Limping opinions?
 

Almost feels like my rush of posts is making up for months of absence...anyways;

My 13 mo. old GSD Xena has just Saturday evening (after our show) started limping. I checked her paws, pads, rubbed her muscles and moved the joints around and she didnt react to anything (besides licking my hands at her paws...which she does for every paw because she hates getting her nails done). The limp was hardly noticeable, and happened for a short time - my mom swore I was making it up - but came back on and off. It was not noticeable when trotting, and she puts weight on it, but every so often she would hover it barely off the ground before putting it back if she moved at all. Only a couple times did she sit with any difficulty (eased down before the sit).

That limp went away. Now today she is limping on her RIGHT hind leg instead, and a little more noticeable than the left. It honestly just started at 12 noon (I visit her at lunch to take her out, my step dad is home with her every day but he sometimes doesnt wake up til 12 - unemployed - so she'll be in the crate for 3-4 hours before that) I noticed her trotting funny, and then when she slowed down the limp became a bit more obvious. She still puts weight on it though, and has only hovered it once off the ground, but she is sitting fine and folding her legs normally. Did a check with the left leg and again no pain and no reaction.

From what I've read it seems like just Pano. She is in no obvious pain though. Though HD terrifies me I'm not sure that's the problem either. Her parents and grandparents are all OFA Fair - Excellent, and she doesnt bunny-hop, or even budge if I push on her croup. When I moved her legs around there was no looseness in the joints either. Right now she is also in the 2nd week of being in heat (full standing heat right now, a lot of swelling) and I read that sometimes Pano flares near the heat cycle.

We contacted our Vet to ask about it, and she didnt seem concerned. Since their closed tomorrow she ordered kennel-rest and a check-in on Thursday. I was also thinking of getting her another Snap 4 test done (we had one done once when she was little and bit by a tick despite being on Advantix). I havent seen any ticks on her or the cat or elsewhere though. Xena is also still on puppy food, and another article I read said that they should be switched over to adult food earlier than most dogs (as young as 4 months?). So I plan on exchanging the last of her canned puppy food for adult food later today.

Is there anything else I could check for? Opinions on what this might be? Thanks in advance for help and putting up with my VERY wordy posts.

Sounds like Pano but puppy food is not always made for large breed puppies so what is the food?

Right now were feeding Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy dry and regular puppy wet food mixed in, along with a tablespoon of fish oil. The breeder had her on it, and we just never switched to anything else.

When I went home today she seemed pretty good. Limping still noticeable but she hasnt picked her paw up off the ground so that is a good thing. She hates not exercising, and normally this girl is a whirlwind all over the place. And she loves to chase the cat around, so having to be rather stationary is making her rather unhappy.

i am not an expert, but although there was a time this food was top shelf, those days are long gone. as for limping, i always rest my dog and give it 5 to seven days before i take to the vet.

Not a great food but that's not the cause. Pano comes and goes, I had days I had to pick my boy up to get him outside it was so bad. Haven't had a bout in a few months he is 2 now. I thought it was more common in boys.

here is a good video on food

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=_kVgWoSlUNs

I've actually wanted to switch her food since we got her, but with the way things are financially and otherwise right now I'm waiting until she's older, so thanks for the links!

Today she seemed a lot better. Putting more weight on it, not limping as noticeably - I had to really look at her in motion to tell - but were going to keep her resting and mostly crated. Since stairs guard all of our exits I've just been having her walk down them very slowly. She hates it lol, but hopefully she's getting better. Started her on adult wet mixed with puppy dry today.

Just wanted to add an update in case this could help someone else out in the future, and if anyone has anything else to add on this;

I discovered that my mom, in her quest to contradict everything I do, has been letting Xena out of her crate to roam around, and every exit at our house has stairs. So when I came home yesterday she of course came tearing down the stair and dashing back up them before I even got in the door. Fortunately she's barely home because of work, and my step-dad has been leaving her in.

