8 month old rottweiler limping

I have this 8 month old rottweiler, he is a fine dog - loving caring and obedient but of late he seems toHe seems to be limping a lot especially when he is exercised bit more,
his left front foot also seems to be a bit rotated outwards

I consulted the vet for this issue and certain tests were carried out his serum calcium was 8.80, serum phosphorus was 4.90 and alkaline phosphatase was 365iu/l

The vet advised calcium shots 2 such shots have already been given but only a little bit of improvement was noticed..

He also experienced similar limping in the hips but the condition subsided on it's own and the hip appears to be pretty normal now.

what might be the possible cause of this limping and how much time will he take to recover ???




Hi
I'm afraid this is a situation where your veterinarian is the best person to advise you. I'm not a vet myself and as your own vet is a trained professional who is able to do a 'hands-on' evaluation and tests he's definitely in the best position to make a diagnosis.

There are several reasons for limping in puppies, and fast-growing, large breeds are more likely to suffer from bone/joint issues than are smaller ones.

Personally I wouldn't recommend additional calcium as too much calcium can cause more harm than good... as can a diet that is too high in protein.

I'd recommend making sure he's eating a premium puppy food that has the right balance of nutrients for his needs first of all. You can check out my Feeding Puppies and Best Puppy Food pages for tips and advice to help you with this.

Also be careful with the type of exercise and activity he gets. No jumping up and down onto high surfaces such as trucks, walls, steps and such. Also no running on hard ground such as concrete. These type of things can easily cause an injury in a big, heavy puppy and it's possible something like this has happened and is causing the pain/limping in that front leg.

Another possibility is a condition called Panosteitis, it's fairly common in large breed puppies, usually seen in pups under between 6 and 8 months old - which fits your pup exactly. This is a condition that causes pain and swelling in the joints and can last for several months or even longer, but it is a self-limiting condition (meaning that the pup will recover without treatment in his own time).

In my opinion from what you describe this is the most likely cause of your pups' problems. Calcium is not the remedy for this. I'd recommend that you take a look at my Panosteitis page to learn more about this problem and how to handle it.

Hope this helps. Best of luck with your pup.