8 Month Puppy not Eating after Suffering from Growth Pains (Panosteitis)

Dear All,

A few weeks ago (23/12/15 to be exact) I booked my 8 month old puppy, Luffy to see a vet as he was seriously howling/yelping in pain - he really was in a sorry state and was rushed the vet. I suspected that he had torn/fractured something in his forelegs and hind legs as he would adopt a sitting position with his two front paws always raised - he barely could walk...

A month or so prior he had suffered from something similar (I believe I made a thread on this on this forum) as he would keep a paw raised while in the sitting position - on that occasion Luffy did not whimper and was his usual bouncy puppy self. We did nevertheless take him to the vets, whom checked him over and put him on a weeks worth of anti-inflammatory’s. The symptoms subsided after a week or so.

On the 23/12/15, Luffy, after being checked, was sent home with pain meds. We were told to bring him in the next day to have X-rays under sedation. The X-rays that were taken (hip and elbows and back) revealed nothing. A full blood test was carried out that also revealed nothing. In the end the vet informed us that Luffy may be suffering from a condition called Panosteosis and nothing much could be done except to control the pain.

The next couple of days can only be described as devastating: Luffy was constantly whimpering/crying all day and night - it was so heartbreaking as there was naught we could do but to give him the medication. By the 7th day the pain began to subside and now he is a bit more animated and not whimpering. He still is exhibiting limping on the fore and rear legs.

I wanted to ask if any of you have had a similar experience of the puppy having panosteosis? I've tried reading up on all I can find on this condition but nothing really much is out there in the electronic ether. I first though he had torn of fractured something as two weeks prior to this I took Luffy to the local park in which he was rampaging around off-leash for an excess of 40 mins after which there were no signs of him limping. a few days later he did have an incident in the kitchen where he tried to get to the sink and his back legs gave out he went crashing to the tiled floor with a thud. I was mortified, but he just picked himself up and resumed being naughty! Again, the next couple of days he was okay.

I'm not sure if this condition may have been bought about by his change in diet. My parents feed him all manner of human food: croissants, egg, ham, cucumber, carrots, Every week I buy some chicken breast meat and give him a little bit as an additional treat to his food in the bowl. My parents however seeing this resorted to just feeding him a diet of chicken liver and breast meat - obviously spoiling him – we have on many an occasion had rows as to keeping to a strict feeding regime where Luffy is fed once in the morning and once at night and keeping the food down for 15mins. They won’t have any of it (I know they too are concerned for the pup) and feed him as and when.

Now after (and during) his horrible pano experience he has taken to not eating much if at all. He won't touch the kibble or wet food we give him, nor does he take to the protein rich food such as scrambled eggs, chicken, ham. This is very concerning as he now really seems so sedate - a far cry from his usual rambunctious self. He does drink his water and does his poos (when he does munch on something). Could this behaviour be attributed to the phase he is going through as he's now reaching adolescent age?

As always any advice from you will be very very helpful – I really don’t like seeing him (my puppy) this way.

Also, I really apologise for the length of this thread – I thought I’d explain things in one fell swoop.

 

Very sorry to hear about poor Luffy, he sunds as if he has been in a lot of pain, If Luffy is not eating, I would take him back to the vet, you say he seems 'sedate' which is another sign of not being well. I don't think it ihas anything to do with being an adolescent, it could be due to over feeding and he feels full up, or it could be a side effect of the pain killers, but I always check with the vet.

Sorry, I don't have personal experience with Panosteitis, but I am sure there will be someone on the Forum who will be along soon.

 

Sorry to hear that Luffy is still suffering and in pain. When Juno first start limping Panosteitis is one of the conditions I researched in the hope that it was that and not ED as the symptoms seemed to fit; unfortunately our diagnosis was ED. You may find the attached links helpful

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2084&aid=466

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pe...rticle/animal-health/panosteitis-in-dogs/1051

Panosteitis is an inflammation of the bone, the cause of which is unknown but may be linked to a virus, particularly live distemper vaccine.

