Carpal Hyper-extension in Puppies

Knuckling over of the wrist joint is a not uncommon problem of large breed puppies which occurs around the age of 6 to 14 weeks. You will note in the photos that I have attached, that the carpus [wrist] is knuckled over the foot, instead of leaning backwards at a normal angle. This is due to a weakness of the sporting tendons of the front limbs. Many conditions can aggravate this condition which include verminosus [worms], coccidiosis, any diseases causing weakness or decreased nutritional absorption such as chronic diarrhea, poor diets, and under or over exercise.

Treatment of this condition would include the correction of all the underlying issues i.e. be sure there are no parasites, resolve any medical issues, feed a high quality diet paying particular attention to increasing the amount of protein, (puppies are often hypo-proteinaemic), vitamin addition to stimulate red blood cell count [these puppies are often anemic], always add extra calcium with vitamin D (to aid the calcium absorption), and give the puppy adequate exercise to strengthen the tendons. The prognosis is generally good for this condition and it should resolve within about two weeks.