# I'm thinking Kopper has pano



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

He's been limping for about a week now. I'm pretty familiar with anatomy and physiology and I haven't been able to find any indication that he's got a bone injury and when I articulate his joints he doesn't show evidence of discomfort, and there's nothing in his paws. I think it's probably pano. 
Although he's limping, he zooms around the yard and bounces all over the place like he normally does; he doesn't appear to notice that he's limping. 

So, 2 questions:

1) Can I/should I give him some of Rocky's metacam?

2) Since he isn't self-limiting exercise, can I continue to let him exercise? Keep going on walks?


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## JeffM (Dec 19, 2005)

1) Wouldn't recommend it;
2) No. Restrict exercise.

We had Thor on Rimadyl.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

JeffM said:


> 1) Wouldn't recommend it;
> 2) No. Restrict exercise.
> 
> We had Thor on Rimadyl.


You wouldn't recommend Metacam but you gave Rimadyl? That doesn't make sense to me? :thinking:


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## JeffM (Dec 19, 2005)

Wouldn't recommend giving any drug to any dog not seen by Vet but that's me.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

Pyrate had pano when he was young - long legs and growing too fast. I would not recommend giving your dog meds prescribed for another dog. I would recommend a vet visit to get the proper weight and prescription of Rimadyl. It worked wonders for Pyrate and he was fine after a few months. Limit the amount of exercise while your dog is limping - no jumping or frisbee playing at all. You can teach other fun stuff like roll over, or shake hands that doesn't take a lot of activity.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

Vet visit would be best before giving such a young dog metacam, but if he isn't showing discomfort when you manipulate his bones, it's probably not pano. From everything I've read, heard, and my experience with Frag, when you squeeze/touch the bones hard they feel it very uncomfortably.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

The only reason I mention the Metacam is because at his check-up, when she was trying to talk me into neutering him, she mentioned I could use it for post-surgical pain instead of having to purchase something else.


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## JeffM (Dec 19, 2005)

Emoore said:


> The only reason I mention the Metacam is because at his check-up, when she was trying to talk me into neutering him, she mentioned I could use it for post-surgical pain instead of having to purchase something else.


I'd call her up then and just verify.


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## GSD07 (Feb 23, 2007)

I would visit my vet and probably get x-rays since it could be not pano but problems with elbows.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

What about MSM to help with the pain? Its more often used for specific joint/arthritis pain but I've read about it being used for other painful conditions as well.


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## MrsWoodcock (Oct 21, 2010)

DJEtzel said:


> Vet visit would be best before giving such a young dog metacam, but if he isn't showing discomfort when you manipulate his bones, it's probably not pano. From everything I've read, heard, and my experience with Frag, when you squeeze/touch the bones hard they feel it very uncomfortably.


NOT TRUE about my female! She would limp all day, but then go outside and hear the neighbors dog run along the fence.... PSSSSH... she was like, pain, wha?!

And it wouldnt hurt her if i checked her out or poked and proded..


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

My female had several bouts with Pano. We just backed off on the exercise, although she did get regular walks, just shorter ones. No pills. She outgrew it by 7 months. She has been fine ever since (22 months).


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Wanted to update this. I took him in to the vet today and it's a sprain, not pano. She recommended anti-inflammatories (Rocky's Metacam) for 5 days and 10 days of strict rest.


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## Kris10 (Aug 26, 2010)

Well I wish him a speedy recovery- and you good luck in getting him to rest!!


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## mrsartz (Oct 19, 2011)

We're having the same issue with Luke. As soon as he turned 6 months old he started favoring his left front leg and constantly holding it up off the floor out of nowhere. There was no trauma of any kind and I definitely would have known it. 

When he greets me in the morning or decides to chase our brave and sometimes tantalizing cat upstairs on rare occasion, you wouldn't think there was any problem at all. However, I also (sort of) relate that to a little kid who's sick as a dog and bouncing off the walls.

