I have a 5 month old male lab. He is my first lab puppy bred for conformation; have had and currently have several field bred labs. Not sure if there is much difference with this type of thing between the two types; but never had this problem with my field bred pups. I noticed a limp a few months ago and took a trip to the vet. Vet thought it was an injury from him playing rough. He has limped on his left front leg on and off since that time. Also now noticing his little front paws slightly turning out. I took him back to the vet today. He shows no signs of pain when they were prodding and bending different parts of his leg. Vet attributed limping and out-turned feet to a growth problem (growing too quickly) from the high quality (high protein) puppy food I feed. The food I currently feed does have a balanced ratio of Phosphorus and Calcium. They suggested feeding a lower quality and lower protein adult food- Purina Dog Chow.

Does anyone else have experience with a similar problem? Were the problems resolved with a food change? Which specific food did you use?

Read the postings about proplan just below.
your pup might have pano, and the feet turning, might be too rich a diet,try a lower protein/fat; I add vit. C also to the diet.

so pup was limping at 2 months?

if he was limping at 4 1/2 months I would say elbow or OCD shoulder

I don't think pano starts much earlier than 5 mos?

could he have a broken toe?

You could go lower protein without going lower quality. Did you x-ray elbows?

He has limped on and off since about 2 months of age. The first time, he would yelp when I touched one of his toes on the left front foot. Vet thought playing injury at that time. He began limpimg again this month more than just a day. It was on and off. He has now week straight until this morning, he stopped. It does not slow him down. Now he will not whine when palpating, bending, pressing anything. I think he shows some signs of pain, just not vocally, lower on the leg. He seems to change his demeanor. Vet thinks its lower on the leg as well; said specifically it did not seem to be his shoulder or elbow. No x-rays were done.

Um, you need to slow him down yourself - crate rest for a week - and see if he can heal. He may very well have broken a toe (I've had a puppy do this) - and if it wasn't totally healed up, he could have reinjured it playing. I never let young puppies play with older dogs, except for my old grandmas and only if directly supervised. I've had too many dogs hurt and actually needing surgery due to body-slamming or whatever. I know they love to play with the older dogs, but just don't do it!

He is not allowed to play with older dogs. He can be with them when supervised. He just likes to run. He is allowed to play with a Cur puppy we have, who is smaller than he is; but she is it for playmates. I will try crating him for a week or so and see if that restriction of use will help.

Yes, you need to crate him if you expect an injury to heal up, if that's what it is. If he is still limping after a week, you need to get xrays done to see if there's an obvious problem with his foot, elbow or shoulder. Good luck! I know how hard it is to keep a puppy quiet, but do your best (including leash walking for potties).

Does he have his dewclaws? Could be that he continues to rip them during play?

And if you do need to go for further testing, I would spend the time/money to do an MRI. You'll see things that an X-ray won't show. Find an equine vet to do the scan and then take the pics to your vet to read.

Good luck!

He has no dew claws. Limping has stopped after just a few days of crating. But the limping has come and gone before. I have switched to a lower protein food and added vitamin C. He also gets glucosamine/chondroitin supplement daily.

Glad to hear the limping is better - definitely sounds like a muscle strain/sprain type of thing. Haven't you had a pulled muscle that seems to be healed up, then you tweak it again - much more susceptible to be injured again as it wasn't quite 100% yet. So be careful with your puppy - it's tempting to let him run again as soon as he's not limping, but it's really going to be for the best down the road to limit his activity for another few days at the least.

I am amazed that no one here said to get xrays. Get xrays of the entire leg, shoulder to toe. You may find the problem, or at the very least, eliminate possibilities. Broken toes, OCD, pano, etc. can all be diagnosed by xray. Get him in and do it.

Maybe she and others in her position don't or can't run to the vet and spend hundreds of dollars to sometimes get a zero diagnosis. It happens all the time. It could be a soft tissue injury. Ok, before you say if you can't afford an x-ray don't have dogs, remember that times are tough. Some have lost their jobs and need whatever cash they have for food and bills. Nothing wrong with getting opinions on here of those that have "been there". It's free and sometimes better than your average general practice vet.

Have you tested for Lyme Disease? Had a five month old pup come up lame on and off. Usually around play time with other dogs. thought similar issues pano, muscle pull, joint, cruciate ....

at 8 months she came down with visible signs of lyme, immobilized by pain all over. Tested positive, treated, now fine. No signs since, she is three now.

Just a thought. Good luck.

