stiff shoulder

[murdock maclean]

My 9 month old rottie male seems to get a limp in the left shoulder after i run him hard in the yard.
He had a limp about a month ago when he walked so i seen the vet and he pushed the dogs shoulder and leg up and backward and the dog almost bit him.
i waited to go back and the limp went away, could this be growing pains?
now he limps a little after really hard play time and some times looks stiff when he wakes up
any feedback is appreciated thanks

[moonbeam]

It could be growing pains (panosteitis). Pano is characterized by shifting leg lameness so he would limp on one leg then that one gets better then he limps on another. My 10 month old male has this but it's not crippling. You can supplement his diet with Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM - I use a supplement called Glyco-Flex stage 2. I would NOT put him on any NSAID's like Rimadyl, Duramax, etc., or steroids. He will grow out of this, but remember it is painful for him so let him get his exercise but don't run him hard or play with him where running is involved for extended periods. This can be making things worse, if he actually has Pano. My vet pushed on a certain place in the leg bone near where the growth plate is and it wasn't painful to my dog, but you could tell it was sensitive.

If the pain is actually in the joint you may want to have that looked into further.

I saw in another thread that you are feeding him Iams. Please get more information on better foods for him as it may help with this condition.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[murdock maclean]

Thanks for the reply
Do you have any good food ideas?

[Brooke&Ryan]

These are the Whole Dog Journal's top dry dog foods 1998-2003. The most recent additions are at the top.

You'll find with many of these foods that you'll feed dramatically less than you're feeding right now with Iams because the quality is higher in the foods listen below....

Artemis Natural 6 Mix

Bench & Field Holistic Natural Canine Formula

Burns Brown Rice and Ocean Fish

Drs. Foster & Smith Adult Maint. Formula, Chicken and Brown Rice

Go! Natural Super Premium Chicken, Fruit and Vegetable Diet

Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult Formula

Prairie Lamb & Rice Medley

Verus GP Advantage Diet: Chicken Meal, Oats and Brown Rice

Azmira Classic

Back to Basics

Best in Show

California Natural, Innova

Canidae

Eagle Pack Holistic Select

Flint River Ranch, Dry Water, LC

Hund-N-Flocken, Mmillennia

Limited Diets Duck & Potato

Natural Balance Ultra Premium

Lifespan

Pinnacle

Prime Life

PHD Canine Growth & Maintenance

Showbound Naturals

Timberwolf Organics

Wellness Super5 Mix Lamb

Wysong Maintenance

[moonbeam]

Whole Dog Journal added these foods in 2004:
Blue Buffalo
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul (Diamond Pet Products)
Foundations (Petcurean, Canada)
Fromm Four Star
Karma (Natura)
Cowboy Cookout (Merrick)
Newman's Own chicken and rice
Organix (Castor & Pollux)

I have some personal experience with the Chicken Soup food, but none of the others that were added this year. I weaned a litter of puppies onto the Chicken Soup food and the puppy I kept is fed raw meals 2x/day but gets about a cup of the Chicken Soup puppy food mid-day for "lunchie". Even though I hate the name of it, I would recommend it highly and you can find information on ingredients, stores in your area that carry it, or purchase the food online by visiting their website at:
http://www.chickensoupforthepetlover...m/default.html

I noticed you live in Canada, to the right of the map of the U.S. on the website there's an area that says "Canada Residents".

Out of the list that Brooke&Ryan listed, it's interesting to note that a number of the companies previously listed did not respond to WDJ's survey this year which asked them to provide substantiation for ingredient claims, disclose their maker to WDJ, and whether they disclose their maker to consumers. The companies that did not respond were:

Timberwolf Organics (Yukon)
Wysong, Lifespan (Petguard)
Wellness (Old Mother Hubbard) did not disclose their maker.