Stunted Puppy Growth

Just trying to figure out if a severely starved puppy will have a stunted growth. We were looking for a puppy back in July and came across an ad for Mechanicsville for free puppies. They were an American Bulldog Mastiff Mix. Parents were on site and there were two left. One healthy fat plump girl and a very skinny boy.

We took the boy because of the shape it was in. It was so skinny it's spine, tail, and head bones stuck out. It dozed in and out of consciousness for the first 3 days, literally. He would sit there making a whispy breathing sound and then his eyes would start to roll and close. We doubt he'd make it. He was extremely under weight. A few weeks later we took him to the vet, he was severly underweight, but healthy.

Now he is 11 months and a lot bigger, but hardly big enough. He looks healthy, but he is like a mini size of his breed.When he was a puppy he wore our chihuahua's clothes, now he is in a size Large! Probably around 40-50 pounds. He is supposed to 70-120. I have a before and after shot posted. Even though I saw the parents and he does look the breed his size is so tiny, that I am beginning to question his breed.

Is it possible for a dog will extreme malnutrition and starvation to have a stunted growth?

He is not an American bulldog/mastiff mix, that would be a bull mastiff and they look nothing like him. He looks more like a pitbull mix or an American Stafford terrier mix. He looks perfect for what he is. I have an English mastiff and my neighbor has a bull mastiff, you don't have a mix of either of those.

He is Defiently a mastiff bulldog I'm almost 100% sure. he looks just like one. If you google it you will see plenty of pics with even the same colouring, but they are 2-3x bigger! All of them are almost twice his weight, but the muscle, stance, eyes, are those of mastiff/bulldog mix. I know for certain he is not a pit at all because I have had a American Staffordshire (what you would call a pitbull) breeder tell me he is no pit and I have had an American Bulldog breeder tell me he is defiently a bulldog mix. The only thing I am weary of is Mastiff mix. Our vet classified him as bull/ mastiff mix. (Also known as a Bandogge). but he is still so tiny.

I personally don't see much Mastiff in him - he looks more Pitt/American Bulldog to me, and a healthy one at that. Based on the condition the puppy was in, it doesn't seem that he came form a responsible breeder. That being said, it is quite possible that this pup is in fact not the breed you were told he is. I'm not sure if the parents were outside dogs, but if so it's very possible there were multiple sires to this litter which can cause very different looking puppies in a respective litter.

He looks to be a good weight to me, and he will definitely fill out more over the next year or so, as males tend to mature a little slower than females. Also, not all puppies conform to the same standards as their parents. My male Golden, for example, was the largest pup in his litter sired by an 80 pound dog and a 70 pound *****. (female dog) [side note..It's hilarious the forum edits the name of a female dog] We expected him to be at least 80 pounds - he's 4 years old now and only weighs 65. Bloodlines are a good indicator for your future dog, but each puppy still grows and matures in his own way.

And finally, yes I do think extreme malnutrition can affect a dog's growth, but at least from the pictures your boy seems to be a good size and weight for his proportions.

MaraWentz said:

He is Defiently a mastiff bulldog I'm almost 100% sure. he looks just like one. If you google it you will see plenty of pics with even the same colouring, but they are 2-3x bigger! All of them are almost twice his weight, but the muscle, stance, eyes, are those of mastiff/bulldog mix. I know for certain he is not a pit at all because I have had a American Staffordshire (what you would call a pitbull) breeder tell me he is no pit and I have had an American Bulldog breeder tell me he is defiently a bulldog mix. The only thing I am weary of is Mastiff mix. Our vet classified him as bull/ mastiff mix. (Also known as a Bandogge). but he is still so tiny.

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I don't mean this rudely, but I don't think you are "100%" about his breed if you're questioning what breed he is... Coat color and markings really cannot be used to identify a bully breed. All bully breeds have similar muscle, stance and eyes. Your dog has a very narrow snout, and mastiff's have a square head. I would very seriously doubt he has much, if any, Mastiff in him. He does, however, look to be an American Bulldog/Pit mix. In fact, due to his shorter legs, I would say he definitely has some Staffordshire in him.

