hi,
sorry i messed up posting this before....

my 5 month GSD, Jonah, torked his LF leg (we have narrowed it down to left elbow, this is painful and feels a little puffy---worked for a vet for 8 yrs and had my frined/tech palpate also).
seems for sure like soft tissue trauma. he is favoring it but still as active as ever--would do everything if i let him. crate rest i am not sure is realistc as he is pretty high energy. i am afraid if forced to rest he woudl just go bonkers after released and re-hurt it by being over-the-top since he'd been crated.
i was told by a vet that mystery limps will come and go throughout his puyppyhood, this is typical for a large breed pup. i dont recall my other pups having any issues and this is an obvious tork/injury/strain that i actually saw happen (hit a low spot and "stuck" momentaritly while chasing his Orbee).
any thoughts? i just picked up some vitamin E which is supposed to help heal. he isn't chubby or anything, very lean 40 pounder.
thx for the HUGE amt of helpful info on here!!!
(maybe someday i will figure out how to put his pic on here....)
jen

Cool, now I can dive in, LOL.

The mystery limps you've heard about, are Panostenesis, Pano for short.
It is a very painful bone affliction that occurs in some large breed dogs as they grow, and typically is a result of growth that is too rapid.
Slow, steady growth is ideal= growth spurts lead to Pano. I have read that Pano is more common in kibble fed dogs, but thankfully, I have absolutely no personal experience.
I believe, however, that pano typically does not occur in a dog as young as yours.

I personally would be very concerned about a 5 month old GSD showing ANY sort of injury.
I strongly urge you to have your pup checked out by a vet.
While pups at that age (mine is only 2 months older) are very active, and constantly give themselves charley horses, anything that is painful for more than 24 hrs, or swollen at all, should be checked out by a vet.

Elbow injuries, especially in a GSD, are no laughing matter, and are best x-rayed to ensure no serious damage has been done. If something was damaged, you need to do everything in your power to make sure it is diagnosed and heals properly, to ensure no permanent disability results from this.

hi,
ok, i can get him in today. of course both parents are hip/elbow cerfed... at first i wasn't concerned but now its been a week. he favors it more 1st thing in the AM...
thx. i will post what the xrays show.

thank you.

jen

Alyssa and all,
diagnosis: Jonah injured his elbow, the growth plates that are supposed to have a hairline separation before they close--well he made that gap quite a bit wider. they wont close for another month, so he is splinted (from top of shoulder down to toes) and will have that on for 2 weeks. i am SO THANKFUL i was strongly advised to take him in. i really thought it was soft tissue trauma. should have listened instead of dismissing my "over-protective" gut instinct...
i feel SO bad for him. he is not a happy camper at all and neither am i. i have to carry him up and down the 4 steps in and outside, which means every potty trip. i am not sure if he will be able to sleep in his crate or not. its very diff for him to lay down in the position it's in.
does anyone have any tips on living with him/his splint for the next 2 weeks?? i have never had a splinted dog before. we are looking for a racquet ball now, to cut in half and put on the end of the splint to keep it from sliding on the floor.
the vet DID say this is for sure an injury, not pano and not genetic elbow dysplasia or anything but frm him nailing it and it should heal fine and be totally normal and etc.....
Thank you Alyssa!!!!

jen

Jen, I'm just glad you got him checked out, and he'll be okay after some rest and time to heal.

You could try making a nice bed for him next to yours at night to lay on, in leiu of his crate.
How small is his crate, and is a bigger one an option? He'll eventually be a full-grown GSD anyway, so it's not as if the investment will be wasted.

Instead of a racket ball, I'd use toddler socks with grippy, no-skid material on the bottom. He could pull the racketball off and choke on it, or eat it and end up with a bowel obstruction in the night.

If you do go the socks route, buy several, because they will get dirty, wet, etc going outside.

Alyssa,
TODDLER SOCKS!! omg, what a great idea. he is slipping and sliding on the damn thing, he is going to injur another part of his body, or strain his shoulder. it's really upsetting. i normally bring him to wk w/me every day but left him home in the kitchen, with rubber-backed throw rugs all over the floor so he can be stable. the splint seems too long to me, he has to either stick the leg outward to the side or slightly back--under his belly (which causes him to pee on it). he is less stressed about this than i am. we ended up cutting a corner off one of the rugs and putting that over his foot. that has helped.. and sorry, but he is getting a sliver of Benedryl to keep him as calm and mellow as possible, plus--rimadyl, which i am not fond of, but seems necessary. we will just have to suffer thru the next 2 weeks and as long as it heals it will be worth it.
THNAKS!! i will run to Hellmart and pick up a pair of toddler socks---thx again!
any other tips from anyone--? thank you.
jen

ps--we just let him sleep all night in the kitchen b/c he cant maneuver the splint into his crate. i have a larger one, but its wire sided and the splint will get thru and stuck i am afraid....but he's fine in the kitchen, her really is housebroken and there isnt anythign chewable in the kitchen (unless he learns to open the cupboard doors!) and i will go home at lunch to check on himand let him out....
thx again,
jen

Sounds like things are going well.

Toddler socks and little boy underwear are lifesavers with dogs.

Of course, the little boy underwear only come in handy if you have an unaltered female. The little flap works perfect with the dog's tail.

Vet wrap/cohesive bandages would also work. They probably won't slide off the splint (you can put some tape around the top to be sure) and they are tacky.
It comes in a variety of colors to match your decor.

 Quote: Alyssa Myracle

Toddler socks and little boy underwear are lifesavers with dogs.

Of course, the little boy underwear only come in handy if you have an unaltered female. The little flap works perfect with the dog's tail.

Alyssa
That is brilliant!