My 8-week Rottie puppy has weak ankles. What can I do to help?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am afraid that it is not possible to tell you how to cure her condition without being able to know what is exactly going on as therapy is targeted at the specific condition. Possibilities include an issue with her hips, disc herniation, arthritis or other orthopedic conditions. The main thing is that it could also be due to weakness secondary to dehydration just to give you an example. I highly recommend that you consider taking her to a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Your veterinarian would be able to examine her and determine what would be best to treat her with. Good luck!

It is vital to have an active growing puppy on a specialised, large breed puppy food, especially if there is evidence of any growing pains or irregularities. A tight balance of minerals (especially calcium and phosphorous) as well as vitamin d, protein levels and energy levels will promote healthy growth and development. An unbalanced or inappropriate diet can lead to over rapid growth of bone, cartilage or muscle and development of muscle and bone development issues. If there is any pain or discomfort you should have a full vet check arranged as soon as possible to rule out inflammation or injury

That is very unusual to hear of weak hind legs. There are two primary causes: poor genetics or poor nutrition. I recommend to work closely with a veterinarian to figure out the cause and start this ASAP before things get worse. Nutrition can be remedied by feeding a high quality diet meant for growing, large breed puppies. I recommend Royal Canin large breed puppy or Royal Canin German Shepherd Puppy. It's hard to know if poor nutrition will have a lasting impact at this point. Genetic causes may be corrected with surgery and physical therapy. Baron likely needs radiographs to look at his bones and joints. It is also important to make sure Baron is regularly checked for worms and parasites as well as treated. These will steal his nutrition. I hope this helps.

Congratulations on your new puppy Griff! At such a young age, it’s hard to say how things will develop and I agree that monitoring him is appropriate right now. He will see the veterinarian frequently since he is getting his vaccine series. Make sure they check his legs and hips each visit and watch him walking. You can get radiographs done but at such a young age, it may be hard to identify any pathology. Radiographs done when he is 9-12 months old will be more likely to be diagnostic. Sometimes a CT scan can catch bone abnormalities earlier. It’s very important that you feed him a puppy food and that he does not become overweight while he is developing. Royal Canin makes specialized puppy food based upon the expected adult weights so you might check them out. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, thanks for using Petcoach! Fierce is beautiful! based on your pictures she looks like a healthy puppy! The weight of dog is based on it's bone structure. Not all dogs within the same breed will weigh exactly the same. Just like people. Fierce has a lot of growing still to do. She may be a more petite Rotweiller, which is perfectly fine. We want her to be a good body condition, over feeding her could lead to obesity which is a health issue. You want her to just be healthy! I've attached a body condition chart to help you figure out if she is an ideal body condition score. https://oregonvma.org/files/Purina-Dog-Condition-Chart.pdf I hope this eases your mind!

According to a small animal surgical expert on VIN (the veterinary information network): "Treatment involves regular periods of exercise on secure surfaces such as a grassed area. Light supporting bandages may be used to support the carpus in very severely affected cases but splintage should be avoided because it protects the muscles from the load induced by exercise which is essential for the development of increased muscle tone. Most pups respond in 2–6 weeks to this form of treatment and the prognosis is good." I would speak to Hulk's vet about treatment for his condition.

Congratulations on your new puppy. Unfortunately, hip dysplasia is a genetic disorder passed on to pups from the mother and father of the litter. It is important to verify that your breeder has had the parents hips checked by a veterinarian with X-rays to determine if they have good hip confirmation. If they have had the parents hips "certified" as good or excellent, that increases the chance that your pup will have good hips. If the parents have hip dysplasia, that trait will likely be passed down to the puppies. Your pups hips will be what they are going to be...you cannot change that. You can feed your puppy a good quality puppy food, maintain a healthy weight and build up the proper muscle mass to keep them in good shape, but you cannot prevent hip dysplasia. It is always best to research the parents of a litter prior to purchasing a puppy. You can still ask the breeder to see if they took the appropriate steps of having the breeding pair's hips certified.