[ppocalyko]

Hello Everyone...

I wanted to first say thank you for all the information and help with Krieg's ears. They have been up for over a month now and he looks great!
However we have been working through another issue that hopefully isn't too serious.
For the last week and a half when standing still his back left leg will lift off the ground shifting his weight to the right leg. This only happens when he stands still. Walking and running around, does't seem to have any effect on his leg; meaning we do not observe him favoring it, during these different movements.
We already took him to the Vet and had X-rays taken of his legs and hips. The Vet doesn't think it is too serious and does't see any concern with his hips from the X-rays(his parents have been tested for hip dysplasia). For now, he also ruled out the possibility of any growth development disease. He thinks without an MRI, it is a some kind of muscle sprain in the left leg and or something with his growing spurts. Krieg has been put on an anti-imflamentory per day, and we are limiting his outdoor running until he heals.
Krieg is now 7.5 months old and is 75 lbs. His father and other brothers from previous litters are all large male Dobermans. We are expecting him to stop growing in the 110-120 range.
I was just wondering if anyone experienced this with their Dobe, before?

 

[Soleil]

Once he shifts his weight, does he keep doing it like he's prancing?

 

[Darkevs]

Maybe he bumped into something and has an owie.

growing pains.

read up on Dancing Doberman Syndrome.

Hugz to Krieg!

 

[Whiskey]

Maybe pano?

 

[mmctaq]

This would be a wait-and-see at my house, at this point. I would be hoping very much that he did something stupid that would self-correct, but dancing Doberman Disease might be in the back of my head... a very small tear in the cruciate ligament might be in the back of my head... luxating patella might be in the back of my head. Right now, I would just be holding my breath and hoping for the best. I am not sure that I would be doing anti-inflamatory meds without more evidence that they were called for.

I am curious about stairs... does he do them easily and quickly and the same as he did them a month ago? Does he hesitate before jumping onto the couch/bed or into the car?

Not to poke you with a stick, but if your boy weighs what you expect him to when he matures, he will probably be 20 - 30 pounds overweight. Particularly if he has some sort of structural issue going on, this would be very unfortunate and very unfair to him.

 

[RedFawnRising]

Why would you expect him to grow up so abnormally large and out-of-standard?

Did his breeder deliberately breed wrongly, then?

I too would be a bit concerned about just giving NSAIDs, without an actual diagnosis.

It will be important, if his conformation is outside of standard, to keep him lean and fit, throughout his life. Oversized Dobermans do tend to exhibit more joint issues and unsoundness--keeping him fit and well-conditioned will help him to avoid some of the arthritic changes and painful issues.

 

[KCFilley]

Hi,

I am sure your vet checked but is there any chance Krieg broke a toe or his foot? My puppy broke one toe and sometimes would hold her leg tightly against her tummy and sometimes she would just lift her foot off the ground when standing.

Hi to you and Krieg.

Would love to see photos.

KC

 

[Patches Mom]

Pano = growing pains ?

 

[ppocalyko]

Thanks for everyones help...
We are hoping Krieg is experiencing PANO and not something else. The Vet ran him through many tests, including X-rays and did not seem to think there was any ligament or bone damage. However he did feel he might have sprained a muscle running around with my other dog. Its early but I think the combination of not running on open fields for the time being and just doing small walks with the anti inflammatory meds has been helping.
His size is not something we are trying to encourage, however his breeder has been producing over the different litters larger males. The females are closer to the standard, with the males ranging from 100-120. His brother form a previous litter three years ago, with the same parents is 120. We are not trying to push any weight goal at all. We are just feeding him a normal food regiment and exercising regularly. We had to slow his exercising down due to this leg development.

 

[ppocalyko]

I read up on DDD, however he has not been shifting back and forth... Just lifting the left leg when standing still. Today seems to be a better day... We are hoping its the easiest problem and he will grow out of it... Thanks everyone for your help...

 

[Darkevs]

Thanks for the update.

Hope all will be well.

Hugz to Krieg!

 

[Leari]

My dob has the same issue

Thanks for the update.

Hope all will be well.

Hugz to Krieg!

My dob Henry has the same problem....he tries not to put weight on his back left leg...nothing shown on xrays or MRI, he is 10 years old now and still runs close to 5-10 miles a day in back and forth play and just plain old running....he doesn't cry or wimper when you touch the leg and has been that way for about 5 years now....no significant issue....he is happy! hope this helps

 

[akturbo]

Keep us posted, hopefully it is nothing and goes away over time.

And hello from the other side of the water to poster. I live in newport news

 

[ppocalyko]

Hello back from VA Beach... Thanks again for everyones insight, enjoy the holidays and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

 

[Jenny]

Vader pulled a muscle in the hip flexor area this past summer. He would hold his right hind off the ground when standing but was sound while in motion. He has a good 6 to 8 weeks of no playing with other dogs he went to obedience class and to agility but only did flat work no contacts or jumping. We did alot of stretching. He all better now but it took a long time.

 

[Jhagman]

Dex came to us that way at 15months. Stupid breeder thought it was just something he'd grow out of.

X Ray showed it was a very slight hairline fracture, but unfortunately near the growth plate, thus causing the leg to not grow properly. She thought he must've done in young puppy play with his littermates.

Prescription: lots of exercise as he could take it to build muscle up. Lose weight. (he had no waistline at that time).

He does beautifully now, but vet warned that as older dobe, he'd likely have arthritis there.

 

[Audrey1]

Since the xrays are clear, then it is more likely a muscle/tendon/ligament issue. In which case, 6-8 weeks of modified activity would give it time to heal up. I don't believe a ligament issue would show up on an xray...only a bone issue. I would try to limit things like running and jumping for a bit and see how things progress.