Ranger is a little more then 4 months old and weights about 34 pounds.

I was checking out his belly on the floor and I started to spread his legs apart (not hard) and he started yelping So I let him stand up and pulled the legs backward and he started yelping on both legs.. So I was concered and took him to the vet, they did a full run of xrays and got some really good pictures.

And... And nothing.. His bones and hips look great. The vet was impressed with the his overall structure and how the bones are growing... she showed me the growth plates etc..

So.. The vet said that she thought I should get my raw diet analyzed by a board certified pet nutrionist to see if the phosphorus calcium ratio was okay.. She thought he was having some growing pains too..

Anyways.. His poop is normal now but here is a typical day for Ranger:

AM:
14-18 oz of RMB (Chicken Necks, Backs)
Fish Oil
Super C
Vit E 200mg

PM:
1-2 oz of Ground Meat OR 1-2 oz of Muscle Meat (Hearts/Gizzards)
12-16 oz of RMB (Chicken Necks/backs)
1-2 oz of ground mixed veggies (which has eggs/kelp/veggies like green leaf, spanage, carrot tops, oakra and anything else green I can find, bannana, apples sometimes)
Super C
Earth Animal (flea and tick Earth Animal (has lots of galic and such)
1 Vit E 200mg

Any thoughts?

I do mix of the meat sometimes..

RMB: I have tried pork necks but he is really having a hard time with those, Turky necks and a few other bones..

 Quote: John Lister

She thought he was having some growing pains too..

Meaning pano? Based on .... x-rays? Or pressing the bones? Gait? Lameness?

She mentioned pano and that is why I agreed to the x-rays. When I took him out for a trott he was stepping a little high on his right leg...

I believe he may have done the splits on my wood floors.. When he walks it looks normal, but his trott is a little off.. Not sure if I am answering your question.

 Quote: john lister

The vet said that she thought I should get my raw diet analyzed by a board certified pet nutrionist to see if the phosphorus calcium ratio was okay.

Well, the ratio is a straightforward and simple number (or a range, actually), and can be calculated fairly easily with exact weights of each meat/bone and meat item. Certainly a nutritionist can do it, but so can anyone with the dietary management software they all have, as well as anyone with a chart, a basic understanding, and a pencil and paper.

Did the vet have a vet nutritionist in mind? And did she have a specific concern? Did she feel, say, that there was too much calcium? Or what?

Did she actually listen to a detailed description of the diet and feel that it was "off" (maybe calcium-heavy)? Or was she just not knowledgeable enough to assess it and, seeing what she thought might be pano, think that someone with nutrition knowledge should comment?

 Quote: John Lister

She mentioned pano and that is why I agreed to the x-rays. When I took him out for a trott he was stepping a little high on his right leg...

I believe he may have done the splits on my wood floors.. When he walks it looks normal, but his trott is a little off.. Not sure if I am answering your question.

So .... was pano confirmed by x-rays, or what? Or not sure, but confirmed by the gait, etc.?

Scroll down to Diagnosis, then Phases here for a pretty straightforward overview:

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/health/pano.htm

Also, http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=241451&page=0#Post241451

http://leerburg.com/search/dosearch.php?terms=pano&Submit.x=0&Submit.y=0

 Quote: John Lister

AM:
14-18 oz of RMB (Chicken Necks, Backs)
Fish Oil
Super C
Vit E 200mg

PM:
1-2 oz of Ground Meat OR 1-2 oz of Muscle Meat (Hearts/Gizzards)
12-16 oz of RMB (Chicken Necks/backs)
1-2 oz of ground mixed veggies (which has eggs/kelp/veggies like green leaf, spanage, carrot tops, oakra and anything else green I can find, bannana, apples sometimes)
Super C
Earth Animal (flea and tick Earth Animal (has lots of galic and such)
1 Vit E 200mg

Any thoughts?

I'm seeing very little muscle meat. I wouldn't be having a heart attack, but I'd be changing it; 1-2 ounces of MM isn't enough beside 28 (or so) ounces of not-very-meaty RMBs, and I'd start adding more MM (gradually, so as not to trigger diarrhea), if that list is correct as typed.

That is, I am seeing a lot of bone (calcium) and a little meat (phosphorus). (Of course, bone has phosphorus, too, and I am speaking roughly when I divide meat and bone into phosphorus and calcium.)

See http://leerburg.com/feedpups.htm

and http://leerburg.com/diet2.htm

and http://leerburg.com/935.htm

or http://leerburg.com/970.htm






ETA
Ground beef IS muscle meat, BTW



Edited by Connie Sutherland (10/12/2010 11:39 AM)
Edit reason: eta

she confirmed NO pano in the xray, and she said all the bone growth looked great.. I was feeding 2 oz of muscle meat in the AM and PM and his stool was very loose so I removed it all and I am now back up to 2 oz in the PM.. I will start to add back another 1 oz in teh AM next week. I have no problem calulating the ratio.. Thanks for the links above!

Did she listen to the diet... hehehe.. No.. She thought that we might have to much phosphorus in the diet making him sore, but was making an assumptions. She did recommend a nutritionist Dr Anne in Leesburg.

The diet as typed is not phosphorus-heavy.

hehe.. Did not know that ground beef was muscle meat.. LOL