>My eight and one half week old berner puppy Alex is growing like a weed, >gaining a pound every other day. >In the past two weeks he went from 6 lbs to 13. >Today he started having some pain in his hind end, from the base of the tail >and a few inches above to his back. He cries when he moves and when I touch >that area. >I see no reason for this discomfort. He has not climbed any steps or jumped >off anything. >He is by my side 24/7 and if we go any distance I carry him. >He is on the BARF diet and loving every meaty bite. >Could he be growing to fast and could this be the discomfort he is having? >Any comments or suggestions would be helpful. Tomorrow we will go to the vets >if he does not seem better. >Thanks >Robert
Robert, I don't know that the rapid growth is responsible for the pain your puppy is feeling, but you really _must_ slow down his growth, for his future health. My breeder gave me sage advice 6 1/2 years ago, which I have followed w/my last two Berner babies. She told me to not let the pups gain more than 2, or at most 3 pounds per week. If they gain 3 pounds two weeks in a row, then I cut back on their food, and increase the veggies. I religiously weighed my pups once/week until they were over a year old. After about a year, I weighed them once/month until they were full grown (one is 19 months, and still filling out). They will ultimately reach whatever height/weight that there genes are destined for, but the slow growth is best for their skeletal structure. I write down their weights in a notepad, and it's been fun to compare their growth rates to each other. With my first Berner, I wasn't as careful, since I didn't have much guidance, but he gained about 10 lbs./month, which is pretty typical. Rapid growth in a pup under 7 months can have disastrous effects on their joints. My breeder and I also feed a BARF diet. Jennifer Zaayer Dash and Ti
