My dog is limping, X-rays are normal. What's causing his pain?

Signs of panosteitis are: lameness that seems to shift legs, decreased appetite, and sometimes lethargy. Treatment involves supportive care which is the use of pain management (NSAIDS \- Opiates) and strict cage rest for 2-6 weeks or until the pet recovers. Joint supplements don't have side effects that we see in pets, except for some pets have a sensitive stomach to them. I am not sure what you mean when you say hat your pets ankle and hock join together. Radiographs of the leg can easily confirm a diagnosis of panosteitis. I hope this helps and best wishes with Bruno.

Hi and thank you for your question on Pet Coach! The short answer to your question is no, you need not be concerned. Panosteitis in dogs is a self limiting condition (it will eventually go away) and may spontaneously resolve. Because of this, it is hard to say when it will pass, but the episode should not last more than 3-4 weeks. If 4 weeks have passed and no improvement is seen, I would revisit with your veterinarian. It could be Jax has another bone disease causing the pain. I hope this helps!

Well without seeing Mailo, or the bloodwork, or other tests that have been done, it's really hard to know what is going on. A consult with one of our experts would be great because you could upload blood work, radiographs, or other diagnostics that have been done to give us a better picture of what is making Mailo lame. I will suggest that perhaps he needs X-rays of his lame leg if this hasn't been done, because young GSDs get some developmental bone disorders that present as intermittent lameness that responds to anti-inflammatories. These diseases are very treatable and easy to diagnose with X-rays, so that'd be a place to start.

If the radiographs were not remarkable, the pain Hugo is experiencing is likely from soft tissue and / or nerve pain. True ligamentous or tendinous ruptures do not often occur in the forelimb in the dog, though it is possible. Advanced imaging or scoping would be needed to confirm a diagnosis. We tend to see these issues in the hind end most often particularly in larger breed dogs like GSDs. The best things you can do for Hugo right now are the following: -Most important thing: he needs to rest his leg; that means no going outside unless on a leash, and even with leash, only to do his business. Should limit use of the leg as much as possible over the next 5 to 7 days. This will be difficult with GSD puppy but it is needed. If your veterinarian did not discuss the possibility of using a small sedative over the course of the next week, you might bring it up should it become too difficult to keep Hugo down. -Give any prescribed medications from your veterinarian as directed. If you walked into my office, I would have prescribed an anti-inflammatory and some pain medication. Hopefully your vet did the same. If he did not and Hugo is still experiencing discomfort you should call and request meds. Hope this makes sense. Consult with me if you have further concerns.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If they are not concerned about a broken bone, it may be a good idea to give Ben some time to rest up to see if this is just a soft tissue injury of some sort. I would give him a few days to a week on the medications and complete rest limiting his activity to see if he improves on his own. If no improvement is seen by then or he worsens in the meantime, have him reevaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a great day!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Odin. It is common for dog to be more sore after x-rays are taken. The patient needs to be placed in specific positions for the x-rays to be diagnostic. For example, the rear.legs are pulled very straight to take an x-ray of the pelvis. This can make the dog more sore afterwards due to the underlying lameness. Hopefully your veterinarian has prescribed pain medications for him. I would give them as directed. Do not give any over-the-counter pain medications as these can be toxic to dogs. I hope this information helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would be looking into the possibility of this being something affecting the joints per se such as immune mediated polyarthritis or perhaps something like hypertrophic osteodystrophy given his young age. These are possible things your veterinarian can look into. Treatment of course would depend on findings. At the very least they can try pain control medications and anti-inflammatory drugs. Best of luck!