I'm a little surprised that neither the x-rays or blood test revealed anything as they are the most common tools for diagnosing the condition. The only treatment is pain medications, but the good news is that normally it clears up,by itself with no lasting effects, but while suffering dogs can become depressed and even anorexic.

Luffy's lack of interest in food could be due to the panosteitis which will sort itself out as he begins to feel better. It's best not to offer to many "human" food items, particularly croissants, in attempt to get him to eat. It's better to keep offering the kibble and he will eat when he's ready. If he's not eating you could try some minced chicken with rice, just like for tummy upsets, but I would stay away from offering a vast range of foods - would you eat kibble if you will be offered chicken breast for not eating? The occasional treat of a piece of human food are fine but you must counterbalance with a reduction in kibble and dog treats, a typical outcome for too many treats is an overweight dog something you really need to avoid as it will make activity more painful due to the increased stress on joints.

When are you due to go and see the vet again as it might be worth discussing the lack of appetite and see what the vet suggests?

 

Thank you Rosemary and Stacia for you kind comments and info. We did converse with the vet a few days ago on the phone and discuss his eating behaviour. The vet did not seem overly concerned however, he did say that if things did not improve then we would need to bring him in. We are going to control his diet. I'm hoping that things will improve in the next couple of days.

 

Just a thought Luffy , yesterday (I think) Julie T posted a link to a video on 20 things to do with a dog on crate rest - it's on the "sticky" thread of dogs on restricted exercise. Just wondering if it's worth trying some of the training with Luffy where he doesn't have to run around etc. and use his kibble for treats. It might be one way of getting some foe into him and something he might find more interesting.

 

Sorry to hear of all the problems for poor Luffy.

I don't have any experience of this problem to share. I'd say it's a really good idea to get him onto a sensible balanced diet though (as you are trying to do I see). There anything wrong with feeding human food (so long as it's not too fatty or contains too much sugar or salt etc) but chicken breasts and chicken livers isn't a balanced diet. If you want to feed raw, or home cooked, no problem - so long as you make sure it adds up to a suitable diet.

 

Thank you All for your kind well-wishes and comments

Yesterday, after coming back from work, I took Luffy for a little walk (amounting to no more than 5 mins) down the road. He loved it so much that he didn't want to come into the house. I tried feeding him some kibble (Royal Canine Puppy food he wasn't having any of it. Then we tried some Waggs dog food (I think this was adult grade). He did manage to eat one or two handfulls.

I'm in the mind of ordering him different kibble, but am clueless as to what I should order when he is in this condition. After reading up on the condition he seemingly has, it has been suggested that you should still feed him puppy grade food as he is still growing. Can I kindly ask if you have any suggestions as to what would be good for him?

Thanking you kindly,

 

Oh poor Luffy panosteitis is really nasty and puts some dogs off their food for a while. Why don't you try a really good quality kibble designed for adolescent dogs and mix it with the matching tinned wet meat version? Most dogs will find the mixture of meat and kibble very palatable and you can be happy that you are feeding a well-balanced diet. I also suffer from well-meaning parents trying to feed my dogs all sorts of rubbish but for some reason they seem to find feeding the dogs tinned dog meat more acceptable to them than kibble.

 

I would discuss a change of kibble with the vet and see what he would recommend. There are just so many kibbles to choose from. To an extent it comes to what is easily available and the cost that you can afford. We always advise to buy the best that you can afford but what suits your pup is also important.

Juno hasn't been on puppy food since she was 6 months old. The first change, at vet recommendation, was after her spay and she went on Royal Canin Neutered Junior Large breed. She was happy with the food and her weight gain stayed consistent. Then after her surgery for ED, again at vet recommendation, she was switched to Hill's Prescription Diet J/D Calorie Reduced, for which there is no puppy or junior version. I have kept her weight consistent and she is happy and full of life, so it's not 100% essential for the kibble to be a "puppy" variety.

