# Ava might have Rickets...



## Adrienne (Apr 3, 2009)

I posted awhile a go about avas legs being messed up and really hitting a wall well i finally got a hold of her "Breeder" is thats what you want to call her... anyways she Suggested Rickets.. Which is fixable!!
http://hubpages.com/hub/Rickets-in-Dogs

What is Rickets?



Rickets in dogs is very similar to the same condition in humans and is found primarily in puppies or young developing dogs. Rickets is caused by either a deficiency of Vitamin D, or inefficient reactions in the body to the vitamin. This could be caused by your pet’s parathyroid glands not functioning properly and releasing the proper amount of calcium and phosphorus into your dog’s bone.



Vitamin D is a fat soluble nutrient that is stored in your dog’s liver but it can also be produced in your dog by sunlight and is often referred to as the sunshine vitamin. When your dog is exposed to sunlight the ultra violet rays convert the vitamin D precursors into the active form of the vitamin, and conversion process starts in your dogs outer layers of their skin.



The conversion process from nutrients occurs when your pets system pulls the small amounts of Vitamin D it gets from their diet from their liver, and than transfers it into the kidney. If everything is functioning properly it than acts as a hormone in that it will regulate the levels of calcium and phosphate that goes to your dogs bone and skeletal structure.

However, because it is a fat soluble vitamin, if there are conditions existing in your pets body that reduce the digestion or absorption process, it will decrease the ability of your pet to pull and absorb it from the intestines. That is why sunlight is so critical to this process; your pet must get enough sunshine.

This vitamins major role in your pet is to regulate the levels of calcium and phosphorus in their body.

Most all dogs love to lay in the sunshine even on very hot days as it is a natural instinct for them. If they lack enough sunshine several things start to happen. If the blood levels of calcium and phosphate becomes low in your dog, other hormones in their body react and release the minerals from the bones into the bloodstream, and the result of this is rickets.

However, there may be one other cause. The parathyroid glands may increase its functioning process to try to make up for the minerals that are leaving the bone and going to the bloodstream, and the result is that even more of the mineral content is lost as the bones try to reabsorb them.

The parathyroid glands are four small glands and your dog has two on each side of their neck. Their main function is to regulate the balance of calcium and phosphorus in your pet’s body. Rickets may also be caused by a deficiency of calcium and phosphorus, but that is extremely rare.



Calcium and Phosphorus Ratios:



In helping to prevent rickets in dogs, it helps to understand the ratio of calcium and phosphorus and why it is so important to your dog in all phases of life. This same condition can occur in older dogs, but it is than referred to as osteoporosis.



Calcium is the most abundant mineral found in your dog and it is essential in the prevention of rickets as well as over all bone health. Phosphorus is also extremely abundant but it has a slightly less presence and thus a lesser need by your dog in its overall health.


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## rubia (Jul 3, 2008)

Can the vet run some test for this condition ???


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## Adrienne (Apr 3, 2009)

rubia said:


> Can the vet run some test for this condition ???


Im not sure i left a msg at my vets tonight to have him give me a call in the morning


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

How old is she? What does she eat? I can't imagine any commercial dog food being deficient in calcium and causing rickets! Wow! Will be anxious to hear what your vet says. Keep us posted.

Brodysmom


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## Adrienne (Apr 3, 2009)

She will be 3 Jan 20th ... and she eats Beniaful and Ceasers Wet


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

I would venture to guess she doesn't have rickets then. All commercially produced dog foods have to have certain vitamins in them and meet the standards set by the USDA (or whoever polices dog foods, maybe AAFCO?) Anyway... I think it's unlikely she has rickets.

I'll be interested to hear what your vet thinks though!

Brodysmom


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## MoochiBaby (Sep 12, 2009)

That is very interesting. I have to agree with Brody's Mom, all commercial dog food has to have certain percentage of minerals and vitamins. It can't be calcium/phosphorus deficiency.


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## WeLoveHiro (Apr 14, 2009)

pls keep us updated.


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## Quinn (Dec 11, 2008)

What exactly is messed up about her legs? I must have missed all that. So sorry to hear she is having problems. I hope the poor girl isn't feeling too bad! 

Also, even if her food isn't causing rickets I would consider switching.


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## claireeee (Aug 24, 2009)

Poor Ava-hope you find out whats wrong x


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## Adrienne (Apr 3, 2009)

I am running out of Ideas at to what it is I really hope my vet can figure this out... 
So not rickets..
what kind of food do you suggest Quinn?


