[Dailydrool] I don't know what to do...

[Sue Spataro, RN, BSN]

Hi Kate,

There can be many reasons for Boomer's lack of strength and coordination.

One thought could be paneosteitis-this is very common with large boned dogs 
like bassets, rotties etc... Doggies with large bones have trouble during 
growth spurts. The pain of the spurt is related to the bones and the 
surrounding tissues. Paneosteitis can not be seen on an x-ray. It tends to 
come and go over a relatively short period of time and eventually will leave 
Boomer to be his regular self. In a phrase, it's growing pains. He can be 
helped with the pain by using anti-inflammatories, some heat, and rest.

Another thought for his locomotion troubles may be something seemingly 
totally unrelated to moving. I just had the experience of our 3 year old boy 
Vinny, being diagnosed with Addison's disease. He had the symptoms for 
awhile, meaning months, but they were so disconnected from one another, 
nothing added up to a single diagnosis. Vinny had weakened back legs for at 
least a year. In addition to other slowly evolving symptoms, like shedding, 
urinating a great deal, drinking a lot of water etc... he had a textbook 
picture of Addison's. It took him getting very sick for it all to add up. 
So, I guess what I'm suggesting is that Addison's might be considered in the 
differential diagnosis until proven otherwise. This disease is found in 
large dogs like bassets, rotties, retrivers etc...

Here's a link to learn more about pan on the Daily Drool website:

http://www.dailydrool.com/pano.html

If I can help just let me know : ),

Sue, Vinny (the wonder boy), Tootsie (the nurse), and Emma (I'm 10 years 
old)



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