I've got an 11 month old GSD. Within the past couple of weeks, he started limping on his right front leg. That seemed to get better, then he started limping on his left front. He was lethargic and didn't eat and would lay around whining and just appeared to be uncomfortable in general. I took him to the vet, who said he believed my puppy was growing too fast and had developed lesions on his hip joints, causing the pain. My dog weighs about 76lbs and he said that while he's not overweight, he's just big and would continue to have those problems until he gets older. He prescribed honey and bee venom for the problem. I was more than a little skeptical but after a little less than a week, he's doing better with no limping and his appetite has returned. The doc said, though, that if the problem didn't clear up he'd x-ray him.

A co-worker has a litter mate to my dog, also a male. I asked him if his dog had been limping and he said he had been but it appeared to be a little more severe than what mine had been going through. After a trip to the vet-not the same one that I use, mind you-it was determined that he had hip dysplasia. He was given an anti-inflammatory and told that if the problem persisted, he'd need to be x-rayed.

My question is this. I'm certainly not a vet, but isn't an 11 month old puppy a little young to be experiencing hip dysplasia? Also, has anyone ever heard of a dog getting too big too fast? I really can't question the effectiveness of the honey and bee venom stuff as it seems to have cleared up my dog's problem.

PANO

Here is a link to an article about Panosteitis. By the way you described it shifting from one limb to another, I would seriously look into this as that it what it sounds like.

Also, if you are feeding a puppy kibble, I would switch to one of the All Natural adult kibbles. Pups do not need puppy food past 5 months of age. Have you though of feeding raw diet as well?

The vet I had been taking him to recommended any kind of name-brand large breed puppy food, so I chose Purina One large breed puppy chow. That vet said feed him puppy chow til he's about a year then switch to regular adult food. I've heard others say that they need puppy food until they're 2, since that's supposedly when they're mature. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

Most vets recommend this due to not knowing a whole lot about nutrition. They get a two week course in vet school I think, and that is about it.

Here is a list of all natural kibble and some articles on raw feeding:

Feeding a Raw Diet

List of All Natural Kibbles

Resources for Raw Diet

Q and A on feeding dogs and puppies

That article on pano seemed to pretty much hit the nail on the head. I'm just hoping that my co-worker gets a second opinion on his dog, because it doesn't sound like hip dysplasia at all. I'll check out the other links about diet, and thanks again for the help.

Hi Michael,

IMO puppies need to be off puppy food by 4 or 5 months old -you should really see about getting him some good quality adult food and start switching over. Also, if the pup was limping on his front legs why would the vet say he had lesions on his hip joints? And your friend, how did the vet know his dog had hip dysplasia without x-rays to confirm that? Your situation sounds like pano since it went from one leg to the other, lack of appetite, etc. which is basically growing pains- one of my dogs had it at 5 months and again at almost 2 yrs. - its kinda like the bone marrow in the long bones of the dog gets over produced and becomes inflammed, so it can be very painful but they eventually grow out of it. I believe that it is genetic in some dogs also, so that could be why your friends dog is having the same problems?? I would ask for x-rays to be sure but thats just me My 9 month old pup is 90 lbs and hes not overweight he is just a BIG shep and he has not had any problems so I dont think it has to do with being a "large" dog. My dog who had pano is just over 2 and hes only 85 lbs so hes not really big but he had it. Pano affects certain breeds more than others and gsd are one of them. and thats kinda crazy about the bee pollen and honey, never heard of a vet prescribing that?? but at least they didnt try to give you rimadyl or something like that

and to your question, a dog can develop hip dysplasia at any age, so 11 months wouldnt be too young, I"ve heard of pups way younger than that having it unfortunately. I ended up with one of my dogs having a total hip replacement at just under 2 years and he had it way before then. I also think pups can grow too fast especially if they are over feed or not feed properly.

