Growth Plates ?

[tommarshall 4]

Can anyone explain to me what growth plates are on a pup ? And what relevance it has to eventual size of the dog. I've got a rough idea, but not exacly sure. Thanks

[Dan37 6]

Growth plates are the areas at the end of every bone from which, simply put, new bone grows outwards - allowing the bone to lengthen (its an area of specialised cartilage). Once growth has finished (i.e. the animal is an adult) the growth plates are replaced by normal solid bone. In some of the long bones (at the ends of the arms and legs i.e. wrists and ankles) the growth plates can be quite visible - such as the 'knuckles' in whippets and some other running dogs.

 

The size of the growth plate does not really give any clear indication of the size the dog might reach, but they can be a good indication of when a dog has finished growing - as the growth plates at the end of the long bones are replaced the appearance of the bone will flatten out and the 'knuckles' will vanish.

 

Compared to the surrounding bone growth plates are relatively weak, and as a result are one of the major sites of injury in young animals - which is one of the reasons why a young pup shouldn't be subjected to too much, too strenuous exercise too early in its life, damage to the growth plates can take time to heal and can affect the growth of the animal.

 

Hope this helps

 

Dan

[tommarshall 4]

Growth plates are the areas at the end of every bone from which, simply put, new bone grows outwards - allowing the bone to lengthen (its an area of specialised cartilage). Once growth has finished (i.e. the animal is an adult) the growth plates are replaced by normal solid bone. In some of the long bones (at the ends of the arms and legs i.e. wrists and ankles) the growth plates can be quite visible - such as the 'knuckles' in whippets and some other running dogs.

 

The size of the growth plate does not really give any clear indication of the size the dog might reach, but they can be a good indication of when a dog has finished growing - as the growth plates at the end of the long bones are replaced the appearance of the bone will flatten out and the 'knuckles' will vanish.

 

Compared to the surrounding bone growth plates are relatively weak, and as a result are one of the major sites of injury in young animals - which is one of the reasons why a young pup shouldn't be subjected to too much, too strenuous exercise too early in its life, damage to the growth plates can take time to heal and can affect the growth of the animal.

 

Hope this helps

 

Dan

Thank you very much for taking the time to give me a great explanation Dan, very helpful mate. I am going to take the door gate away to stop any possible damage to the pup, he's 5 months and clearing it ! It was only intended to keep his muddy paws from lounge carpet, the mrs would kill me - oh well ! Thanks again

[tommarshall 4]

Growth plates or tibia crest are not fully formed joined together till a dog is 12-14 mts old.

A fast animal can stretch their growth plate if over exerting themselves especialy on hard ground when twisting turning or bumping into other hounds whilst running free.

If this happens it usually results in a operation and 2 months kennel rest and a further 1-3 months lead walking only.

They can and do come back from such injuries if seen to by a competent Vet.

James haddow is very apt at treating such injuries.

Thanks for the insight, appreciated

[optimus 447]

Growth plates are the areas at the end of every bone from which, simply put, new bone grows outwards - allowing the bone to lengthen (its an area of specialised cartilage). Once growth has finished (i.e. the animal is an adult) the growth plates are replaced by normal solid bone. In some of the long bones (at the ends of the arms and legs i.e. wrists and ankles) the growth plates can be quite visible - such as the 'knuckles' in whippets and some other running dogs.

 

The size of the growth plate does not really give any clear indication of the size the dog might reach, but they can be a good indication of when a dog has finished growing - as the growth plates at the end of the long bones are replaced the appearance of the bone will flatten out and the 'knuckles' will vanish.

 

Compared to the surrounding bone growth plates are relatively weak, and as a result are one of the major sites of injury in young animals - which is one of the reasons why a young pup shouldn't be subjected to too much, too strenuous exercise too early in its life, damage to the growth plates can take time to heal and can affect the growth of the animal.

 

Hope this helps

 

Dan

Thank you very much for taking the time to give me a great explanation Dan, very helpful mate. I am going to take the door gate away to stop any possible damage to the pup, he's 5 months and clearing it ! It was only intended to keep his muddy paws from lounge carpet, the mrs would kill me - oh well ! Thanks again

I HAD A PUP THAT FRACTURED A GROWTH PLATE ON ITS BACK RIGHT LEG SIMPLY FROM AN ACCIDENT RUNNING AROUND THE GARDEN. WHAT HAPPENED?? I DONT KNOW, I JUST SUDDENLY HEARD THE PUP YELPING. EVEN AFTER VETERINARY ATTENTION,X RAY & STRAPPING THE LEG TO HEAL & RESTRICTING MOVEMENT TO A CONFINED AREA IT WASNT RIGHT & I PLACED HER IN A PET HOME. PREVIOUS POSTS ABOVE HAVE EXPLAINED VERY WELL WHAT A GROWTH PLATE IS BUT IT IS BASICALY WHERE YOUR DOGS BONE GROWS BEFORE IT FUSES WHEN YOUR DOG REACHES ITS GROWTH POTENTIAL. WHEN YOUR DOG REACHES ITS FULL SIZE VARIES WITH BREEDING, BONE STRUCTURE ETC, & BE AWARE OF PUSHING A YOUNG DOG TOO MUCH, BUT A WORKING LURCHER PUP CANNOT BE WRAPPED IN COTTON WOOL EITHER

[bird 9,872]

Growth plates are the areas at the end of every bone from which, simply put, new bone grows outwards - allowing the bone to lengthen (its an area of specialised cartilage). Once growth has finished (i.e. the animal is an adult) the growth plates are replaced by normal solid bone. In some of the long bones (at the ends of the arms and legs i.e. wrists and ankles) the growth plates can be quite visible - such as the 'knuckles' in whippets and some other running dogs.