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

What do her legs look like Adrienne? Do you have any pictures? Or just give us a description. Maybe someone here will recognize your problem with her.

Not Quinn.... but jumping in here anyway on the food question....  I'd probably switch them to a better quality kibble than beneful too. Maybe Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul? That's a high quality kibble and it's not expensive. Or Taste of the Wild is good too and it's grain free. 

Brodysmom


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## Adrienne (Apr 3, 2009)

she walks on her paws at the second knuckle She cant hold her self up well and she cant jump up or off anything or do stairs she dosnt have enough strenght to pull herself up.. I will see if i can get a pic or a video tonight when i get home and upload it tommorow


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

OK - does she look like any of the dogs on this page? (Pictures about halfway down the page and different severities). I know they are Great Danes and not Chihuahua's, but I'm trying to get an idea of what her front legs look like ....

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


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## Quinn (Dec 11, 2008)

Oh wow yes pic/video would be good. How long ago did this start?

As for food if you are looking for cost effective I would recommend Taste of the Wild (TOTW) if you want to try it. At least by me TOTW is the cheapest quality food ($45/30 lbs) although not sure what it will be in canada. Its grain free which I personally feel is important if feeding kibble. Dogs don't need grains its really all filler. And being smaller dogs they wont be eating too much. If you can or want to spend more money I say Orijen, its made in Canada so I'm sure that its more readily available. 
Before my chi's were on raw they were eating Orijen (when I was in Montreal). Now my Dane is eating TOTW until I get him on raw, he is doing well on it. I can give you more recommendations and such if you want, feel free to ask here or PM me or whatever.


EDIT: Tracy I was wondering too if it was a case of knuckling. Its rarer in small breeds but possible, also more normally during growth phases but still possible. Or she could just be really down on her pasterns, which is also fixable with proper nutrition I believe.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Quinn - did you look at that great dane link I posted? Have you seen or heard of that severe knuckling over? I've never heard of that in a Chi, have you? I'm so anxious to hear more about Ava's problem.

I agree - Taste of the Wild is a good food. 

Brodysmom


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## Quinn (Dec 11, 2008)

Haha we keep typing while the other is and missing each other! I edited my post while looking for other info so was editing for like 10 minutes hahaha.

"EDIT: Tracy I was wondering too if it was a case of knuckling. Its rarer in small breeds but possible, also more normally during growth phases but still possible. Or she could just be really down on her pasterns, which is also fixable with proper nutrition I believe."

Having a great dane of course I must know the great dane lady  Not that I believe everything she says buut yeah, most of those cases of knuckling are extreme and scary! I've never seen it in a chihuahua, or any small breed but I know its possible. I would also think its possible that she's down on her pasters, the joints wont look inflamed but it would cause her to be flatfooted. I'm not sure if that causes difficulty walking and things though. I'm really curious to see pictures/video and hear more about how long this has been going on. Was anything changed before she developed this? Was she given vaccines? Different food? etc etc.


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## Adrienne (Apr 3, 2009)

Its the level 2 the second picture thats what she looks like


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## Adrienne (Apr 3, 2009)

and i have never heard of the food that you are talking about... I wish i was home right now so i could get the Vid/pics Grrrr I hate being at work...


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## Quinn (Dec 11, 2008)

Level 2 the second picture? That is when the pups legs are starting to get fixed. So thats good. Is it basically that her legs bend in at the knuckle? Or are the joints actually swollen?
When did this start/how long has it been going on? How old is she? Does it cause her a lot of pain? And you said she has trouble walking or jumping or something?


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## Adrienne (Apr 3, 2009)

Ava will be 3 in on January 20th It started a few weeks ago but it has gotten bad in the last week she was on Metacam For pain but the Vet wanted to ween her off that. she seems to be in Pain but only when she is walking or jumping. Ever since Ava Had her Puppies over a year ago she hasnt been right.. I dont know I just dont know anymore. I really hope this is Fixable.


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## Quinn (Dec 11, 2008)

Has she been on the same food the whole time? When you say it has gotten bad do you mean the leg has gotten worse or the pain or both? Is the leg just bowed in or is the joint physically swollen? Is it al all warm to the touch? 
Was she off in other ways when she had the pups or did you notice the legs then too? Is she now spayed? 
Definitely get pictures we can help better that way. Have you gone to different vets to get different opinions?


