What age do a labrador puppy's legs 'set'?

[Imogen Rose]

Hello, Im a little concerned about my labrador puppy!

He is my 5th Lab and 7th dog, so im not a newbie to puppies but his legs are worrying me a bit.

He is 8 months old coming 9months and his legs still havent set. They are still at that wobbly puppy phase, he cant cock his leg to pee as his other legs are too uncoordinated. He still walks like he is 12 weeks old..

He is intermitantly lame on either back leg, which i have put down to growing pains...
He is verrrry bum high, and walks with his back 'bowed' and not straight? almost on his tippy toes..

Am i right to be worried? He is the 4th puppy that i have had but everyone elses legs set by 6months and they looked like small dogs. He looks like a bandy jelly legged puppy??

Both his parents had excellent hip and elbow scores, which is why we chose his litter.

Thankyou to everyone for reading! mulled wine with chocie biscuits is on offer!

 

[CorvusCorax]

Have you queried Panosteitis? What is he fed? What's his exercise regime like? I'd get him x-rayed (hips, elbows, spine) at 12 months.

 

[Imogen Rose]

He is fed the recommended amount of Oscar puppy dog biscuits with weekly raw bones. (obvs. dosent get biscuits when he gets bones.) He is the correct weight for his size.
He gets around two 30min to an hour walks a day. We are struggling to stop my dad taking him out for 12 mile walks on a saturday- he wont listen that its not good for him. but this is only once a week..
He also does gun dog classes once a week for an hour.
I was definitely thinking of going down the x-ray route when he is a year old. Havent heard of panosteitis... off to bother google!

 

[CorvusCorax]

How much protein is in the dog biscuits? High levels of protein in puppy foods has been implicated in growth problems in larger breeds.

 

[Imogen Rose]

the website says 26% protein. is this too high?
this is the ingredients
RICE 48%, CHICKEN MEAL 23%, CHICKEN DIGEST 7%, POULTRY FAT, FISH MEAL 5%, BEET PULP, FULL FAT LINSEED, BREWERS YEAST, EGG,
FISH OIL, LUCERNE, LIMESTONE, SALT, HIGH NUCLEOTIDE YEAST, MANNAN-OLIGOSACCHARIDES 1,000mg/kg,
FRUCTO-OLIGOSACCHARIDES 1,000mg/kg, GLUCOSAMINE 400mg/kg

 

[s4sugar]

The puppy is 28% protein which is, IMO, too high for a lab past around 15 weeks.
21-23% would be better.

 

[Imogen Rose]

Sorry he is on the juniour not puppy. puppy is 28 and juniour is 26. the adult is 22% which is what my older lab is on. He is nearing the bottom of the sack so i can gradually change him onto the adult.

 

[satinbaze]

How tall and how heavy is he? Which type of lab show or working? Some show labs are very floppy in their movement for a long time partially because they grow very quickly and pile on the weight ( I'm not saying this is the case with your boy) to help improve movement without putting stress on joints try swimming him, horse pools are great. Put a ladder on the floor and encourage him to walk slowly through the rungs on step at a time by dropping titbits in each gap. The idea is he has to learn where all 4 legs are.
I remember going to a lecture about canine movement and the firmness comes when the muscle changes from white muscle to brown muscle.

 

[moppett]

If for example the lab was fed raw - surely the protein content would be a lot higher than 28%? are young dogs not supposed to be fed raw?

 

[CorvusCorax]

Protein from raw meat (which dogs are designed to eat) is very different from protein from grain (which dogs are not designed to eat).

Just Googled (packaged raw dog food) Natural Instinct WORKING dog, which is 85% chicken and bone, and it's 15.6% protein. The puppy version is almost exactly the same.

 

[moppett]

wow had no idea. another reason feeding raw is so much easier! thanks

 

[CorvusCorax]

Yep, some of the puppy/junior large breed ranges of dry food are basically rocket fuel

OP, walking on sand, pebbles at the beach, uneven surfaces etc will also help him firm up. Not too much high impact stuff or roadwork yet IMO.

 

[Imogen Rose]

Thanks for the replies. He is a working type and the first one I have ever owned, hence why I am unsure what is normal! He is so different in every aspect, I almost want to call him a collie cross! He has learnt to stand on his back legs to open every door in the house... by 6 months. none of the others can do this! He is also huge! I thought working labs were small?? his mum was delicate framed, so i assumed he would be too. He already tower's over everyone else on his giraffe legs..
Thanks for the advice, we will be off to the beach at the weekend!

 

[satinbaze]

There are some very large working lines. The one I know of is Drakeshead I have known some very big boys from this line. Therefore they take a long time to come together. Be patient and careful and I am sure he will b fine and try yo persuade your dad that long hikes are just not necessary until he is well over 1 year old

 

[Dizzydancer]

My lab is from working lines, he is much taller than the show lines, but a lot narrower. However I do know a few working labs which are just huge, drakeshead throws big dogs but there are other lines that do too.

 

[Bertie84]

Hi, I have a show labrador, he is 2 now and weighs 45kg (7stone). We have had hime since he was 10weeks old. Labs are prone to hip displacia. Our lab gets his annual health check which includes 5-point blood tests (checks kidneys and liver function), xray and general checkup (teeth, movement, weight etc). He does woddle when out walking. He is definetly not as agile as other breeds but can still move at the rate of knots and is very sturdy, his head is huge. We have him on a run of the mill joint tablet as a preventative measure, just omega 3, fish oils and mgm. I remember out vet saying puppies should only be walking for 5 minutes for each month of their life up to 9 months old, e.g. 2months=10 minute walks but frequently getting out, rather than 1 big hours walk.

 

[_GG_]

I would knock the 12 mile walks on the head until he is about 18 months if you can. My lab x rottie is huge and can keep pace with the collies for a good 60 yards but we were very careful with her as a pup. Our vet back then had been involved in a few studies about the development of large breeds. He basically said short, low impact walls and no chasing balls or jumping. He said after 18 months, relax, but until then go very steady as labs were the mist negatively affected by excessive exercise as puppies in all of the studies he had been involved in.

 

[_GG_]

Wish my laptop was working...stupid phone keeps changing my words and spelling

 

[Cedars]

My 8month old is still very gangly, not cocking his leg and very bum high. I'm not worrying about him, he's on good food and reasonable exercise amounts so he'll be fine. Worth getting him xrayed at 1year though anyway x

 

[Nettle123]

Our lab was similar to yours at the same age. In addition until he was around 12 months old he would have intermittenet lameness that swopped from leg to leg for no apparent reason. We were very careful not to overwalk him. Both the parents had excellent scores too.

When he was just over a year we had all of the legs xrayed for peace of mind, they were totally clear of any problems. He has never had a bout of lameness since the xrays and is now 4.

 

[Saneta]

The rule of thumb is 5 minutes walk for every month of age. Absolutely NOT 12 miles in one go...

I would be asking the vet for advice, my Lab, whilst gangly till about 9 months old, never displayed the signs you've indicated..