advice please - Page 2

My male shepherd had and has the exact same symptoms. It sounds like osteopanositis.

It switched legs after a few months too. He's had it twice on the front right once on the front left. Initially I had x-ray done and it showed nothing. Took some time for it to go away, I kept him kenneled and quiet. Seemed like it went away when it was ready and came back for no apparent reason. After reading up on it there's really nothing to do but limit his activity until it subsides. Not to say it won't happen again, from what I read it resolves on it's own for good anywhere from 12-18 months of age.

He is 12 months and just yesterday I saw him favoring the right front leg, so I have immediately stopped his activity and hope it won't get too bad.Can't wait for the18 month mark

Good luck.

A friend of ours had a female shepherd that had the Pano.  Went from leg to leg before she got over it.  Note, she DID get over it : - }  Good luck with your dog.

Harri,
Some good advice on here for you. Pano is so common and I have dealt with it enough for years that when I get a dog gimpy on a front leg and there is no sign that he injured it and after I palpate it to look for anything else and see where the pain is coming from ( not his foot etc.) then I assume its Pano. I just treat by lowering protein and treat with baby Aspirin for a week or so. This is just me though, not a proven method other then it has worked well for me.  In your case for your own piece of mind you might take him to a good vet ( one that is familiar with our breed ) and see what they say.  Good luck and you came to a good place to get ideas.   One more thing, like has been mentioned reduce excersize till it subsides OR let him swim . Young dogs will not let pain stop them so you will need to treat him like a child and limit his activities to a degree. You don't need to get narotic, just common sense.

Very true olskoolgsds.  Treat the dog as a child and limit it's activities for him/her.  Crate them for a period of time each time they start getting worked up and try to over do it.  Same as with any injury, really.

Pano--I would agree. I also give low protein foods because had a dog who had severe panosteitis from eating Science Diet Large Breed puppy (recommended by my OLD vet). 26% protein or less (listed on the side of the bag, typically) would be my suggestion.

Here are a couple of links to read.

http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/lpano.htm    http://www.labbies.com/dysplasa.htm

Good luck, and let us know how things turn out!

-Melanie

Thank you all for your advice, it is very helpful.  we have decided to follow what you all say and have cancelled our x-ray appointment and are thinking of looking for a more specialised vet who is more familiar with gsds. 

if we continue with the arden grange adult food (400g per day split into two feeds) and the odd chicken wing, hopefully his growth will slow, and the condition will settle by itself.

Thanks again,

Harri

hey, you might want to check into raw feed additives, my vet hates my feeding raw, but is ok with adding fish oil , as it is a anti-inflammatory.The doses have to be high, but no harm , coat improves and is at least natural. The cheapest i found was Sam's Club.It also takes a few weeks for you to see the results, so it might not hurt to try along with all the other advise.