For the last few decades Mrs. Wolf has bred and shown dogs. Primarily English Mastiffs but these days Great Pyrenees. One of her strictest tenants has always been proper nutrition (see: https://lonewolfblog.substack.com/p/my-old-friend-scurvy).
Over the last few years we accidentally ran a sort of double blind nutrition and hip dysplasia experiment.
Not quite three years ago we bred a pair of Great Pyrenees. We did not realize the breeding had “taken” until the last week or so of the pregnancy - so we didn’t do anything special in terms of the mother’s nutrition.
We ended up with nine healthy puppies (they’re all there somewhere).
The mom had had Lyme’s previously and, within a day or two of the birth, relapsed so we treated her with our amoxicillin and Japanese Knot Weed (neither the Lyme nor the treatments pass through the mothers milk). We also made sure that mom was well nourished. Mom recovered and the puppies grew as expected.
Eventually six of the puppies left and we’ve had almost continuous contact with four.
From the beginning (weening) we fed the puppies a mixture of Purina Pro Plan puppy, liver and a decent quality canned dog food. The same canned dog food we gave to the mother while nursing (Simply Nourish SOURCE - not sure who makes it but its on many of the dog food sites like Amazon and Chewy).
By twelve weeks the six had left home.
Over the course of the next two plus years we had weekly contact with the puppies through arranged play dates.
Those that left our home developed hip dysplasia over this same time period: specifically limping followed by vet visits which “confirmed” the hip dysplasia. All went to their respective vets as well, got their respective shots (rabies, distemper), and so on.
We found this interesting as our three didn’t have any problems at all.
All were active (ours and those who left home) and many times we all went to the same dog parks.
Those with the limps had quite pronounced limps, required various supplements to help, and so on. Surgery was always an option on the table. But generally nothing worked to resolve it.
What was causing this? It certainly didn’t seem to be genetic because all the puppies started out the same. It seemed unlikely that, just by chance, the ones we kept were somehow magically immune.
Over time we started to ask questions about what the other dogs were eating. As it turned out each had a different diet, not the same as our original diet, but different none the less.
Eventually we came to the conclusion that these problems were purely nutritional in nature - what else could it be? Of course, there was no proof…
That is, until recently.
Many weeks ago we started talking about this and the first thing that came up was one of the dogs suffered muscle cramps. Massaging worked temporarily.
Unrelated to this Mrs. Wolf and I had been exploring magnesium deficiencies. In particular we both suffered with leg cramps. Over the years we had tried numerous nutritional solutions, none of which worked save for the magnesium.
So only half seriously I suggest that, for the dog with muscle cramps, the owner give magnesium supplements a try.
Interestingly enough, it helped. Not a 100% fix but reduced, over the course of several weeks, the problem significantly.
Hmmm…
Working off that result we suggested to the other owners to try a diet change and include liver. Liver, after all, is a tremendous source of vitamins, minerals and other enzymes. We use a freeze dried form from a company called “Stewarts” (available from virtually all pet food sources). We give only a small portion but we do it regularly, as in every day.
The other owner gave the liver a try and viola, over only a week or two, no more limping.
Certainly not a scientific result but certainly interesting.
I see a tremendous amount of social media dog hand wringing over “hip dysplasia” - people contemplating operations and struggling with what to do.
This accidental little “experiment” certainly seems to indicate that nutrition is not only an issue but can also act as something to mitigate at least the external “limping” problems.
Time will tell more…
Update on the dog.
I stopped giving him the magnesium for two weeks. Sure enough, the limping returned. I reimplemented his daily dose of magnesium, and within 3 days, all limping is gone again. He's still stiff at times--usually weather related--but once again, I have a limp free dog.