My Puppy's back leg - Page 1

Hello everyone I just found this site today and I have a few questions, so I figured I'd join.  I have an almost 7 month old male German Shepherd.  When my pup was about 3 months I noticed on a walk he was only walking on 3 legs, his back right leg was off the ground.  I carried him back home and when we got back he was fine again.  Running around and everything.  It did not happen anytime after that on a walk.  However about the end of August I had let the him out in the morning and went back to my bedroom when I heard him yell and whimper.  I looked out the window and saw that he again was walking on 3 legs with the same leg up off the ground.  So I did some research and I had already known hip dysplasia was very common in this breed, but I researched all of the symptoms like the bunny hop when running etc. and came to the conclusion that he more than likely has hip dysplasia.  So I made an appointment with my vet to get his hips X-rayed.  I went to pick him up after the x-rays and my vet came out and showed me the x-rays and they did not show hip dysplasia.  I mentioned everything that happened to my vet but he just kind of shrugged it off.  Now just a couple of weeks ago when I took him on a walk we got to this one houses front lawn and for some reason he started limping his back right leg.  So I again started getting worried that something wasnt right.  We went on a walk the next day on the same route and again when we got to the certain house's front lawn he started limping again, now when I take him down that route he just stops as soon as we get the the house and refuses to walk on the grass, instead he'll walk in the middle of the street (the road is not a busy  street).  So my questions are what is causing him to bunny hop when running and limp at times?  Also should I go get a second opinion from another vet?

I feel for you it seems that he's is in a lot of pain. I know a 9 moths old GSD who has hip dysplasia and the owners are in a terrible state. Anyway good luck with treatment and do let me know if there's any update.

Regards

He does not have hip dysplasia though.  I researched it online and found X-rays for a hip dysplastic dog and one that did not and my dogs X-rays matched to the ones that did not have dysplasia. Any thoughts of what it could be or what I should do??

Hello. No, it is not Hip Dysplasia. More than likely, your pup has pano, full name for the illness is Panosteitis. You can Google for it and read a lot of info over the net.

If your pup has grown up fairly fast, his bones/joints are a bit inflamed. the good news is it goes away with time when the pup reaches maturity and it goes and comes in between. There is really nothing you can do about, but if you want to ease the pain, you can give him some aspirin.

What you are describing is a classic description of pano(except it doesn't transfer to other legs in your pup). To read more about it, click here: http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS276&q=panosteitis&btnG=Google+Search

Read up some about it, then please post back the progress, if any later.

Any history of injury or rough play? One of my pups has similar symptoms, her x-rays were OK, she had an on again, off again limp in her right back leg. Vet did not think it was panno. We have kept her to leash walking, & crated when not on leash, she doesn't like it, but she's not lame anymore. When she's a little older we'll start giving her more excersize, a little bit at a time, & see how she does. It's difficult to say exactly what's wrong with her leg, because when we take her to the vet, she, of course, doesn't do it. We suspect she injured herself, because she's the rammiest, most driven dog I've ever known. She acts like a jack russell terrier with a GSD body, throws herself around like a wild woman, which is why she is now crated or leashed. Give her a moment to herself, & she's in trouble, or stirring up trouble. LOL! Try resting your pup, & don't go back to that house, your pup associates the yard with his pain. Try short walks, rest, back to vet if the puppy keeps limping. Ask about panno. Good luck! jackie harris

 If the x-rays were properly done and interpreted by an experienced vet who says the pup is not dysplastic, the likelihood is that your pup has panosteitis. This is an inflammatory condition of the long bones, and he will outgrow it. It has been discussed here at length  and here is what I wrote in several parts:

take the liberty to summarize and add some comments of my own.

1. No one knows why some dogs get panosteitis and others do not, even within the same litter, and even maintaining the same growth rate, fed the same foods etc. I have kept all littermates for life from two litters, and some have had it and others not. I have also seen hundreds of dogs in my rescue program, of all ages, and some young ones have had it, others not, and they have all been fed the same way, and a variety of quality foods.

2. No understanding of what causes it is known and it is speculation only that high protein levels in food causes it. See the link below for more information on additional possible causative factors. These include calcium imbalances.

3. As with every medical condition short of a contagious illness or injury, this condition likely does have a genetic component to it predisposing certain dogs to develop the condition. It might be as simple a case as having certain inflammatory chemicals released in a body, given some "trigger" of unknown origin.

4. Pano IS and DiKah points out,  the EXACT same thing as "growing pains" and other pseudonyms. In fact, pano has nothing to do with joints, but affects the long bones. One of the diagnostic criteria is that squeezing hard on a long bone will cause discomfort. X-rays also sometimes reveal some mottling in the bone and/or extra density as bone is deposited during growth. Just how or if the way the bone looks is related actually to the elicitation of pain is not clear but in some cases seems to correlate with clinical signs in the dog.

6. There is NO proof that any specific type of diet causes or contributes to pano or prevents it. As a personal note, I have had hundreds of dogs in my care, of all ages, sometimes siblings, and never saw any correlation at all with diet. Some people think it has to do with fast growth rates and high protein content. Think again about a canid in the wild....they would, given good environmental conditions, have abundant protein and would be growing fast. Whether pano is observed in wild canids I don't know. I do know that over the past 50 years or so the size of our breed and others has increased some 30-50%. This alone, just as in humans, has serious implications for skeletal health.