Maybe she and others in her position don't or can't run to the vet and spend hundreds of dollars to sometimes get a zero diagnosis. It happens all the time. It could be a soft tissue injury. Ok, before you say if you can't afford an x-ray don't have dogs, remember that times are tough. Some have lost their jobs and need whatever cash they have for food and bills. Nothing wrong with getting opinions on here of those that have "been there". It's free and sometimes better than your average general practice vet.

I have seen many posts where people just wait and ask here for advise when they should be heading to the Vet! The USDA is proposing these new laws for the Welfare of the Animals in your charge. One of the new rules for large breeders will be Vet visits. Really in your heart if you love your dog go to a professional. There is no excuse for anyone to be breeding dogs that can't afford a 5k Vet bill or two. Puppy buyers stuck with the rejects of bad breeding are able to pay these bills, the breeder should too!

Bet your vet LOVES you
Sorry but experienced breeders do not race to the vet for every little limp or cut.
We save our $$ for the real emergencies and spend it wisely. Anyone whose been breeding/showing long time that denies that is lying.

Get real and go away. I think this board has been infiltrated by at least one Animal Rights Extremist (Seriously? and the "Wack" job on another thread-maybe same person). This is such the same rhetoric that is spewed all over the net.

"There is no excuse why people breeding dogs can't afford a $5,000 vet bill or two"? Are you serious? Such the rubbish as the extremist. Do you think that breeders must be independently wealthy in order to be in this hobby? Do you think ALL breeders make money hand over fist breeding dogs? That's the first clue that you're AR, the false assumption that we breed and therefore make tons of money. PULEEEZE, seriously go away. You have no idea about the type of breeders on here. You have no idea what it means to be a breeder. You have no idea what is involved with breeding. You just have an emotional reaction to the rubbish you're spoon fed by the Animal Rights nut jobs. Go back to your rock, crawl back under and stop listening to people who want take away our rights. This forum was set up for experienced breeders to help newer ones. I have been breeding dogs for 30 years. I've seen a lot. I've worked a vet tech. I've worked in shelters. I've done rescue. And sadly, I've seen this Animal Rights Movement being hijacked by a few extremists (Ingrid Newkirk and Wayne Pacelle to name a few). Ultimate goal, end all use of animals. No more working horses or working dogs, no more hunting (we'll see an overpopulation of prey animals), no more breeding, no more circuses, no more guide dogs and of course, no more eating meat. Dang, the beef I had for dinner sure tasted good tonight. I will never give that up. People are waking up to your radical extremists ways. Now go away!

Wouldn't you take your child to the doctor if he/she would be limping since he was a baby???? What makes a dog different???? Breeding for many years doesn't make you a veterinary medicine expert. The right thing to do is to take the puppy to the vet for an evaluation.

If you had read the original post, the OP has taken the puppy to the vet. The vet gave his/her opinion. The OP came here for advice on a good food that might help the puppy's growth. Comparing a puppy to a human child is just wrong.

To answer your question OP, I had a young male start limping on and off about 4-6 months of age (typical age to see Pano) and continue on for a while. He was eating an adult food at that point. This was a number of years, before the internet. I spoke with several other old time breeders and they suggested putting him on a large breed puppy food. I switched him to Eukanuba Large breed and shortly there after he stopped limping. He never limped again. He ending being OFA Excellent/elbows normal. So it is quite alright to turn to experienced breeder as often times we experience problems through out the wonderful network of breeders that your average may not be aware of.

Hey Oh boy! Is that the best you could do with your immeasurably great knowledge is feed Eukanuba large breed to a growing puppy?? Haven't you been on this board long enough to know a good diet from a bad one?

To the OP, I'll quote a 30 year large breed breeder,
"People who do not allow their pups to get fat, who monitor the front growth plates for heat (the wrist bumps) and adjust food according to visual weight, growth rate and cut back if visual weight is above lean or the growth plates get hot rarely if ever have a pup with pano no matter how high in protein and fat and calories the diet is BECAUSE the pup is on a restricted diet. My pups start on raw meat and formula, then gradually work onto raw meat, Evo and formula and then to raw meat, Evo and healthwise puppy food and formula, eventually replacing the formula with water. I have not had a single pup with pano since I have fed this way. My only pano pup was back when I fed Proplan and I caught it asap and ended it asap. My sister's pup had a bad case and she fed pedigree!!! About as lo cal as it comes. Like founder in horses pano is very much about calorie and intake control. It's not the what it's the how much."

From what I've read on the posts above, could be OCD or an injury. I had a Lab back in the early 1990's injure his elbow, had an xray done and was diagnosed with OCD. You may want to have your boy xrayed.

