5Mo Old puppy showing a little lameness and slight limp at times

[Sonny_Red]

Hey everyone, just looking for anyone who has had any experience with this or could offer any insight.

I have a 5Mo old puppy, he is fed a raw diet. Just yesterday he started to show a slight lameness and limping in one of his front paws. There was no specific activity or instance that caused the “injury”, so just wondering what it may be. Growing pains, pano?

Thanks!

 

[Gpcoguy]

Probably growing pains

 

[Doberman Gang]

Raw diet you buy or you prepare yourself?

 

[Sonny_Red]

Prepare myself

 

[JanS]

Growing pains, pano?

That would be my guess at that age. I don't know anything about raw feeding so someone else is going to have to give suggestions there.

 

[Kswoodssue]

Assume you have, but run your hands down both front legs, pressing just a bit. Look for size differences, heat or tenderness in the leg. Do the same to paws, pressing gently and checking for differences in size, temperature or for tenderness. Check between the paw pads as well. Growing pains should not have any of these issues.

 

[Ddski5]

I am by far not an expert on raw diet but @Kaiser2016 is…

You think pup can get pano from a raw diet if fed too much protein?

 

[Kaiser2016]

First I would double check that the raw diet is balanced. There must be meat, organs, and bones. Next, follow @Kswoodssue steps. If nothing turns up during that examination then I’d watch to see if the lameness is shifting from leg to leg. If it is, it is likely to be pano for which you should visit a vet to confirm it and to provide some pain management. The dog will rest himself but with pain pills you’ll need to encourage continued rest.

A raw diet protein content is actually quite low usually under 17%. It can’t be directly compared to kibble protein percentage because kibble is measured as dry matter, whereas raw is measured as crude protein.

 

[Sonny_Red]

I follow the BARF method strictly, knowing the raw diet has to be precise, especially with puppies. Perfectly rawsome has a calculator and I use exact measurements.

That diet calls for 17 percent bone, so he is def getting it. I did the examination and nothing seems off. No whimpering or hesitation or push back when I grab and feel his leg, shoulder or paw @Kaiser2016

 

[Sonny_Red]

Assume you have, but run your hands down both front legs, pressing just a bit. Look for size differences, heat or tenderness in the leg. Do the same to paws, pressing gently and checking for differences in size, temperature or for tenderness. Check between the paw pads as well. Growing pains should not have any of these issues.

Yes, I did this and nothing seems off

 

[Kaiser2016]

The diet sounds good!

I would watch for shifting lameness at this point. We had one episode of pano and his movement became stiff and he chose to lay down. Is your Dobe a Euro? I once heard someone suggest that this is more common in euros because of the heavier bone.

 

[Sonny_Red]

The diet sounds good!

I would watch for shifting lameness at this point. We had one episode of pano and his movement became stiff and he chose to lay down. Is your Dobe a Euro? I once heard someone suggest that this is more common in euros because of the heavier bone.

Ok great. Yes he is a Euro. We are going to take him tomorrow I guess just to make sure

 

[Kaiser2016]

Ok great. Yes he is a Euro. We are going to take him tomorrow I guess just to make sure

Just a heads up that they may suggest an X-ray but those are not conclusive and most vets can’t recognize it. So you may want to think ahead on how to handle that. We did not have Kaiser X-rayed because his symptoms were obvious enough.

 

[Sonny_Red]

Just a heads up that they may suggest an X-ray but those are not conclusive and most vets can’t recognize it. So you may want to think ahead on how to handle that. We did not have Kaiser X-rayed because his symptoms were obvious enough.

Yea I was thinking they prob would suggest and do not really want to have an x ray performed just to say we did. Hopefully they can provide some insight during the physical exam and I can hold off on the x ray for now at least

 

[EricA]

Hey everyone, just looking for anyone who has had any experience with this or could offer any insight.

I have a 5Mo old puppy, he is fed a raw diet. Just yesterday he started to show a slight lameness and limping in one of his front paws. There was no specific activity or instance that caused the “injury”, so just wondering what it may be. Growing pains, pano?

Thanks!

This is reason number 27 in the long list of reasons WHY you want to have at least 2 Dobermans around at all times.

I got one right now that is not about to be 'running' anywhere or 'chasing' jack or squat due to injury.

Our particular injury here was caught very early and is not going to be a big problem but reminded me that I could be (and should be) doing better.

'If' I had been taking the time to do a real fast minute long foot inspection each day on the girls (two minutes tops) I would have caught the damage (and treated it) before it got infected and caused the pain and the limping / disability.

It is a LOT easier to inspect their feet when they are having no problems with them AND while you are doing those feet inspections you are building confidence with them / earning trust so that 'when' the time comes and a boo boo happens to one of those feet - You can handle it and treat it safely. (dog not biting your face off for touching their hurt foot sort of stuff)

If you got a Doberman puppy, NOW is the best possible time to begin with the 'desensitizing' of you handling their feet.