23 week old puppy started limping - Page 1

I noticed a small limp on the foreleg(not sure where it is paining him specifically) of my german shepherd yesterday.Today when I came home from work it seemed more pronounced and he wasn't putting any pressure on it. I felt, touched his leg all over and he doesn't seem squeamish or react noticably at any spot and hasn't been licking it. He definitely seems under the weather though and has cried a little intermittenly when he is laying down not walking on it. I know he is bummed out that he can't go for his evening walk and play like only puppies do. I don't feel I have been over excercising him, but he has free played quite a bit the past week or so with some of his puppy friends. Do you think this could be Pano or a pulled muscle or something? Oh yeah, his appetite seems to be fine. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also what do you think about baby aspirin?

The most likely explanation is that he does have panosteitis. This may be confirmed by an x-ray and also by a vet who can compress the long bones to elicit a pain response. In this case, yes, aspirin appropriate for his weight, probably would be the first thing to try in addition to activity reduction. It is also worth considering what you are feeding, his weight and how much and what kind of exercise he regularly receives. Sometimes modification of these factors helps. Many cases of pano resolve quickly or are mild. Others can be really disabling while the pup is growing. But the good news is that it will resolve if, indeed, that is what it is. Of course, there are other possibilities such as you have mentioned, but see what a vet thinks and go from there. Good luck.

To expound on what hodie said.... Make sure the food you are feeding is NOT high protien. In my opinion puppy food should not be fed after 16wks of age, as it's high protien has been proven to cause "pano". Debby

Thanks to both of you for your quick reply and sound advice. I started the pup on adult health wise (innova) food about 5 weeks ago..probably should have been sooner though. thanks again for your concern...the little guy is resting and sleeping now.

I alway feed the dog Royal Canine sutable for is age, however most pups are overweigt and should be feed lees. I dont know the english term but i agree that it is probely a growt issue. Consult a vet before giving any kind of medicine. overfeeding increases the speed of bone growt, muscels grow slow and you have the problem. Do not train to much with the dog until the limp has been gone for a few weeks.

It could easily be somehting much more simple, ie he has bruised or twisted somehting. I had a similar thing, vet presctibed piroxicam which is a non steroid antiinflammatory, for a couple of days and the limp disappeared quickly and did not return. But as Kim says do consult a vet. Good luck.

He is doing much better. No noticable limp for the past two days. I will start him with a small walk tomorrow and gradually reintroduce him to excercise. Thanks again for everyones concern. He is full of pep pup and vinegar again!!!

I forgot to mention I brought him to the vet and she didn't feel It was anything that warranted xray's , I guess we will have to go and join the "wait and see club."

OKAY, I can't keep quiet forever !! Listen to Hodie she knows what she's talking about -- Yes, it could be a sprain from playing too rough -- We were puppysitting a little guy who learned how to do stairs at around 10-12 weeks - not steep stairs -- only 5 broad steps off the deck -- He decided to skip the last 3 -- and was airborne -- landing on his shoulder !! Luckily he didn't break his neck -- he screamed for what seemed like 10 minutes, which was really less than 1 - -and over the next 2 weeks he got better -- The part I can't agree with is the protein thing -- I don't think Innova is a particulary good food in any formula -- There are lots of dogs having "breeding problems" and some people believe that this is due to the high level of carbs in this and other foods. Not to mention, I don't use ANY extruded foods anyway. Pano is prevelent in certain lines -- My friend SWITCHED FOODS from something she used for years - in an effort of avoid pano (sometimes he had whole litters who had it really really bad ) -- and guess what - they STILL got it !! On occasion, it can be the most horrible thing -- or it can be mild, occasional and go away fairly quickly with rest and some anti-inflammatory drugs - Puppies need protein to grow --I don't think you can slow down their genetic growth rate by withholding nutrition of any kind. My friends American bred dog was HUGH at 5 months -- he didn't have pano - but unfortunatley he does have horrible hips !! (His sire is extremely famous) but that does not, as we know predict the hips in his offspring) They may either grow fast or not - it's in their genes -- not in their food dish - but by golly -- if I have a puppy that's swallowed some magic beans and is growing faster than Jack's beanstalk you can be sure I'm going to give it all the nutrition it needs to support that growth !! nuff said.

Ok, here I have to disagree... I've been doing quite a bit of research and I am starting to believe that there is not a commercial cooked dog food that doesn't affect our dogs in one way or another, usually way down the road and we will never make a connection.. I do believe puppies should be grown slowly and kept on the leaner side, they shouldn't be walked ad nauseum for long distances but should be allowed to chew bones and play puppy games, with their people of course.... I think what is in a dogs food bowl can have a lot to do with how they grow, yes their genetics are also there but I think we feed them inappropriate foods and that just screws things up... never thought I'd say this but here I am, I said it....