Pano??? (Worried mom!!) - Page 1

Okay, first off I'd like to say that I don't have kids and my dogs are my life...and I'm a complete worry-wart when it comes to my "kiddos".

Last night my 5 month old male was slightly limping on his front right leg, and as the day went on he started putting less and less weight on it.  He's already a BIG baby, and he's been panting excessively (probably due to the pain!) and whining....which is absolutely breaking my heart.  He still has a good appetite, but is drinking more water than usual.  I've pressed all over that leg and can't seem to pinpoint where it hurts and there's no swelling.  I have no idea what could have happened, and then someone mentioned possibly Pano, and I am honestly not familar with it at all. 

Leerburg has an article that an all natural raw diet would prevent this from happening, but I tried this from the get go and I just had soooo many problems with his stool going back and forth and stomach upsets that I gave up and am feeding Innova Large Breed puppy.  Open to suggestions! I've always been told by my vets to feed this large breed pupppy until 1 year of age, but then I read on someone else's post that you should switch to adult food at 5-6 months? 

I won't be able to go to the vet until tomorrow.....

What are people experiences with this?  Does this sound like Pano?  Is Pano genetic??  I read one place it is and others make it sound like it's just from a fast growth spurt???  How long should I restrict activity??  He's pretty active and being trained for Schutzhund and Show, but his health and comfort is my #1 priority!!  I gave him baby aspirin to hold him over until I can take him to the vet first thing in the morning.......

Thank you in advance!

Worried Mother

 Your website says you worked as a Veterinarian Technician since 2003. And you are a breeder.

First of all Pano is not genetic. It comes from the puppy growing too quickly and the body not really keeping up and can come from the diet the puppy is being fed, and sometimes it is not diet related. This is the easiest way I can describe it. Are you sure he hasn't sustained an injury is the next question you need to look at and if not then you are probably right about the Pano. Pano can show up all of a sudden, we left and our male puppy was fine when we returned he was limping. Took him to the vet he gave him Deramax which helped. However, Hokamix is the best thing you can give. I changed the puppy to Royal Canin Large Breed puppy (previously he was on Innova Large Breed Puppy) and put him on the Hokamix. I started him slowly one tablet every 4 days increasing to 4 tablets in the am and pm. Within less than 2 weeks he stopped limping. I have used this product for over 11 years and it is so good for so many things. The doseage is based on the dogs weight.

You can find this product at:   www.holisticvitamins.com under the pet supplements or at  www.dogtownusa.net

DDR,

I had never heard of pano either , until this board brought it up. Maybe because its nothing .     Growing pains.   It goes away. 

Some people have too much time on they're hands I think ,  your not helpful DDR.

Alli, If you've been working him a lot cut back a little, excercise but dont over do it.   Max had a sore leg for a week or so and I didnt see him hurt it.  I figured he'd done something to it but didnt know what.  a wrong turn, bad landing, too much running.  He got better and never had another incident.

Kids!  What ya gonna do.....:)

AlliGSD911, Pano (Panosteitis) typically appears in the long front leg bones of male puppies (due to a faster growth rate than females) at about nine (9) to eleven (11) months of age. The pain is caused by the growth and shift of bone plates, hence the cause and symptoms are virtually identical to the "growing pains" many of us experienced as children.

The presence of Pano can be confirmed through radiographs and the use of a skilled hand to find the tissue swelling. Pano cannot be "cured" but the pain from its symthoms can be alleviated by medication and less activity. A bout of pano typically lasts at least two (2) weeks and the symptoms can move from leg to leg, and from front legs to rear legs. On rare occassions it can strike only a rear leg or legs. On rare occassions a female can be affected just as is typically a male.

It is often suggested to change the puppy from a puppy formula kibble to an adult formula kibble, if indeed that is what he is eating. The logic behind this thought is to help slow the growth rate. Personally I never "switched" foods when this did occur, moreso I mixed the adult formula with the puppy formula with a 50:50 ratio until the malady passed. Did this really do any good? I cannot substanciate that it did, as Pano will disappear in time.

I think what disturbs a puppy owner who is not 100% familiar with the growth rate (and problems caused by same) of the GSD puppy worries that the puppy is injured or has faulty joints when the symptoms are caused by Pano. And of course it may not be Pano at all, and can be as simple as a muscle or tendon sprain and those can take many weeks to heal.

Now, the adult dog food vs. puppy food issue. I feed puppies large breed puppy kibble until they are fourteen (14) months old. However, I choose to let my hands and eyes determine if the puppy is eating the correct amount rather than rely on the information printed on the side of the bag. Dog food companies are in business to sell dog food-not raise healthy puppies! For a prospective puppy buyer I would recommend they switch to adult formula much sooner than I would, as I am not sure they will not overfeed the puppy and cause accellerated growth that can exascerbate other issues.

In short; if you are concerned you might take the puppy to the veterinarian for an examination. What would I do? I would observe the puppy over the next several days and see if he becomes worse or stays the same. If you want to improve the puppy's comfort then I would just administer a pain reliever and reduce his exercise level for a few days. If it is Pano-it will pass. If it is a sprain-it will pass.

Regards and Good Luck!

Bob-O

In 1997 we had a bitch puppy with Pano. There is no doubt this condition is very painful for the dog. Pano is excessive production of bone along the long bones. The condition usually affects pups between 5 and 12 months but is self limiting by around 18-24 months.We treated our bitch successfully with a homeopathic remedy called Calc phos.

Any person stating they are a Veterinarian Technician since 2003 should have known about pano. These are people selling puppies and giving out advice to others on the list

Thank you all for the info.  I have never seen of Pano, and only knew vaguely details of it. 

DDR - There are a TONS of diseases and conditions that you are briefed on in school, but perhaps if I took the extra 6 years in college for the vet school I would know in more!  In my 5 years of working at veterinary clnics I have never seen Pano nor hear it mentioned. Also even veterinarians don't know every detail about every disease, I would always see them researching and reading up on their books when working on a case and before consulting with the owners.....it's virtually impossible for them to know every detail on every disease and condition known to man.  And I have more respect for those who do the reasearch rather than play off they know everything about everything.....there was a vet that was like that she used to work there and she ended up killing MANY animals due to her pride and ignorance.  Perhaps if I still worked there I could access the vets and books for questions and info on offhours, but unfortunately that's not the case.  You have a history of trying to insult people anyways....you are the person that left me insulting PMs about my DDR dog a while back and to someone else I know, so really your opinion and comments don't effect me at all...LOL. 

Thank you Sharon for the tip on Hokamix.  I know my vet will want to put him on Rimadyl and I'm just not really keen on doing that. 

No, I really don't know of any injury that could have happened, unless he sprained it in some way while romping in the show in the back yard...which is a possibiity. 

Thank you once again for sharing your experiences with Pano and the diet tips.  I would like to go back to the raw feeding (which is against everything I was tought in school and criticized by the vets) but I just struggled so much with them keeping normal stools! 

Thank you all once again for everything. 

Allison

what is the youngest  a dog can get pano?

I already talked to you about this big baby...lol. Hope the diet change is helping.

The Rimadyl is a must!!!! He will stay inflamed if not. And you know how I am with these guys...especially my own breeding!! Hokamix will not treat the pano...

DDR.....Allison is a very educated vet tech and learning as she breeds...and you couldn't ask for a better dog owner. She had a ligitimate question...you need to back off!!!

Hope he feels better soon!!!