I am the owmer of a 7 month olb black lab Who just recently
has
developed an excercise induced limp at his right hind quarter. Creo
my lab appears to be in some discomfort however the discomfort doesnt
impair his ability to ambulate whatsoever. He and I have recently
been to the vet who stated that Creo has grown too fast and that his
hip growth has been able to keep up with his accelerated maturation,
this has been attributed to his diet and that I had let him remain on
a puppy
formula food for to long of a period. The vet suggested that we change
his diet and that we wiat it out and see if that helps his prroblem. I
have a couple of questions about this is his diet that much of a determining
factor for hip maturation and will a change in his diet infact help or
perhaps allow his growth to equal out. And that is Creo who is very
active and not an ounce of fat on hin too large for his age
which is 62.5#'s. I would appreciate andy insight and direction you
could give me in regards to this situation.
Dr. DeMichael: I'm not sure that I can answer your
question as directly as I know you would like an answer,
but here goes.
The presenting problem, if I understand correctly, was
a moderate lameness which appeared to originate in the
RH (right hind) limb. You then took him to your veterinarian.
I do not know if radiographs were taken of the affected
limb and if so, the findings. Because you did not state
that x-rays were taken, I will assume that they were not.
Okay. The next subject we should address is what your
veterinarian has told you regarding CREO's growth, hip
maturation and feeding. You can find additional discussions
elsewhere on our website regarding growth, feeding, lameness
etc., and I would suggest that you look there for other
comments I've made or questions I may have answered. For
now, however, I'm going to describe my approach to your
situation from the information you have given me.
Frankly, Jim, I don't know what may be causing CREO's
lameness without a more detailed examination. Young growing
Labrador Retrievers certainly can get a disease which we
call panosteitis or endostitis.......that is, a reversible
condition of inflamed bones that can cause a degree of
lameness such as you describe. This is often referred to
in lay terminology as "growing pains". The vast majority
of pups with this condition will "heal" themselves with
a variable amount of time and restricted exercise. The
difference from what I am describing to what you've told
me your vet has said is very important. This process of " growing
pains" that I refer to does not involve the hip joint.
Rather, it affects the long bones of the front or hind
limbs. And yes, it certainly may be affected by the ration
fed to your dog. SO..........and this is very important.......if
your vet has taken films and has isolated the problem specifically
to the hip joint, I seriously doubt CREO has panosteitis
or endostitis.
If, on the other hand, no films were made and your vet
did not specifically isolate CREO's problem to the hip
joint, then there is much more likely a chance that "growing
pains" can be the cause of the lameness.
I would also ask you if there was any particular incident
that precipitated this lameness. Could he have pulled a
muscle? or strained a ligament? etc, etc. in the process
of running or playing? This I do not know.
Now as for feeding, and anyone who gets a pup from us
knows very well, we are emphatic about what the pups are
fed. I am not advertising and I am not paid by the company
in any way, but we feed ALL of our pups and young dogs
Eukanuba Lg. Breed Puppy Formula exclusively. In fact,
we'll feed it for 9-12 months or even longer. So as I've
mentioned in other places, it's not the fact that CREO
eats puppy formula, but rather it's what's in the bag and
on the label that is important.
Jim, that's about as much as I can tell you based on the
information that you've given me. I realize that I haven't
given you a specific answer to your question, but with
the data you've given me, that's about as much as I can
tell you.
Based on the above, my only recommendations would be:
- to rule in/out whether there is hip joint involvement.
- to evaluate the current dog food your are feeding
relative to its suitability for CREO. Be sure to feed
a good product for his specific needs.
- restrict CREO's exercise during this evaluation period.
- If you should change his ration, do so gradually by
mixing the new food 25%-75% with his current form, then
50-50, etc. until the change is made. This should take
a week to ten days.