I personnally had a bad experience with large breed puppy food. It gave my pup growth problems in one front leg, it got very crooked. Putting him on a good quality natural all life stages kibble cleared the problem up over time. I have since switched to RAW and would highly recommend it.

Here is an interesting page on protien for puppies.

http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/puppy-protein/

The key points are:

“Concern about protein causing developmental bone problems in large-breed puppies has led some breeders to reduce the amount of protein they fed. However, in research published in 1993 based on studies of Great Dane puppies at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, it was shown that dietary protein does not contribute to these problems.”

"while protein does not cause orthopedic problems, other nutrients can....In addition to excessive calcium intake, researchers have shown that over nutrition can also initiate these disturbances in skeletal maturation and growth"

"In conclusion, a logical response to feeding puppies would include:
- Use high quality proteins:
These include using premium brands of dog food, or if feeding a raw or home cooked diet, use as much variety in animal proteins as possible. Don’t skimp on the amount of proteins fed as these contribute to healthy growth, organ health and strong immune systems.
- Keep puppies and growing dogs lean.
Overweight and obese dogs have a much higher chance of developing arthritis and orthopedic problems.
- Don’t overdose the Calcium:
Do not supplement with calcium if you use a commercial diet. For raw diets, use 50% or less of raw meaty bones in growing dogs. For home cooked diets, supplement at no more than 800 milligrams per pound of food served.
- Don’t use high fiber diets for weight reduction:
Fiber, starches and grains can actually block certain nutrient uptake from the food served."

I'll probably go with Eukanuba or one of the higher end Purina foods, unless someone has had better experience with another brand. He turns a year this April so it's getting time to pick one. The hip thing was my fault, I meant his shoulders. I suggested to my friend that he get another opinion, seems hard to me to diagnose something like that without x-rays. My vet told me that if the problem persisted, he'd x-ray mine just to confirm what it was.

After reading what people have said on here and different articles on the internet, I'm convinced it's pano as well. I was more than skeptical about the bee venom/honey stuff, but it works!

 Quote:

I'll probably go with Eukanuba or one of the higher end Purina foods, unless someone has had better experience with another brand.

I don't have any experience with kibble at all as I have always raw fed and I definitely recommend that first. If you are going to feed kibble Purina and Eukanuba are about as low quality as dog food comes. They are full of cheap, low quality, undigestible grains. This website http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ shows analysis of many different kibbles based on their ingredients. You will find Purina and Eukanuba are both rated 1 or 2 stars at best.

Here is a link to some all natural kibbles you may want to consider
http://leerburg.com/all-natural%20kibble.htm

Shannon

 Quote: Michael Henderso

I'll probably go with Eukanuba or one of the higher end Purina foods

Nooooooooooooo! Please, please DON'T!!! Crap in a bag! Crap in a bag!

Check out the last link that Shannon gave you and pick from there if you want to go kibble.

 Quote: Carol Boche

Most vets recommend this due to not knowing a whole lot about nutrition. They get a two week course in vet school I think, and that is about it.

My very good friend is a vet, and he will freely admit to you that he got a two week course on animal nutrition. Note that it's *animal* and not *canine.* So two weeks for the nutrition needs of many, many species...not even just on dogs.

Also, the crap in a bag companies (Purina and Science Diet) are PAYING for the research that goes into the nutrition courses for vets. Biased, very biased. Also, they get many kick-backs and expensive promotional stuff while they're in vet school in an (effective) effort to woo the vets into thinking those kibbles are great.

Those kibbles listed on the link are good kibbles. I have never seen them at Petsmart or the like, but I do see them all the time at smaller pet supply stores. And if you're not interested in making your own diet, you can consider the premade raw patties of companies such as BRAVO! and Nature's Variety, or the Majestic Raw (also often available at smaller pet supply stores).

They are formulated beyond AAFCO standards so you know the nutrition is balanced. They're great when you're just starting out and unsure.

The difference even with the patties is dramatic.