 

I think you should definitely feed large breed puppies a suitable large breed puppy food designed to promote slow growth (as reputable large breed puppy foods do).

Asking for food recommendations is a minefield....everyone tends to think what suits their own dog is best (of course!).

If I were you, and my budget allowed it for a while, I'd try one of the very good meat kibbles (I really mean meat kibbles, not carb based kibble with meat in it). I use ziwipeak now for a large amount of Charlie's food, because I use it for training treats. It's super yummy, and is basically a kibble version of raw, but takes away the worries I have about feeding raw (risks, hygiene and balance). The other one I'd look at is Orijen (this does contain some carbs though but still seems a cut above the rest).

 

Sorry about Luffy, i don't have experience of pano, but my wee woman (now 18 weeks) started limping on 16/12 and subsequently had surgery on 29/12 for medial coronoid fragmentation of her right elbow, and she had a biceps ulnar release procedure. it's now 5/1 and she's only just started to show any enthusiasm for her kibble (she's fed on large breed puppy food). the certainly hasn't lost any weight but hasn't gained quick as she was, which to be fair is probably a good thing as we're trying to preserve her left elbow. I think when they're in pain or a bit stressed they do go off their food, even Labs!! If you're still concerned take him back to the vet though
xx

 

Sorry poor Luffy is having such a bad time. When Scooby was on metacam and antibiotics following surgery he was off his food too. He was lethargic, but that, I think, was his underlying, unrelated illness.
I'd take him back to the vet for a check, it can't do any harm.

 

jojo How's Piper doing? xx

 

She's doing amazing ) xx bit bored but we're taking the opportunity to do some training!!

 

jojo Did you see Julie T's post on activities while on crate rest? Link below and it's a post from 03/01/16 - there may be some useful ideas for you and Piper

http://thelabradorforum.com/forum/n...-things-to-do-for-dogs-on-restricted-exercise

 

Dear All, just dropping by to give you an update as to how Luffy is doing:

On Wednesday Luffy took a turn for the worst, in that, in addition to not eating, he started bleeding from down below. The bleeding amounted to a few drops of blood but alarmed we took him to see the Vet right away. The Vet checked him over and could not find anything wrong other than say that his behaviour is bought about as a result of pano. He wasn't too overly concerned about the bleeding.
He had lost over a Kg in weight.

We were sent away with 3 weeks worth of anti-inflammatory's and pain-killers.

Yesterday and today he has become more animated. He still is very very fickle about eating, we have had to force feed him one or two morsals before he gives in and eats of his own accord! We are giving him boiled/ fried chicken (Cooked in a Phillips air fryer with no oil) along with cut up cucumbers or carrots. As suggested I will look to buying a high quality kibble.
He is currently on restricted excercise. I will be trying my hand out on the excercises suggest for a puppy on crate rest.

Once again thank you all for your well wishes and advice

It's been a hard couple of weeks, but hopefully Luffy will be back to his normal self in a month or two. Right now he's tanked up on his meds, sleeping on his back bent at an unnatural angle with his paws splayed up in the air.

 

Thank you Jo for your kind words

Wishing your little girl a speedy recovery.

Rax

 

Thank you for the update. It sounds as I Luffy us having a really hard time but hopefully things will start improving soon with the meds. It sounds as if he is eating a little better
you could also try adding some sardines to his kibble with a little of the olive oil from the tin. Most dogs seem to love sardines.

Really good to hear that he's comfortable and sleeping well

 

I will definitely be trying that out :0) thank you!

 

I'm really glad to hear Luffy is feeling more comfy, I wish you all the best getting him back to good health.

Cucumbers? Carrots? Well, ok, a healthy labrador will eat all sorts, but I really wouldn't be trying these kinds of vegetables to tempt a dog off his food.

I'd really try a top of the range dried raw food kibble, or work out a balanced raw food/home cooked diet. My own dog thinks boiled chicken is slightly better than cardboard, and he'll eat pretty much anything....