help my dog has growing pains!
Growing pains in dogs mainly occur in medium and large dog breeds. In addition, puppies and young dogs specifically suffer from growing pains. This is because it mainly occurs between the age of 6 months and a maximum of 2 years. How does growing pains occur, what are the symptoms and what do you do about it? We would like to tell you more about it in this blog.
DEVELOPMENT OF GROWING PAINS
Medium-sized and large dog breeds grow quite fast between 6 and 18 months. The growth spurt is particularly evident in your dog's legs. His or her bones suddenly become a lot longer and thicker. This has the effect of increasing the nutritional requirements (blood flowing in and out through the dog's veins via the nutritional channels in the bone) of the bones. The feeding channels often cannot keep up with the rapid growth of the bones, causing the blood vessels to constrict and causing congestion in the bone marrow and fluid accumulation under the periosteum. This pain is called growing pain.
SYMPTOMS OF GROWING PAINS
Symptoms that may indicate growing pains in your puppy or dog include lame/ankle walking, not wanting to walk or get up, sluggish behaviour and fatigue. Your dog may also be more affectionate and squeamish than usual. Often the symptoms of growing pains are obvious, especially by putting pressure on your dog's bones. Since this will be sensitive, he or she will let you or the vet know. It is recommended to always have an X-ray, though. After all, lameness in puppies can also have other reasons.
REDUCING/PREVENTING GROWING PAINS
Growing pains go away by themselves. However, it can take weeks, which can make it very unpleasant and painful for your dog. You can reduce the pain through painkillers and rest. In addition, it may help to feed your dog special food that slows the bone growth spurt. Despite your pup/dog suffering from growing pains and need to take it easy, exercise remains important.
A dogmill does not only serve as an aid for adequate exercise, for losing weight or for training a sporting dog. A Dogmill can also be of great value in relieving, curing or preventing orthopaedic complaints, among others. Growing pains cause joint pain, lameness and instability. Movement becomes difficult as a result. Therefore, normally when a dog walks or runs outside, this happens in an asymmetrical movement on an unstable surface. When your puppy or dog walks on one of our Dogmills, this happens in a straight line. This causes less pain and less risk of joint strain.
Curious about the products and benefits of a dog treadmill?