She seems to be limping back on the right leg again, but she hasnt been picking either leg off the ground anymore and the limp is only really noticeable when she trots around slowly. At times I've been having trouble even noticing the limp or which leg she's using. I also remembered that a month or so ago I could have SWORE that she was limping in a front leg, but it was hardly noticeable, and only when she trotted, so I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. It could have been the first signs of Pano?

To make matters worse her anal glands desperately need to be released. I was reading up on it, and that could be why some of her stool is getting soft, and I noticed she has been sitting a lot more and licking her but a lot more. Were going to make an appointment hopefully today to get them expressed. I havent learned how to do it yet, and since she's in heat also I dont want to screw with anything back there on a first go. When our last dog had this happen he got really lethargic and would not even lift his own tail.

Watched some videos on dogs with hip dysplasia and dogs with Pano, and she acts a lot more like the pano dogs. There is no swaying in her gait, and I can move the leg around freely without her even batting an eye. However, she was reluctant to go up the stairs today, even when I went up before her which is unusual. She has been sitting more, and laying down more though, but that could also be the anal glands. The way she sits is always a toss up so I cant really go by that. She will sit straight, folding her legs properly, or she'll come walking by and flump into a lazy sit, or she'll come lean against me and sit froggy. A few times she would normal sit, then frog sit, and then shift so that she is lazy sitting. She doesnt bunny hop though, not outside her usual pouncing on toys, and when she gallops or runs she still uses both back legs alternately, not together (when I took her to the bathroom this morning).

I want to go to my regular vet, however there is another vet I know who is an AVCA vet (American Vet Chiropractic Assoc.) and I'm wondering if I should go to him instead.

Looks like you have 3 things going on there.
Limping is likely from Pano but a vet visit will help.
Loose stools isn't from anal glands, could be the canned food.
Try switching to a higher quality grain free like TOTW or Acana.
Your dog is worth 1 or 2 more dollars a day to feed properly, don't you think?
Anal gland problems can be caused by a number of things. The main
one is lack of regular vigorous exercise; another is anxiety or fear.
There are others. The vet can clean those out for you.

I've been wanting to change her diet for a while now, so I might start doing that since she's getting older now. I was also thinking of adding Apple Cider Vinegar, because I've been told/read that it will help rid the dogs body of excess yeast.

I dont think she has any fear or anxiety, and right now she cant really be exercised because of the limping (which is frustrating the crap out of her, last night she was trying to dig up the rug) because normally we play games in the yard or go for walks. I've seen lots of advice that says large breed dogs shouldnt undergo any vigorous exercise, so we break up her activity. She'll run around a lot and play, then go home and we put her away to rest for a bit. She also eats in her crate, and in fear of bloat we dont allow her to play or run free for a half hour after feeding. My last dogs anal glands came out of nowhere though, but I've also heard sometimes if poo gets stuck in the glands they can get clogged. Who knows.

One of the reasons I've been considering the second vet is because my vet didnt mention Pano as a cause. She didnt mention anything actually lol, just said rest her and call back. I'm not sure if this is something only a specialist would know, or any vet.

Thanks for the response! I'm so worried about this...I worry about everything though. Honestly having a puppy has shown me I dont want to be a parent XD.

After a lunch visit she's back limping on the left leg again, but I was able to get her laying down and gently moved her hips in a few positions while she was laying down. No signs of the hip ball coming out of the socket, no cracking or popping noises in either hip, and she just lay there watching me. No signs of pain or even discomfort.

Trotting normally to go out, using both legs alternately when going up and down the stairs. Sitting normally too...then she went ballistic in the crate because she noticed I hadnt put the cat away yet (She's very jealous. If she is in the crate she prefers Alfonz be in his room. The cat almost rolls his eyes when she does this as he lazily heads to the bedroom lol). After that she was holding her leg up a little, but then again she had just gone nuts on it.

Going to call the vet after work and see what they think. And have her glands expressed.