If he really does have Mastiff in him (which I'm not seeing either), he may grow for another year yet. He is very cute though and looks healthy now.

It is hard to go by what they look like as babies sometimes. My little mare Roxy was huge at birth and very tall. Everyone thought she would be at least 16H. Well she is 15H and quite petite, lol! And I had gotten a half Dalmatian/half Beagle mix puppy that the vet told me would only be about 30lbs. She was that by 5months old and turned out to be about 70lbs, heavier than my purebred Dal male.

I don't think I'd be that concerned about his size. You got him healthy and he is very cute.

To be honest without worrying what breed/size he should be. You should go with what your Vet told you & what he thinks of the dogs health. I am sure he should know if your dog is healthy or showing signs of stunting.

I would also think if the dogs were not pure bred then their genetic breeding could be anything including staffy. If there were staffy breed into the parents then that would explain the size of your dog.

Either way does it really matter. Don't you love him just the way he is.

Aside from whatever he is, the answer is yes. Severe malnutrition will stunt their growth and can have serious implications on long term joint health. The bones don't have the proper nutrition to grow properly, what little nutrition he was getting was being used to keep him alive. Be prepared to have cruciate, hip, and arthritic problems down the road from the bones not maturing properly, save your pennies now he will be expensive. It will help to keep him at his ideal body weight and he will more than likely need joint supplements at an earlier age. He could have also been the runt of the litter on top of everything else.

If I had to guess on his breed I would guess American bulldog/pitt mix. If you really want to know you can do the DNA testing, it is fairly accurate despite everyones disbelief.

He needs to be neutered to.

I cant upload pics right now but I can assure you that there is no mastiff in your dog. Type in bull mastiff in google and you will find that they look almost exactly like English mastiffs. And the color pattern on your dog is not a pattern that is possible for a bull mastiff to have.

Bandogge is a term used to describe large fighting dog breeds which includes mastiffs but that is not what you have. You do have a bandogge but not a mastiff. All bandogges are fighting dogs, but not all fighting dogs are bandogges.

Thank you every one for your feed back, but unless you are a breeder I would not like your opinion on whether or not he is a pit mix. I have gone to some breeders and a vet and know the answer. I have also searched and seen the pics that look just like him, but bigger. And no he is not a bull Mastiff. There are other types of Mastiffs other than the English. However, he may not be mastiff.However, after speaking to some breeders and can say he is no pit. I have owned a pit before and he is no pit.

Aside from that, thank you every one for your answers about the stunting from malnutrition. While looking on the web I received mixed answers on whether or not his growth could be stunted due to malnutrition.

He is NOT a bull Mastiff. That would be a cross of an English Mastiff and American Bulldog. If anything he would be mixed with a Neo Mastiff. A lot look like a bigger version of him, except some have droopy eyes (from the mastiff),

He looks nothing like a neopolitin mastiff. All mastiffs are very big dogs, and neopolitins are one of the biggest mastiff breeds. If he was an neo mix then he would have a much bigger head and would weigh a lot more.

Hopefully you got him soon enough that you prevented the malnutrition from affecting him badly in later life. I'm sure you saved his life, and will be rewarded with a wonderful companion.

Regardless of the breeding it is certainly possible to stunt growth through malnutrition.
If the debate is about breeding and expected growth some crosses do not prove to have large offspring even when they themselves are large. All bully breeds come from common ancestors; it is possible for multiple crosses to have similar looking puppies even without any close relatives. I had a Presa Canario that never matured to her full size due to neglect, she was papered and DNA tested, yet she was 75Lbs smaller than her sibling. I think that many people are judging simply by a picture which does not tell the whole story. I will also note that no breed of dog is immune to color mutations though it is more likely due to the cross.