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## Adrienne (Apr 3, 2009)

Her Joints are Swollen and sometimes warm. the leg has gotten worse both ways.. its Very Floppy when i hold it there is no stiffness to them what so ever. she has always been on the same food but i switch to a purina brand last night. her legs were fine when she had the puppies She hes just been really red on and off since she had the puppies the vet says its allergies. I recent changed Vets because my old vet said that Ava was Faking trying to manipulate us because thats what Chihuahuas do.. were her excact words I found a new vet that day. now this vet was looking after Ava's ripped Ligament in her back leg and her front legs werent doing this when we went in for that... Ava isnt Spayed but My goals is to have everyone spayed In the new year. Quark is Fixed though so i dont have to worry about Puppies. If you have a cell i can send you a Vid and picture as soon as i get home. here are 2 pictures from Thursday of her laying down. 
Ava is the third one in


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Wow. So do her feet fold under when she's walking so she's not even walking on the front feet pads?  It's definitely some kind of muscular/joint/bone problem. Can't believe a vet would even suggest she was "faking" it. I wonder if somehow the pregnancy caused a calcium deficiency? Has your vet drawn bloodwork? 

Is it in both front legs or is one side worse than the other? 

Brodysmom


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## Adrienne (Apr 3, 2009)

You can see it in her one Paw in this pic


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## Adrienne (Apr 3, 2009)

its both front legs I was thinking that about the pregnancy as well thats why i thought Rickets. Ava is Booked for her appoitment to get Blood work and Xray on the 18th Hopefully i can get her in before then Its just so tight with Christmas..


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

I understand completely about the finances during this Christmas season. I think an x-ray is a wonderful starting point to see what is really going on in there. In the meantime, I would think it wouldn't hurt to supplement her diet with some extra calcium... a little cottage cheese, some boiled chicken (or raw if she'll eat it), you can even do a chicken breast with the bone (raw of course, never cook bones), scrambled egg WITH the eggshell crushed and scrambled in with it. 

Brodysmom


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## Adrienne (Apr 3, 2009)

really Eggshell in the Egg Ok i will give that a try tonight I happen to have Cottage cheese and Eggs


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## Adrienne (Apr 3, 2009)

thank you for your help Guys


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## Quinn (Dec 11, 2008)

Oh yeah I see that. Its very bowed. Try to get some of more in a standing position whenever you can so we can see like that. Its hard to see the severity in that position.

I'm wondering if for some reason the pregnancy just threw her all out of whack causing some mineral deficiencies, which in turn messed up her legs. And if her ligament was torn and she was putting more pressure on the front legs as well maybe that helped cause it? Not sure at all, its very strange for sure. Her joints don't look quite 
I suggest going to the link Tracy posted and reading all through that page to learn about knuckling and what to do/bring the info to your vet for their opinion.


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## Quinn (Dec 11, 2008)

Also I know in great danes a lot of time leg problems are given Vitamin C. Not sure if the same applies to danes as chis, but I would imagine its similar. Also lower protein food is given to danes in situations like this but again, not sure.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Adrienne said:


> really Eggshell in the Egg Ok i will give that a try tonight I happen to have Cottage cheese and Eggs


Yes, eggshells are a great source of calcium. You can even scramble a little cottage cheese into the eggs with the shell. Be sure and crush up the shell really good so she can't just pick around it. She will think she gets a dinner fit for a queen tonight.  That will be a great supplement to her regular dog food.

Brodysmom


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## 3l3ctric (Apr 5, 2009)

I would definitely look into any sort of vitamin deficiencies. As we all know, having puppies can really suck a lot out of a dog. Even if the food you are giving her has everything she needs, all sorts of things can cause the body not to extract them or process them correctly, so she may need more of something than a normal kibble can provide. I hope you get answers soon, and I obviously hope that they are good ones and that everything is fixable! 

I can't believe that Ollie's little girlfriend is having troubles! (I still haven't told him that she's had puppies with another boy, it would break his little heart- I also haven't told him that he's neutered but I think he's figured that one out  )

Edit: Just to add- my pups LOVE egg and I always crush up some of the shell for them, especially in meals with less bone (each pup gets about half an egg at least a couple times a week). Cottage cheese is good for calcium and protein, but also as a digestive tool so I like to throw some of that in as well.


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