 

The size of the growth plate does not really give any clear indication of the size the dog might reach, but they can be a good indication of when a dog has finished growing - as the growth plates at the end of the long bones are replaced the appearance of the bone will flatten out and the 'knuckles' will vanish.

 

Compared to the surrounding bone growth plates are relatively weak, and as a result are one of the major sites of injury in young animals - which is one of the reasons why a young pup shouldn't be subjected to too much, too strenuous exercise too early in its life, damage to the growth plates can take time to heal and can affect the growth of the animal.

 

Hope this helps

 

Dan

 

 

spot on my pup had bang on his wrist just below his g/p, its just bit swoll to the other the wrist,but it dont seem to bother him . Vet said he is ok , this was 2 weeks ago he runs as normal as before, I asked the vet about g/p's , he said that my pup at 8 months old, was % grown.And you might get maybe another 1 inch , and g/p's start finish at 9-10 months with mid size dogs. So Tod could end up about 26in 70 odd lb, which i always thought he would, and thats not a bad size for any quarry

[optimus 447]

With a Growth plate injury usualy the only viable option for it to repair is an operation to wire it.

WELL THE DAY IT HAPPENED I COULDNT GET MY NORMAL VET,SO USED A LOCAL VET THAT I WILL NEVER USE AGAIN. X RAY SHOWED A DISPLACEMENT SO HE STRAPPED IT UP. ALARM BELLS STARTED RINGING WHEN HE SAID "it wasnt a fracture" THEN MINUTES LATER SAID "on a fracture scale of 1 to 5 she was a 1 or 2 with a good chance of full recovery". THEN WHEN I WAS LEAVING HE SAID "if she didnt recover i,d to bring her back for rehoming as the staff had fell in love with her". ANYWAY SHE DIDNT RECOVER & SUBSEQUENT INVESTIGATION ON GROWTH PLATE DAMAGE ETC MADE ME QUESTION HIS ACTIONS FURTHER. I HAVE NOT MENTIONED THE COST OF THE TREATMENT AS THAT IS LESS OF AN ISSUE THAN ANOTHER CASE THAT HIGHLIGHTS HOW MANY VETS ACT WITH INADEQUATE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SUBJECT IN HAND

[rob190364 2,594]

when the dog is fully grown do the knuckles on the wrists disappear completely? mine is 9 months old now but still has quite obvious knuckles on her wrists.

[Dan37 6]

Yes, the knuckles should pretty much vanish -you may see a small, fairly regular bump there (as opposed to the more pronounced and slightly uneven bumps of the growth plate) - which would be the joint end of the bone itself. But often they disappear completely. Growth in sighthound type dogs often isn't completely finished until around the 18 month mark, and you can get spurts up to about a year old. Usually after that (but not always)the growth rate really slows and you'd but lucky to see much more than an inch in height gained, but the dog will 'fill out' as muscle growth takes over.

[rob190364 2,594]

Yes, the knuckles should pretty much vanish -you may see a small, fairly regular bump there (as opposed to the more pronounced and slightly uneven bumps of the growth plate) - which would be the joint end of the bone itself. But often they disappear completely. Growth in sighthound type dogs often isn't completely finished until around the 18 month mark, and you can get spurts up to about a year old. Usually after that (but not always)the growth rate really slows and you'd but lucky to see much more than an inch in height gained, but the dog will 'fill out' as muscle growth takes over.

Nice one, cheers. I thought mine was a bit on the small side, she's only 20tts, but it looks like she's still got a fair bit of growing to do then.

[optimus 447]

when the dog is fully grown do the knuckles on the wrists disappear completely? mine is 9 months old now but still has quite obvious knuckles on her wrists.

THE KNUCKLE ON A DOG/PUP IS SIMPLY A RULE OF THUMB, I OWNED A DOG THAT SHOWED VERY LITTLE KNUCKLE YET MADE 27inches

[BONGO123 0]

Yes, the knuckles should pretty much vanish -you may see a small, fairly regular bump there (as opposed to the more pronounced and slightly uneven bumps of the growth plate) - which would be the joint end of the bone itself. But often they disappear completely. Growth in sighthound type dogs often isn't completely finished until around the 18 month mark, and you can get spurts up to about a year old. Usually after that (but not always)the growth rate really slows and you'd but lucky to see much more than an inch in height gained, but the dog will 'fill out' as muscle growth takes over.

Nice one, cheers. I thought mine was a bit on the small side, she's only 20tts, but it looks like she's still got a fair bit of growing to do then.

How big is you pup now Rob?

[maitland93 13]

Realy good read and very helpfull

[southcott 9]

yes agree good read

[maitland93 13]

This os onw of the most helpfull posts av seen on this site