Why is My Doberman Puppy Limping!?!

​Cerera was a very large and fast growing puppy! She rapidly grew to the height of 29 inches tall. Luckily we escaped the common problems associated with a fast growing puppy. However you  may not be so lucky!

Panosteitis is sometimes called "growing pains." Panosteitis may occur in more than one bone at a time and often moves around from leg to leg.
The limping usually occurs very suddenly and spontaneously, or without a history of trauma or excessive exercise.
Pano usually presents itself around 5 to 6 months of age and can come and go even moving from leg to leg up until your Doberman puppy is 18 months of age.

Some tips we can share with you if your Doberman puppy limping are:
1. Make sure your puppy receives a thorough lameness examination by a competent Veterinarian to rule out tendon or joint pain from an injury. Although panosteitis is not a serious disease, and is a common cause of lameness, other, more serious bone diseases can cause lameness in young dogs. In order to be sure that a sudden onset of lameness is not caused by one of these more serious bone diseases, radiographs must be taken. If the radiographs show the typical lesions of panosteitis, then you can rest assured that your dog will eventually outgrow the problem.

2. Although there are potential links between diets containing excessive levels of dietary protein and/or calcium, it isn't recommended to feed large breed puppies with an adult dog food that contains lower levels of protein and calcium. The reason for this is that many grocery store brands of adult dog food also have lower calories or energy levels than puppy food. This will actually cause your Doberman puppy to eat a lot more of a low-energy food to meet their growth requirements. Eating more of a low energy diet will result in a higher overall intake of protein and calcium which can disrupt their delicate growth ratio. 
A better option is to feed your Doberman puppy a high quality diet that has been specifically formulated for use in large breed puppies or adolescents, and to restrict the quantity fed to keep the dog at a lean, healthy body weight. Do not allow your puppy to become overweight. 

3. Episodes can last for two to three weeks or can continue for months at a time. The dog may show hesitance to walk, run, jump, or exercise. If the affected bone is squeezed, the dog will exhibit pain as well.
Some dogs run a low-grade fever during episodes of panosteitis. Others have elevated white blood cell counts. The condition typically affects the radius, ulna, humerus, femur, and tibia, but once in a while the condition can affect the foot and pelvic bones as well.

4. Large Dog Breeds at higher risk of Panosteitis:Large fast growing breeds have a higher risk of Panosteitis. Panosteitis is especially common in German shepherds. Other dog breeds where this condition is quite common are the Great Dane, the Doberman pinscher, the Labrador retriever and the Golden retriever.

Signs and Symptoms of Panosteitis in dogs:

The classic signs and symptoms of Panosteitis in Doberman puppies is lameness. Panosteitis can affect different bones at different times, and you might notice how your Doberman puppy seems sore and lame in one hind leg only to have it suddenly switch to the opposite leg seemingly overnight! Such a cycle of lameness can last from 2-3 weeks for each leg, and your Doberman puppy will often experience periods when it has no apparent symptoms at all and happily runs and plays like any other Doberman puppy. 
If your Doberman puppy is suffering from Panosteitis it can develop a fever or experience nausea, become lethargic and even lose its appetite.
Panosteitis is not cured surgically or by prescribing any particular drug.
The treatment of choice for Panosteitis is simply rest and exercise restriction, a Doberman puppy with Panosteitis must be given plenty of rest, you may even need to crate them at times.
If your Doberman puppy is in a lot of pain, your vet can may prescribe a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug to help make them more comfortable.  (NO Rimadyl)
Most Dobermans fully recover from Panosteitis without any permanent side effects.

MSM - directions are on the bottle for the size of the dog. Open the capsule and sprinkle the powder on the food.
Herbsmith Comfort Aches - available in a tablet and a powder.
Yucca Intensive - 10 drops in food. This is bitter, so mix it into the food (shake the bottle well).
Vitamin "E" 1 Capsule daily.
Vitamin "C" 500 mg daily.

I had been telling Bruce how we needed to get some weight off of one of our young females, we switched her to adult food but it wasn't quite soon enough and she has shown a bit of pain in her hind legs. Nothing serious but a wake up call to be on the lookout for Pano!
We have never had a serious case of Pano in our Dobermans and we are not wanting to experience any Doberman puppy with it now!

Remember to keep your young rapidly growing puppies lean and on a well balance diet. Do not feed extra calcium as this may disrupt the delicate balance between calcium and phosphorous a sure fire way to set your Doberman puppy up for a painful bout of Pano!

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