We checked for any foreign objects in his paw. We poked prodded and pulled along his entire leg up to and around his shoulder and he didn't even flinch. He did get slightly annoyed after a couple of times of doing it but nothing to show any pain. 

Now he's starting to favor his left rear leg too. The limp in the front is still as bad and when he's relaxing he does seem to be whimpering in pain...though it could be depression. I feel so bad for him because he would normally be a bundle of 6 month old GSD puppy energy always ready for something. I also feel bad watching him try to get around. 

We gave him a buffered aspirin. The first day he seemed to do just fine wanting to get up and play (not good) and was in a happy mood. The 2nd day it made him sick. So we gave him a half of an aspirin the next day and that worked just fine. It doesn't have him ready to play but at least he's not whimpering. 

He is a large puppy and has been growing tremendously fast. He can already see what's on the kitchen table which means no more hiding treats. We do have an appointment with the vet for Monday to have x-rays done and rule out anything else. 

How long is within the normal range for a dog to limp around with pano? It's going on just past a week now. and there doesn't seem to be any improvement. Does it all of a sudden just go away or does it gradually go away?

We're praying that it's pano since he does seem to have the symptoms but we are also prepared for the worst. If we find out that it's early signs of hip or elbow dysplasia (sp?), what would be his hope? I hate to even think about what we would have to eventually do!! How long of a happy pain free life would he be able to live with something like that?

Sorry to write a novel here but we're trying to get an good idea of what we're up against here.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Sorry, with Kopper it turned out not to be Pano. It was a muscle sprain. 2 weeks of crate rest and he was as good as new.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

mrsartz said:


> We're having the same issue with Luke. As soon as he turned 6 months old he started favoring his left front leg and constantly holding it up off the floor out of nowhere. There was no trauma of any kind and I definitely would have known it.
> 
> When he greets me in the morning or decides to chase our brave and sometimes tantalizing cat upstairs on rare occasion, you wouldn't think there was any problem at all. However, I also (sort of) relate that to a little kid who's sick as a dog and bouncing off the walls.
> 
> ...


When Pyrate was a pup he had panosteitis. He would limp on different legs each week it seemed. I gave him glucosamine to help some. He went through that for a couple months I remember. He was about 6 months old at the time. They said I could give him buffered aspirin but it didn't seem to help all that much. It seemed to be like growing pains because he does have really long legs and they were growing really fast at that time.


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## mrsartz (Oct 19, 2011)

Emoore said:


> Sorry, with Kopper it turned out not to be Pano. It was a muscle sprain. 2 weeks of crate rest and he was as good as new.


That's good to know if it turns out to be a sprain. Thank you. I'm glad Kopper's ok!


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## mrsartz (Oct 19, 2011)

pyratemom said:


> When Pyrate was a pup he had panosteitis. He would limp on different legs each week it seemed.


Did Pyrate limp on more than one leg at any time?


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I"ve had a couple of males with pano, one pretty severe, a fast growing puppy..I found one day would be one leg, the next maybe another leg..I think when you see limping with one specific leg, it's always good to have it checked out.

I found also, my severe case, never failed, if it was due to rain, he'd come down with a bought of it. Back then the drug of choice from vets was "bute"..I wouldn't give it now being older and a tad wiser In fact I probably wouldn't give anything more than doggie aspiring or ascripton at this point,,,with the pain removed by meds, they tend to go racing around like maniacs which doesn't, in my opinion help those stretching muscles. 

And mine never really showed any pain when manipulating either.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Well that's good news, but strict rest? How's that going to happen? Hope he feels better soon


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

mrsartz said:


> Did Pyrate limp on more than one leg at any time?


Not all the time but there were times when he would limp on two legs at once. That wasn't very frequent throughout the period though.l


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## mrsartz (Oct 19, 2011)

JakodaCD OA said:


> I found also, my severe case, never failed, if it was due to rain, he'd come down with a bought of it.


The damp winter weather definitely has not been helping at all.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

mrsartz said:


> The damp winter weather definitely has not been helping at all.


