New to the forum - Page 2

Jackandbella:

Maybe you can tell us where your located...some people might be able to head you to a good vet for x-rays...

If you go to a good vet and tell him what you've done and what you're looking for...then you can ask for what it is exactly that you're looking for from him...

 

~Bob~

Jenni78 is an experienced breeder and what she's telling you are things to think about...

What you feed and where you allow your puppies to be (surface) can be something that you need to take into consideration...

 

~Bob~

Might want to look into keeping them separated as in a couple of months the female could have a heat period .. likely not fertile but you don't want to have any other complication.  Keeping them apart may give the male more rest too!  Pano is a better explanation than hip dysplasia and females are much less likely to get Pano than males.  The best exercise for the male would be swimming or an underwater treadmill ( expensive ).  I have had som male pups that limped for months but their hips were fine .. Pano.  Pano can move around a bit but sometimes it can be in a single limb .. Pano seems to like the front legs more than rear in many male GSD.  If the pup starts limping in a front leg then the hips are not the cause.  Many vets don't know anything about GSD puppies.  If it was me I would spend money on a good raw diet based on animal protein and animal fat and stop with the x-rays and vet testing.  Give the pup a chance to grow some more and don't operate unless his life is in danger.  The vet will likely not solve anything with surgery at 5 months and will likely create new problems for your pup.  I have been to this rodeo and it will not end well if you start cutting bone on a 5 month old pup.  Listen to Jeni78 and spend your money on good animal protein not on the vet's Lexus payment.  I have had only bad experiences with the Vet Specialty Hospitals that are in reality a franchise corporate hospital that charges all that you can afford and then they turn you upside down and shake the change from your pockets. 

At  a young age and because of undeveloped muscles  GSD puppies often show a wobbling in the back when observed from above , while they are walking. Because of the lack of muscle development the hind quarter and forequarter of the dog are not yet  strongly coupled; the result is that two different  stress vectors ( one produced by the moving front legs and the other by the rear legs)  have to resolved by a single spinal column. This attempt by the spine to resolve the stress vectors is what produyces the wobbling along the back. If the dog is on a proper diet and getting sustantial free exercise on soft ground such as sand or soil , the muscles quickly develops and the rear and front of the dog becomes increasingl;y strongly coupled. I have seen this over and over again. Another associated phenomena with growth is that the hock length may reach  a substantial % of the adult hock length  at a young age, but ligament development may lag behind. The result is that the hock may appear weak and the dog may even stand " cow hocked".. Again proper diet and exercise on soft ground seem to revcerse this quickly.

 

Hi guys

thanks for all your thoughts and advise, we do feed them on beef tripe and james well beloved puppy food, I have always feed my shepherds on tripe and they have done well on it. Most of the time they walk and play in the garden which is mostly grass. We live in the country so it's all soft ground. 

I think X-rays is a must just to put mind at ease really and find a vet that loves animals and not there wallets. 

A good vet in the south east of England anybody know of any?

 

When i bought my dog at the age of 4 months old he started limping very heavily on his right elbow it lasted for about 2 weeks and went away. 1 week later it came back. I was sure he had elbow displaysia at this point so i took him to
The vet after the vet examined him and felt his muscle in his forearm he said it was pano. This limping phase lasted until he was a year old and it completly dissapeard. Pano could be your problem. The vet said he was growing to fast.

Take them off puppy food and switch to adult, this is probably pano.

Even tho they are only 5 months

Pano is not well understood .. likely genetic X environment.  I have read reports in which bone marrow from dogs with pano was inserted into the legs of a puppy or dog without pano and the recipient dog then developed pano.  Pano has something to do with long bone growth and development but thus far there has been no scientific studies that have identified the cause or cure.  Pano could also be a syndrome caused by microbiological agents or pathogens.  Much like the tick borne diseases in dogs during the 1970's were not believed to exist the science is still out on the cause of pano.  As I said pano is much more common in males and often seems to start when they start to develop some male hormones but female can get pano too.  I feed a low carbohydrate diet but my male pups sometimes still get Pano.  I haven't seen any cases in female pups however thus far. 

I feed all stages of life dog food, no pano. Bubba, I have a friend who is an amsl breeder/fancier/shows in akc breed conformation. Several years ago, she had a female with pano till the bitch was bred at three yrs. After pups were born, the pano finally cleared up. She was exrayed different times and diagnosed by exray,all four limbs involved. One male pup from that litter, that i know of, had severe pano till he was over two in all four limbs, both dogs were so severe they could not walk at times. Then it went away...no meds or diet affected a cure. I have read thatpano did not exist until vac came into vogue, that a virus is suspected. I do believe that it is either inherited genetically or in utero, seeing my friends kennel of dogs as evidence.