Two of my puppy buyers are pretty frantic about their crooked legged puppies. I had a few that knuckled including one really bad case in 1991. SInce then I've always used and recommended adult food and tried to give pups plenty of exercise.

I think both the pups that are knuckling now were put on large breed puppy food as soon as they left here. I recommended to both they use a good quality, premium ADULT feed in the range of 25/15 protein/fat. Am looking for suggestions from others as to what they've done for knuckling puppies and reassurance that it will go away and is not a big deal. It really does look awful and though it's not painful,the crooked legs make the puppy lurch around like a cripple. So anyone who has had a knuckled-over pup post up what you did and how long til the legs straightened out. Thanks!

These are the two pups still here eating adult food:

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http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/knuckling_over.htm

I began using Eagle Pack Large breed puppy when I got Harley...was very happy with it..and as you know Harley is a Blaze daughter and his pups can definitely have pano and knuckling over.......

Julie, 25/15 is even too high when the pups are knuckling. I understand the food one of them switched to is 23/13 and that sounds just about right. Supplement with Ester C beginning with 125 mgs. 2 times a day and work up to 1,000.

Gina who posts here from time to time has had excellent results using Cod Liver Oil, but I don't know what her dosage is.

Kathy Miller

The puppy we just obtained started knuckling so we went to 20/10....and she improved dramaticly within a couple of days. I have always heard that you need to lower both the protein and fat content as soon as they start to show signs of knuckling.....she is also getting Ester C.

Julie R...........what a couple of cuties!!!!

Norene S.
Nordom Chesapeakes

Norene, what was the 20/10 feed you used for your knuckler? As one of the puppy buyers wants to know. Gina had an interesting theory that perhaps because these pups had coccidia at 6 weeks and were on Albon for a week, their systems went into growth overdrive once it was knocked out.

There are now 3 pups from the litter that are knuckling and their owners are all worried so any reassurance anyone has about a knuckling pup that grew up to have nice straight legs woudl be great!

Julie..........I just bought a small bag of Iams Weight Control (ProActive Health). I wanted to get the lowest numbers I could find, it was 20/10.

Our puppy, Tuffy is back to normal today. If you can catch the problem of knuckling as soon as possible, it's much easier to correct.

Most pups that I have seen with this problem straighten out just fine. We send our pups to their new homes with not only a container of the feed we feed them, but written instructions (as well as verbal)on our feeding recommendations. We also tell them to be on the lookout for this problem and what to do should it occur. Almost always there is someone who decides to put the puppy on puppy chow and inevitably knuckling will occur.

Norene S.
Nordom Chesapeakes

Thanks Norene! I'm hoping all 3 owners will read this thread (i've forwarded to each) and find some reassurance that it's not that big a deal. These pups are 9 weeks, these 3 all left a week ago for their new homes and the problem has just come up in the past 2 or 3 days so I think we are catching it soon enough.

I had one here that knuckled at about 5 to 6 weeks slightly; she's the red pup in the photo, but she subsequently straightened out.
However they also get a LOT of exercize too. We're all going down to the pond now since it's in the 80s here--Indian summer

Hi Julie,
I'll post some of what I emailed privately so that other folks can benefit from the information that I've learned. I've had quite a bit of experience with knuckling. My own dog, Scupper, knuckled briefly as a young pup. A singleton pup that I raised (who was the sole survivor of her dam's serious uterine infection)knuckled somewhat more severely and for a more extended period of time Several rescue pups that I've taken in have knuckled to varying degrees. A rescue colleague of mine took in a pup that knuckled severely and required more significant intervention.

A breeder friend recommended lowering the protein levels and providing Vitamins A & D. With two of the dogs I cared for, this was not enough. I did some research and discovered a connection to Rickets in humans. I learned that in the early 1900's, a doctor induced symptoms of Rickets in puppies and successfully treated those puppies with Cod Liver Oil and increased exposure to sunshine (Vit. D). They found that Cod Liver Oil contains the necessary vitamins in a form that is successful at addressing the vitamin deficiency. (I guess this is why vitamin A and D pills were not successful for me.) This experiment led to the medical profession's successful treatment of Rickets in children. If you do a search on Rickets, you can find images of the condition and lots of history of the role of Cod Liver Oil.

One thing to note is there has been no lack of good nutrition or exposure to sunlight in any of the puppy cases that I've known of. Julie certainly feeds an excellent quality feed as do I. I think that reduction in protein levels of food will control growth while addressing the problem, but will not solve the problem itself. Knuckling can be painful for the pups and excessive exercise (particularly jumping) can damage the growing joints while they are in distress, so I only allow controlled leash walking while the pups are actively showing sigs of knuckling.

I don't measure the cod liver oil, I just add some to each meal. Then, I wait and watch for signs of improvement. I have been very impressed with how quickly the cod liver oil has a positive effect. One last point for the benefit of Julie's puppy folks who are seeing this in their young pups. Every pup that I've seen with this condition has gotten past the knuckling with absolutely no lasting effect to their joints. Hope this helps.
gina