[Todd]

hey guys, i was recently watching a television program talking about stunted growth in hobbits or something. what does this have to do with dogs you ask? well, i was just curious if puppies can suffer from stunted growth as well, like from lack of nutrition or something from poor quality kibble or not enough. maybe too much exercise? how much could these factors stunt a dogs growth? if growth is stunted, what long term effects could this pose? just wondering if the same things apply to puppies as some human cases considering many puppies are running around on the streets. this could account for breeding standard issues. thanks!

[Lunareclipse]

It sure could! A dog's growth could also be stunted if the dog has had a serious injury as a puppy. The nutrients it needed to grow goes into making the dog better instead.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Lunareclipse

It sure could! A dog's growth could also be stunted if the dog has had a serious injury as a puppy. The nutrients it needed to grow goes into making the dog better instead.

thanks for the reply. wonder if puppies fed low quality foods are stunted as opposed to those fed high quality foods? could this effect current breed standards?

[Lunareclipse]

Some low quality foods can make a dog grow larger than what they are supposed to grow too. But it will give them bone problems later in life.

[Bacis Dad]

yeah it is unlikely that food will stunt the growth... Even High quality foods can cause overgrowth, you need to make sure the guarenteed analysis matches the dog.... The only time I feel that food would contribute to growth defects is due to the bitch being malnourished on a poor diet. But same as humans its a defect and its a genetics card!

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Bacis Dad

yeah it is unlikely that food will stunt the growth... Even High quality foods can cause overgrowth, you need to make sure the guarenteed analysis matches the dog.... The only time I feel that food would contribute to growth defects is due to the bitch being malnourished on a poor diet. But same as humans its a defect and its a genetics card!

makes sense. what about homeless puppies who don't get nearly enough to eat like going through the garbage. would that result in stunted growth or just if the bitch is malnourished?

[Bacis Dad]

I think that a homeless dog would most likely just be skinny if they can live through a poor diet and enough of it, I dont feel it would cause deformities like stunted growth just malnutritional problems. I would think it would mostly effect organs more so then bones. You know I did know a dog that battled parvo for a while (shocked it lived considering how long it had it) and after it cured all its hair fell out and stayed a few pounds lighter then breed standard (nothing significant though). Apparently bc of lack of any nutrients for the length of time she had parvo its caused the hair to fall out, and my assumption a slightly smaller stature... But that is extreme being it was caused by disease and there was no food absorption for around 2 weeks

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by Bacis Dad

yeah it is unlikely that food will stunt the growth... Even High quality foods can cause overgrowth, you need to make sure the guaranteed analysis matches the dog.... The only time I feel that food would contribute to growth defects is due to the bitch being malnourished on a poor diet. But same as humans its a defect and its a genetics card!

You pretty much covered it. On rare occasions a pup suffering from malnutrition may suffer from this but in most cases it is a genetic issue as much related to a bitch that is not receiving enough nutrition.
My current Pinscher litter is constantly nursing and I have to feed the bitch currently 3 bowls a day to keep her up along with goats milk just to satisfy the pups and in this breed being the bitch is small, the pups are also but has not slowed their appetite in the least.