Pano

[AimeeSedlock]

Hi,

My 7 month old is having an awful problem with pano, he had the symptoms at 3 months and seemed better, now he's holdng his front leg up limping and wimpering like crazy, my heart breaks for him. The vet put him on Rimadyl. I'm wondering if there's anything else I can do to help him.. He is an Aussie/German shep mix.

Thanks for any thoughts or help

Aimee

[Nicole]

http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/lpano.htm

Check this website. You want to monitor the protein and calcium intake in your dog's food. What are you feeding him?

[BabsT]

reduce the amount of protein he is taking in no treats, give him an asprin once a day with a meal...no need for harsh drugs and let him exercise and walk at his own will

[Anky]

Pano is growing pains.  Just really really painful ones.  The key it to slow down the growing, hence the cutting back on protein.  What are you feeding now?  If it's a puppy formula I'd switch to adult.

Also I don't like Rimadyl.  Australian and German shepherds are both documented as breeds that often have adverse reactions to this drug, including death usually by liver failure.  These are just SOME of the side effects that happened to dogs that I took from this site ( http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/rimadyl.ose.98.html ):  inappetance, lethargy, stumbling, incontinence,  Loss of sight, smell, hearing; aggressiveness toward owner; extremely high liver enzymes, vestibular signs -- seizure-like episodes, bloody stool,

Some websites talking about the dangers of Rimadyl.
http://rimadyldeath.com/
http://www.pgaa.com/canine/health/rimadylwarning.html
http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/rimadylfr.html

There ARE other drugs that work as well as Rimadyl with out the side effects.  You should talk to your vet about the alternatives.  I'm sorry if I seem like psyho about this.  A friend of mine lost her dog to Rimadyl after the vet SWORE to her it was safe.  I'd hate to see anyone else go through it.

Ang

[Scootergirl]

I've heard other dog owners have negative opinions of Rimadyl, but I give it to Oasis when his joints get really sore and it's wonderful. Now, mind you, I don't give it to him on a regular basis - just a few doses at a time when he gets really creaky, but he's had absolutely zero side effects from it.

My vet did warn me that it may cause liver damage if taken for long periods of time.

[AimeeSedlock]

Thanks for all of your help.
I have Kobi on "Nutro Large Breed Puppy" my son said it was a really good diet..

Thanks again, for all the advice.

Aimee

[Anky]

Nutro is OK..... there are better foods out there though.  The protein is at 28% which is kind of high.  Also there's a TON of fillers in that food.  Honestly, you aren't going to find a top quality food at a chain store.  Try your local small privately owned pet stores.  Look for something with a LOW protein level.  Shoot for 22%-23%  And try to avoid where grains and corn are listed in the first few ingredients.

[GR8DAME]

Strider was 4 months old, and overnight, could not even stand on his hind legs without screaming in pain. I took him to the emergency vet and they diagnosed HOD, and advised euthenasia. The vet was literally drawing up the syringe before I could open my mouth. We got out of there fast, and got a second opinion. The HOD was a total misdiagnosis, he actually had pano. We did the Rimadyl for three months, I switched him to a high quality adult food and the new (and current) vet put him on Cosequin, a glucosamine chondroitin suppliment. Within a day he was gingerly on his feet, and within a week he was normal.  He is now 11 months old and has shown no symptoms since.
I don't know which of the changes to attribute the miraculous turn around, or if it was the combination of the three. I do believe that the change in food and the Cosequin are responsible for his continued lack of symptoms.
Keep the faith, there is hope and the only good thing about pano is that 90% of the time they outgrow it.
Stella

[Moni]

Faust had Pano on and off for 3 yrs.  They say that most dogs outgrow it by 18 months, but of the ones that don't something like 90% are GSD's.  My vet said that for some reason they found that the crappier the food, the better the dogs with pano did.  Mind you this was 7yrs ago, but it worked for us.  Faust had been on a RAW diet and that's when it started bothering him.  So I put him on a lower grade food and he was doing much better.  He still limped, but not as much or as long.  Everytime I tried changing him to a better food, the Pano would start up again. 

I don't know if Rimadyl was out back then, but when Tenchi had to go on it 2yrs ago, that's when his seizures started.  I recommend keeping on top of his liver levels if you are going to use it, because when it does cause damage, it does it fast.  Though many other dogs do perfectly fine on it too.

Good luck with your pup, Pano isn't fun but its not life threatening either.  So that is something to be thankful for.  Best wishes!

~moni

[BabsT]

That is interesting because I feed raw and Zero had Pano a bit...i cut back the amount of raw and limping stopped...beca use with raw meat, it is mostly water and so not as much protein...when you cook it, the protein level goes up

funny how every dog is different

[AimeeSedlock]

I want to thank everyone for their replys, I am going to really watch the protein that I give Kobi.. Every dog is different, and hopefully Kobi will get over this soon. He's only about 45 pounds at 7 months, I won't have thought he would have had this problem, but he does.

Again thank you ALL

Aimee