Do You Have A Large Breed Puppy That Is Limping? It Could Be Panosteitis.

For those with large breed dogs, or any dog really, this post is for you because when they are puppies their bones and joints are so fragile.  Playing has to be careful and they mostly just sleep.  Then the training comes and for those of us with big dogs know sometimes the stubborn streak kicks in and training time comes to an end.

They are also prone to several health issues.  I'd like to talk about one of these issues...Panosteitis.  It is also referred to as growing pains.  It is a painful thing for animals to go through and each instance can last 2-3 weeks and can switch legs for another 2-3 weeks of pain for the dog.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2084&aid=466

http://www.vetinfo.com/canine-panosteitis-symptoms.html

There is no cure for Panosteitis (Pano) except for time.  The pain can be managed with a variety of medication such as Rimadyl or Meloxicam but know that this treatment is simply managing the symptoms and not treating the cause of the pain. 

While this painful disease usually strikes younger male large breed dogs between 5-18 months, it can happen in any dog so it's important to know your animal as well as you would if he/she were a human baby.  That way you can tell when he/she isn't walking right or is a little wobbly, etc.

While no one knows what exactly causes Pano, it is thought to have a correlation to nutrition; particularly a high protein and high fat concentration.  The breed specific foods out on the market are not known to be helpful in preventing this disease either.

This is an x-ray of a dog with Pano.  It is labled so you can tell the difference between normal bone marrow and the Pano.  It is important for your vet to do an x-ray for this because Pano manifests

within the bone marrow which is easily seen on an xray as you can tell.    Nothing has been found to be a definitive cause of Pano as of yet but one theory is this disease is viral and not bacterial which means antibiotics are ineffective.  This is frustrating for owners watching their dogs in pain and know that the only thing they can do is give them pain medication and an anti-inflammatory.

The majority of dogs will grow out of this without any complications or side effects which is definitely a good thing. 

So what are we big dog lovers supposed to do?  The only real thing we can do is feed them the best food we can (I personally feed my Great Dane Purina One and my vet is happy with that), love them, and make sure we do the best we can.  Sound like the same thing you do for your children?  It's pretty much the same thing.  We can never know it all and never know what to do every time.  However, keeping and eye on them and knowing what is normal and what is not normal is half the battle.

As always your comments and questions are welcome.  Please let us know if you'd like a topic discussed here and we will make it happen.  Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter and of course tell your family and friends about us!  Thanks for reading.



Finding New Litters and Babies

 Animal rescue people know when kitten season is coming but a lot of "normal" people do not and will often contact rescue organization, their vet or even shelters when they find litters and even infants.  Most of the time these organizations are full to the brim with animals they already have so fostering these babies is hopefully an option for the finder.

The care needed for these little ones can be intimidating, however, but no need to worry.  If you find a mom with babies all you need to do is put her in a small space like a large dog crate, bathroom or spare room with a box for the babies and she will do all the work for you!  Occasionally there is a little one left behind, though, and this is even more intimidating than finding the family.  While caring for the little one is hard work it is not complicated at all.  Here are two links for kittens and puppies to help you figure things out.

http://www.kittenbaby.com/

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2108&aid=863

Animal rescue organizations can also be a great source of information as can your vet.  Do not hesitate to ask but here are some things I like to keep on hand for kitten season:

Kitten Meal Replacement (KMR):  found at any petstore in powder and liquid form.
Baby kitten soft food:  doesn't matter what brand as long as it is a pate form
Baby kitten hard food:  for when they develop teeth and start eating.  I like Royal Canin baby cat but  whatever kitten food available is fine.
Bottle for KMR when they are still bottle feeding and not eating food yet.
A scale for making sure the little ones are gaining weight.

Socialization is key as well so having more than one animal with these babies is wonderful for their development (mental, social and physical).  Adopting kittens in pairs is always preferable because if the parents ever want another cat then the exposure and socialization is already there for them to be accepting of another housemate.

I hope this has helped and as always please let me know if you have any comments, questions or a topic you would like to see discussed here.