I have an eight year old male Weim, and he absolutely LOVES fetch. But I notice while he’s running to get the ball, he has a slight limp, like he has joint pain. I took him to the vet and she said it was just his age, his joints wearing down. I know that swimming is a good exercise that is low-impact, but he absolutely cannot stand water. Is there another outlet for his energy, and how long should he get it?
I’d suggest a 2nd opinion by another vet office on the limping. BTW, healthy joints in a puppy should not be wearing down… OR causing pain.
1) It could be joint or BONE pain (aka Pano). Pano is fairly common in Germanic breeds even beyond puppy-hood and up to 5 years of age. (It tends to be a roaming pain among the various leg long bones.) Originally, it was thought to only be a younger puppy problem, but that is NOT true in Weims or GSD. Affected dogs are usually in the 5 to 14 month age range and male dogs are more commonly affected than female dogs. Read more: Panosteitis (links below)
2) If you didn’t bother to buy a dog from healthy-hipped parents (OFA certified) then your vet needs to do a hip joint palpation or x-ray (best) to determine the hip laxity (pain if any) due to malformation of the hip socket – (if it exists) in your dog.
3) HOD is another possibility in Weims. Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD) is a canine orthopedic disease affecting young rapidly growing large breed dogs between eight weeks to eight months of age. Affected dogs exhibit swelling and pain in their distal limbs with reluctance to stand or walk. Additional systemic signs may include fever, lethargy, depression, and loss of appetite. Less common systemic signs are diarrhea, discharge from the nose and eyes, pneumonia and conjunctivitis. A diagnosis of HOD is founded on radiographic evidence of bone involvement concurrent with hyperthermia and pain, and by ruling out infectious causes of the clinical signs.
4) Weims can also suffer from cruciate ligament injuries -which a competent vet can determine.
Tags: Weimaraner
If he doesn’t like water, he doesn’t… too bad, ’cause you’re right that swimming would be good.
Did your vet suggest nutritional supplementation to help with joints? Arthri-Soothe Gold or Joint Support 3 is great (exact same products). A product called elk velvet antler is great (Google exactly this… the first company will be a Canadian company that is reputable and sells a good product). There are many joint support products, and individual dogs will respond better to different products. If you do not see improvement in a month, try another product or combination of products. When combining products, be careful not to combine or do high doses of certain herbs… double check with your vet or talk to a vet who is knowledgable about herbs.
If your dog is carrying any extra weight, get it off! Maintaining proper weight will do a lot for keeping your dog comfortable.
A walk through the woods or fields will be easier on his joints than high energy fetch. You might try more walking and then a bit of fetch, instead of lots of fetch.
References :
I’d suggest a 2nd opinion by another vet office on the limping. BTW, healthy joints in a puppy should not be wearing down… OR causing pain.
1) It could be joint or BONE pain (aka Pano). Pano is fairly common in Germanic breeds even beyond puppy-hood and up to 5 years of age. (It tends to be a roaming pain among the various leg long bones.) Originally, it was thought to only be a younger puppy problem, but that is NOT true in Weims or GSD. Affected dogs are usually in the 5 to 14 month age range and male dogs are more commonly affected than female dogs. Read more: Panosteitis (links below)
2) If you didn’t bother to buy a dog from healthy-hipped parents (OFA certified) then your vet needs to do a hip joint palpation or x-ray (best) to determine the hip laxity (pain if any) due to malformation of the hip socket – (if it exists) in your dog.
3) HOD is another possibility in Weims. Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD) is a canine orthopedic disease affecting young rapidly growing large breed dogs between eight weeks to eight months of age. Affected dogs exhibit swelling and pain in their distal limbs with reluctance to stand or walk. Additional systemic signs may include fever, lethargy, depression, and loss of appetite. Less common systemic signs are diarrhea, discharge from the nose and eyes, pneumonia and conjunctivitis. A diagnosis of HOD is founded on radiographic evidence of bone involvement concurrent with hyperthermia and pain, and by ruling out infectious causes of the clinical signs.
4) Weims can also suffer from cruciate ligament injuries -which a competent vet can determine.
References :
25 yrs in Weims; 14 yrs vet tech
Panosteitis:
http://www.vetinfo.com/dencyclopedia/depano.html
http://www.provet.co.uk/health/diseases/Panosteitis.htm
Joint problems: http://devinefarm.net/health/joints.htm
PANO & HOD (also common in Weims)
http://www.bmdca.org/health/Orthopedics/Panosteitis_and_HOD.php
More on HOD: http://www.weimclubamerica.org/health/
http://www.angelfire.com/az2/iscaz/hypertrophic__osteodystrophy.htm
http://www.vetinfo.com/dencyclopedia/dehod.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-you-should-know-about-hypertrophic-osteodystrophy-in-weimaraners.html
http://www.weimclubamerica.org/health/2005update.html
he should do more practice, it is very important for him.
References :