Denise Rinker wrote 02/09/2008 03:45 PM Question about feet #179846 - 02/09/2008 03:45 PM
Denise Rinker Webboard User Reg: 02-18-2007 Posts: 174 Loc: Texas Baby !!!! Offline	I have a new rescue, bad shape, lack of groceries and hw + someone mentioned at the vets office why his feet looked like that....well they are going flat and look enoromous. Can someone tell me right off hand what they call that, and if it will ever correct itself, once he has better food and care. The ladies of the group would probably like to know, and i would like to be able to tell them, just in case no one is familiar. they are very flat and spread out looking if that helps. Not this dog, but another one
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Janet Koehler wrote 02/09/2008 03:57 PM Re: Question about feet [Re: Denise Rinker ] #179848 - 02/09/2008 03:57 PM
Janet Koehler Webboard User Reg: 01-15-2008 Posts: 154 Loc: Ontario, Canada Offline	I always thought flat toes were hereditary, but I'm not totally sure on that one.
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Kimberly Bunk wrote 02/09/2008 09:21 PM Re: Question about feet [Re: Denise Rinker ] #179899 - 02/09/2008 09:21 PM
Kimberly Bunk Webboard User Reg: 05-04-2006 Posts: 384 Loc: PA Offline	I'm not exactly sure what it is called (flat foot or splayed toes), but it could be from a bad diet. I have read some stuff before about foot problems with gsd's and people saw improvement with adding ester c or gelatin to the dogs diet. It may be related to calcium absorption. hth Kimberly
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Connie Sutherland wrote 02/09/2008 09:56 PM Re: Question about feet [Re: Denise Rinker ] #179904 - 02/09/2008 09:56 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	Quote: denise rinker I have a new rescue, bad shape, lack of groceries and hw + someone mentioned at the vets office why his feet looked like that....well they are going flat and look enoromous. Can someone tell me right off hand what they call that, and if it will ever correct itself, once he has better food and care. The ladies of the group would probably like to know, and i would like to be able to tell them, just in case no one is familiar. they are very flat and spread out looking if that helps. Not this dog, but another one What does "going flat" mean, exactly? "Downed pasterns"? How old is he? http://www.total-german-shepherd.com/downedpasterns.html has a drawing of downed pasters; I'm not referring to the text, but is the picture halfway down what you mean?
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Roni Hoff wrote 02/09/2008 10:52 PM Re: Question about feet [Re: Connie Sutherland ] #179918 - 02/09/2008 10:52 PM
Roni Hoff Moderator Reg: 02-24-2002 Posts: 256 Loc: Offline	Having the dog walk in sand and exercise the toes will often tighten up the foot. Sometimes this happens as a result of too much time on a hard surface.
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Roni Hoff wrote 02/09/2008 10:53 PM Re: Question about feet [Re: Roni Hoff ] #179919 - 02/09/2008 10:53 PM
Roni Hoff Moderator Reg: 02-24-2002 Posts: 256 Loc: Offline	PS Even if this is a genetic situation, improvement can be made. Roni
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Denise Rinker wrote 02/10/2008 08:21 PM Re: Question about feet [Re: Roni Hoff ] #180083 - 02/10/2008 08:21 PM
Denise Rinker Webboard User Reg: 02-18-2007 Posts: 174 Loc: Texas Baby !!!! Offline	Yes, Connie, that is it. poor diet to be sure...Thank you, that is exactly what I needed to know.. best we can tell about 3 maybe 4 rescue......GOTTA LOVE THIS BOARD
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Connie Sutherland wrote 02/10/2008 08:49 PM Re: Question about feet [Re: Denise Rinker ] #180095 - 02/10/2008 08:49 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	Well, as Roni said, this can be improved. I know a puppy who looked like that while teething and has improved consistently ever since teething was done. I also read something by Fred Lanting that completely supports Roni's post. He said that giving the dog free access to sand, gravel, and grass, avoiding concrete and small pens, could make a difference in even severe cases. In case you hear suggestions about calcium supplementation, please don't do this ... or at least please don't do it on your own, without a vet with a nutrition specialty. Supplementing with calcium is a slippery slope, and not something to do lightly. I believe from what I have read that the real help will come from a balanced diet of fresh raw foods along with the environmental support as outlined by Roni and by Fred Lanting.
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Polly Gregor wrote 02/10/2008 09:27 PM Re: Question about feet [Re: Denise Rinker ] #180110 - 02/10/2008 09:27 PM
Polly Gregor Webboard User Reg: 12-02-2005 Posts: 341 Loc: NYC Offline	Denise, I don't know if this is relevant, but when I adopted my older GSD/lab she was emaciated, just under 40 pounds, and her healthy weight is 64. Her ears drooped then, even though she was 1-2 years old. A friend of mine whose father raised GSDs suggested that poor nutrition and deficiency in minerals could cause that, and in fact, as she gained weight, her ears became erect, where they remain. Perhaps very severe malnutrition would also cause bones in the feet to weaken. I guess you will find out as the dog recovers.
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Mallory Kwiatkowski wrote 02/11/2008 07:14 AM Re: Question about feet [Re: Polly Gregor ] #180136 - 02/11/2008 07:14 AM
Mallory Kwiatkowski Webboard User Reg: 11-23-2007 Posts: 947 Loc: Cold-ville, Wisconsin. Offline	my 2 pups were down in the pasterns when i got them-one's corrected in a matter of about a week on good food-the other seemed to also-then bowed out. I had to wrap them-but now they are going flat again. I think maybe his original flat pasterns corrected too quickly for him-so be careful of that. i think it would be better to have them stand up rather slowly with good food-than try and make them go up quickly by using all kinds of those "remedies" you will find if you google it. His body isn't used to carrying (a lot of)weight on his pasterns-so they could buckle out.
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