PANOSTEITIS (PANO)
Panosteitis is limping or occasional lameness in the legs in your larger breed dogs. You have probably heard
of it as growing pains. It is most common in dogs under one year of age and more common in the males than the females. In
females you may see it around the time of the first heat cycle. It can shift from one leg to another also. At this time the
cause of pano is unknown. There are no long term negative problems associated with Pano.
During cases of Pano the bone marrow is replaced by bone cells. Sometimes the other tissues of the bone
may also become effected such as the tissue that covers the bone marrow or the tissue that covers the outside of the bone.
Eventually the problem resolves its self and the bone cells are absorbed and replaced once again with bone marrow. Once a
bone has gone through this it is very unlikely that it will happen again.
Pano is usually treated with pain medications such as buffered aspirin or Rimadyl. Also you will want to
reduce the amount of protein in your dogs diet. Restricting your dogs activity will also aid in the healing process.
Pano is very hard to diagnose. It may show up in X-rays as dark areas in the bone. If your dog is limping
never assume it is just Pano and do nothing about it. Always check with your vet so you are not overlooking a more serious
problem in your dog.
