestions to ask the vet to check? As I said, the vet we originally used with Athos did every test, blood, urine, stool, that they could, over a peiod of two months, with no answer.

I appreciate any help. Though Odinn is healthy otherwise, I would like for him to be at his best. I also worry that as he gets older his lack of muscle mass will cause major problems.

Thank you

Christy

[IMG]http://photos-a.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v552/123/18/1616318054/n1616318054_33896_1340.jpg[/IMG]
My three pups on a playdate with a brother, taken in November. They're much taller now.

TeriM April 10th, 2009 01:32 AM

If the raw diet helped before then I would definately be tempted to try that with the pup as well. Are there any signs of food intolerances? Examples might be loose poops or hugely volumous poops when compared to the other dogs. Some dogs are also harder keepers then others. My dog Riley will need to eat more food then his brother even with the same activity level.

LavenderRott April 10th, 2009 05:50 AM

Here is an excellent site for genetic disorders. Great Danes are listed and there are several issues.

[URL="http://www.upei.ca/~cidd/intro.htm"]http://www.upei.ca/~cidd/intro.htm[/URL]


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