7. If one decides to consider treatment, yes, aspirin, Rimadyl, Deramaxx and other medications can be useful. NONE of these medications is without some risk, including aspirin. The thing one must do is know what the risks are, know that in most dogs these medications are useful. One major consideration must always be a quality of life issue. And one must look at the individual dog and its’ baseline health, especially liver and kidney function. For example, I take prednisone. Are there risks ....yes, and in my age group they are even more likely to occur than with younger people. But for me it is simple: without this medication the quality of my life is poor.  I cannot move and am too stiff and in great discomfort without it and sometimes, even having taken it. So I CHOOSE to take the risk and I do what I can to minimize the risk by altering other factors in my life. Rimadyl for canines, for example, is a terrific drug. I have seen many animals given the drug who might otherwise be put down or spend the last years of their lives in great pain. Most of these dogs do very well. Just like with NSAIDS in humans (which I also have chosen to take despite the risks), there are some dogs who do not do well. This is why knowing the dog, keeping tabs on liver and kidney function, and knowing the adverse and side effects with this and every drug, human or animal, is wise.

 8. In mild cases probably nothing needs to be done to treat it. In more severe cases one can simply limit the dogs' activity, or try to see if the dog itself will limit its' activity. With dogs who do not limit themselves in activity when not feeling well (such as in higher drive dogs), giving medication actually may contribute to the condition not resolving in a timely fashion because the dog is so active. In other words, pain often will cause a dog to slow down and this is a good thing. However, giving medication to take away the pain may make the dog feel well enough that it engages in activity that should be avoided.

I do not supplement in any way, without a very good reason. I believe that if a dog is fed first of all, a quality food, that is enough. Others have their favorite supplements, but in my book, they do nothing to contribute or minimize joint or other health status unless a specific deficiency is known to exist. Others will disagree and I always say that if it works for you and for the dog, then do it. There are many studies however, on Vitamin C for example, that call into question whether there is any benefit at all for such conditions.

Finally, we might also want to remember that the size of GSDs and other large breeds has increased tremendously over the last 50 or so years. In my opinion, it is this that is probably one major factor contributing to bone and joint issues in these dogs today. Also, we have much better vet care and much better overall awareness levels as to what constitutes a healthy and well animal. Better nutrition is known to be a contributing factor to larger size in most species, including humans and dogs.

Limping can be caused by several problems associated with bones and bone growth. The most common is panosteitis or "pano." This is also referred to as growing pains and wandering leg lameness. Pano is characterized by shifting leg lameness; one leg will heal, then another may be affected. There are no long-term ill-effects from pano.

Pano is associated with large breed dogs and usually occurs in dogs 5 to 12 months of age, although it has been found in dogs as old as 5 years. It most commonly affects males by a ratio of 4:1. Females are most often affected around their first heat. It is possible that the condition is partially genetic since so many German Shepherd Dogs are prone to it. However, many other factors have been associated with pano: diet, viral diseases, autoimmune problems, hyperestrogen, and vascular problems. In other words, no one knows what causes it.

Pano is a process in which the fatty marrow inside the long bones degenerates and is replaced by bone cells. As the blood flow inside the bone becomes congested, the tissue covering the inside of the bone (endosteum) and the tissue covering the outside of the bone (periosteum) can also become involved. Eventually the new bone cells are resorbed, and the marrow is restored. This buildup of bone cells can sometimes be seen as darker patches on the bone in a radiograph. Once a bone has been affected, it is unlikely to be affected again - but remember, each leg has 3 long bones.

The dog normally limps on the affected limb and only rarely holds the limb to prevent any weight from being placed on it. It is often easily diagnosed with an x-ray; the lesion shows as the tell-tale dark patch on the bone. Pressure applied on the bone elicits a pain response. Currently, treatment consists of reduction of the percentage of protein in the dog's diet and pain management through the use of buffered aspirin, Ascriptin, or Rimadyl, or steroids in severe cases. Restricting the dog's activity has not been shown to have an effect on the healing process.

Like many problems, pano may be difficult to diagnose. The dark patches may not appear on the x-rays. The lameness may not shift to another leg. It can be extremely frustrating with many bouts of radiographs. Assuming that the limping is caused by pano can help delay diagnosis of other more severe problems. Never assume that limping is caused by pano without having it properly diagnosed.

The best thing that you can do is to choose a high quality dog food, or a carefully planned natural diet, which does not have too much calcium, nor too high a percentage of protein. Recent studies show that the balance of calcium and phosphorus is the most important dietary consideration for a growing puppy followed closely by the amounts of protein and fat. Most breeders recommend a maximum of 26% protein and others like to see the pup switched to an adult formula by the age of 4 months. Diet may be the single most important aspect of puppy development (especially when coupled with exercise) under an owner's control. Listen carefully to your breeder's recommendations, they usually know what suits their lines best.

HOD, or hypertrophic osteodystrophy, is another of the growth related problems. It is an inflammation of the growth plates, which is the knobby section at the end of the bones. It is characterized by lameness, "walking on egg shells," and can be accompanied by depression, weight loss, and fever. The joints may be swollen and feel hot. It occurs most often in young (2 to 8 months of age) large breed dogs, and occurs equally in both males and females. It usually appears on x-rays as soft tissue swelling in the area of the growth plates.

There is no known cause and, like almost all of the growth-related bone problems, diet is thought to play a part. It has not been shown to be genetic but heredity cannot be ruled out.

There is no known treatment other than pain management. Ascriptin or buffered aspirin is usually prescribed. Mild cases usually resolve with no lasting ill effects. However, in the rare case of severe HOD, permanent damage to the bone joints can result in limb deformities.