If you have a microwave you can warm up a towel in it and drop that over him while he is laying down. If he likes massages it helps too. Gently rub his legs with your warm hands up and down the long part of the leg, it helps circulation and also stops some of the pain.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Stosh said:


> Well that's good news, but strict rest? How's that going to happen? Hope he feels better soon


Oh, this thread is from months ago. I think he was 5 months old at the time. Crate rest sucked big time, but I'm used to it from taking dogs through heart worm treatment. At least this time it was only two weeks.


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## mrsartz (Oct 19, 2011)

Stosh said:


> Well that's good news, but strict rest? How's that going to happen? Hope he feels better soon


If the vet suggests crate rest I don't know how any of us, including Luke, will handle it. I know he'll at least be upset because then he won't be able to lay by our feet or the backdoor. He's actually pretty good at keeping himself rested. He doesn't even try to bring us a toy to tug or throw much anymore. I guess he's ok with the loving that we give him instead.:wub::hug:


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## mrsartz (Oct 19, 2011)

pyratemom said:


> If you have a microwave you can warm up a towel in it and drop that over him while he is laying down. If he likes massages it helps too. Gently rub his legs with your warm hands up and down the long part of the leg, it helps circulation and also stops some of the pain.


Thank you very much for the suggestions. We have been massaging his legs but I didn't think about a warm towel. Now that I think about, laying by the door where there is a slight draft doesn't help either.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Vitamin C will help reduce the inflammation and shorten the bout of Pano. Start with 500mg of human grade natural C(w/rosehips or citrus bioflavonoids) and over a few days increase it to 1000 split between meals. Then after a week go to 2000mg daily, again split between meals. Two of my dogs had Pano and the C made a difference.
FYI, don't use EsterC for pups, it contains 55 mg of calcium...that should only be given to dogs over 10 months or so.


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## mrsartz (Oct 19, 2011)

pyratemom said:


> Not all the time but there were times when he would limp on two legs at once. That wasn't very frequent throughout the period though.l


Thank you. I suppose we'll find out on Monday exactly what it is.


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## mrsartz (Oct 19, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> Vitamin C will help reduce the inflammation and shorten the bout of Pano. Start with 500mg of human grade natural C(w/rosehips or citrus bioflavonoids) and over a few days increase it to 1000 split between meals. Then after a week go to 2000mg daily, again split between meals. Two of my dogs had Pano and the C made a difference.
> FYI, don't use EsterC for pups, it contains 55 mg of calcium...that should only be given to dogs over 10 months or so.


Thank you. Vitamin C? I'll look into the benefits of that.


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## mrsartz (Oct 19, 2011)

The vet sedated our whopping 70 pound Luke and took 4 X-rays. She confirmed that it is indeed pano. Thank goodness it's nothing serious. We can't wait to pick him up in an hour! The house seems so empty without him here.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

mrsartz said:


> The vet sedated our whopping 70 pound Luke and took 4 X-rays. She confirmed that it is indeed pano. Thank goodness it's nothing serious. We can't wait to pick him up in an hour! The house seems so empty without him here.


Glad to hear it isn't anything serious. Of course your house is quiet now - you are missing 70 pounds of lively attitude! Enjoy having him back home.


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## mrsartz (Oct 19, 2011)

pyratemom said:


> Glad to hear it isn't anything serious. Of course your house is quiet now - you are missing 70 pounds of lively attitude! Enjoy having him back home.


Thank you! He's back home and we're loving him up. He's a little bug-eyed and probably still feeling the medication so he was bouncing off the walls when we first came in. He's finally just settling now.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

mrsartz said:


> Thank you! He's back home and we're loving him up. He's a little bug-eyed and probably still feeling the medication so he was bouncing off the walls when we first came in. He's finally just settling now.


Glad to hear he is okay.


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## Angelina03 (Jan 9, 2012)

That is good news! Glad to hear that. I missed Rocco too like crazy (so did hubby) when he was at the vet for a whole day once.


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