My dog has panosteitis and arthritis. Is a leg brace effective?

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.

Oh my. Poor guy. : ( Arthritis can progress fairly quickly in pets, even when they are on the proper medication. The only thing you really can do at this point is to have Roscoe re-examined by your vet for a full evaluation. Repeat or initial radiographs of his back legs and hips should be considered and then if arthritis is indeed the only problem here, your vet can prescribe additional medication to hopefully help stabilize Roscoe and properly manage his pain. However, I suspect that he may have a back injury if he is crying out in pain, which may not be so easily treated. I do hope that there is something that can be done here. Some additional medications to consider are Gabapentin (for pain) and an injectable osteoarthritis medication called Adequan. Best of luck moving forward with your pet Roscoe and I hope that he regains his mobility soon. Take care.

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!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Thankfully panosteitis is a self limiting disease and will resolve. The hip / elbow dysplasia can be quite uncomfortable and may need surgical intervention if severe enough by an orthopedic surgeon. NSAIDs are ok to give short term but long term is where you may see liver damage. I always start with a conservative approach for arthritis / joint discomfort. Below are the products I would recommend for Rogue and starting these early may be beneficial in the long run. Some of these products you will only be able to purchase from your vet. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Fish Oil- Wellactin- Omega 3 fatty acids (DHA) is recommended for arthritis. This is especially important with arthritis patients with kidney disease. Very safe, in overdosage may cause acid reflux or diarrhea. If used in very high doses (especially with aspirin products) may cause prolonged bleeding. Dose is generally 100 mg per 10 pounds. 2. Glycoflex- Glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM supplements are beneficial for multiple types of arthritis and appear to aid in cartilage health. Generally 100 mg/ 10 pounds of body weight is the recommended dosing for glucosamine. Glucosamine products should be used cautiously with diabetic patients. 3. Cetyl-M- This joint supplement uses Cetyl Myristoleate as the main ingredient. This supplement helps in lubricating the joints. This is highly recommended for hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, and carpus arthritis. This supplement is very effective for arthritis/tendon sheath pain. This is commonly used for animals that are chewing over a joint. 4. Duralactin- This product uses milk proteins to reduce inflammation in the body. This product is very safe and has been used in most species of animals with almost no side effects. This is highly recommended for back arthritis/pain. 5. Niacinamide- This is one of the B vitamins and appears to help with arthritis- the dose is 500 mg for dogs over 25 pounds, and 250 mg under 25 pounds. Give the dose 3 times per day. This product is very safe and inexpensive. 6. Adequan Injections - This is an injectable product that can help especially with spinal arthritis in many species of animals. This is an injectable form of chondroitin and works much more rapidly than oral forms of chondroitin. Should not be used with bleeding disorders. This injection is given every 1-4 weeks to help with arthritis. LIFESTYLE CHANGES - Weight loss and exercise are critical to the management of arthritis. If your pet is overweight, changes such as decreasing treats, changing to a diet or prescription weight-loss food, and increasing the amount of low-impact exercise such as swimming, will help to decrease pain and support the joints. PRESCRIPTION DIET - Prescription formulation diets are recommended to provide fish oil, glucosamine, chondroitin and other supplements. This is an especially good option for patients that may be difficult to medicate. Royal Canin Mobility Support and Hills j/d are excellent options for joint supplementation. Reevaluate how much food you are giving each day as these foods are high in fat (fish oil) and may cause weight gain. COLD LASER THERAPY- These treatments stimulate stem cells to re-activate and continue the healing process. This also appears to aid in blood flow and reduce muscle spasms in the area. These treatments are performed weekly for one month, then once monthly as needed. These especially help during the cold winter months when arthritis flairs up. ACUPUNCTURE- can be used to stimulate blood flow and pain release with arthritis.

Panosteitis is not an infection and therefore anti-infection medicine (antibiotics) will not work. Panosteitis is treated with NSAIDs for dogs. (Please do not give him Ibuprofen or Paracetamol as this is poisonous to dogs). Panosteitis will go away by itself after a few months. If the x-ray of his legs was normal,. then he likely does not have panosteitis, as this would show very clearly on x-rays. Mailo may have a viral infection such as borreliosis or pains from growing too fast. Please do not try to diagnose Mailo yourself. I realize that the situation in Syria is difficult. But maybe you can find a veterinarian to look at Mailo and help.

I am not aware of a brave that would keep the patella within the femoral groove and therefore help with a luxating patella. Dogs with luxating patellas are predisposed to injuring the cranial cruciate ligament and if this is the case for Milo then a brace might help provide some support to his knee joint until surgery is performed. Using splints and other forms of external coaptation can lead to growth plate and ligament damage in young growing animals so you should definitely check with your vet before purchasing a brace. Depending on how severe the lameness is and whether or not Milo has changes to the bones due to the disease, surgery might be best performed now to prevent further changes, or it might be recommended that you wait until he is close to a year of age and at his adult size.

A full assess ment and xrays would be needed in order to determine if a brace is likely to help but if the condition is ongoing and the bnes have already moved it may be more painful to adjust them (it may help support the ligaments if there is no underlying bne issue). Xrays would be recommended before applying anything