Oh boy, so Eukanuba is a deemed a "bad" food by you too? You hate breeders who don't breed to your *standards*. You hate this dog food because? It's a premium food and no I do not feed it any longer to my dogs, but it's still a good food and I wouldn't knock it. We're also talking about *my* experience from about 15 years ago. The OP wanted to know experiences with problems similar to his/hers. I simply shared what actually WORKED for my dog. *My* own experience. And FWIW, I do feed Healthwise now and my dogs are doing quite well on it. I do tend to push my puppies and allow them to be on the heavier side. In *my* experience with raising livestock as a kid, you allow your animals to grow at their optimum rate. By keeping them thin and holding them back, they appear stale. This does not mean I keep my puppies grossly overweight, but simply allow them to grow to their fullest potential. I also like to have a little extra stress on the joints as this will show me that if my dogs pass xrays, that they have good joints. I didn't simply mask a problem by keeping my puppies thin. I even explained this to my vet and she agreed. This may not be what you *think* is right, but it works for me and other breeders as well.

You're good at putting words in someone's mouth. Sounds like you're ready to blow a gasket, take a chill pill.

I just love pointing out your narrow minded views and to help expand other's minds. You are just a good example of why we can't think like you and other animal rights nut jobs. Judging others because they don't breed according to how you think they should is not beneficial to the entire sport/industry. But you just keep your head warm up in that place. This is still a free country.

Not about to blow a gasket like you either. Just having some fun. I'm about as chill as you can get right now.

I don't think you're doing much other than showing your true colors. As was mentioned, give a mouth like you a rope, you'll hang yourself.

Showing my true colors? Which would be what? Trying to let other breeders know what type of people we are up against when it comes to maintaining our rights? Trying to get breeders to see that we must unite and fight legislation that will be detrimental to us all?

You, in another thread, seem to think that the HSUS and other Animal Rights group do good work, when in fact they are all working to take away our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Breeding dogs is a huge part of my life, I should have the liberty to breed how I see fit (without excess restraint and regulation), and my dogs do bring me great happiness.

I am very passionate about these issues and the way you came on here spewing the rubbish of the AR mantra, just showed what the wack (it's whack, btw) job you and others of the same mindset really are. You sure picked the right name. And as I've mentioned, I've had the pleasure of debating these extremist. I've done plenty of research into the mindset of these people. They are not on our side. All breeders are bad to them and MUST be stopped.

You don't have to tell me breeding is a huge part of your life, that's very obvious by your posts.

Oh...and if you are referring to someone hit by Tony Soprano, then a whack job would be an appropriate spelling. But if you are referring to someone who's cuckoo then wack job is the spelling for wacky means nuts or eccentric and thus a wack job is someone who is nuts or eccentric. You should be able to relate to that.

Breeding as in all aspects of owning and caring for my dogs, planning for an upcoming litter, training and showing my dogs, not the actual numbers of breedings that I do to make all the money you seem to think I make.

From the Wiktionary, describes you to a 'T':
whackjob
Alternative forms
wackjob
Etymology
whack(y) + job(bie)
Noun
whackjob (plural whackjobs)
(colloquial, pejorative) A crazy, possibly dangerous, person.  
Synonyms
(crazy, possibly dangerous person): basket case, loony, nutjob, nutter, screwball, wacko, wingnut

World English Dictionary
whack (wæk)

— vb
1. to strike with a sharp resounding blow
2. informal ( Brit ) ( usually passive ) to exhaust completely
3. informal ( tr; usu foll by in or on ) to put something on to or into something else with force or abandon: whack on some sunscreen

— n
4. slang ( US ) ( tr ) to murder: if you were out of line you got whacked
5. a sharp resounding blow or the noise made by such a blow
6. informal a share or portion
7. informal a try or attempt (esp in the phrase have a whack at )
8. informal out of whack out of order; the whole system is out of whack

— interj
9. an exclamation imitating the noise of a sharp resounding blow

[C18: perhaps a variant of thwack , ultimately of imitative origin]

Update on the puppy. He is doing well. Still no limping. He is pretty lean, but I am going to take a pound or two off him just in case; much leaner and he will be underweight. We keep all of our dogs lean as that is healthiest for all dogs. But we also hunt and compete in hunting trials and tests, so our dogs must be lean and in-shape. He is still restricted in his activities; no retriever training at this time. If he begins to limp again, we will go for x-rays.

Just to be clear we have already been to the vet about this. Vet did not recommend x-rays at this time.

Glad to hear he continues to improve. Pay no attention to the crazies that have hijacked your thread - just keep doing what you're doing and yes, go for x-rays if he limps again.

Would swimming him by himself give him the exercise he needs at this age without beating on his limbs?
Glad to hear that he is more comfortable.
Good luck!

I had a dog that injured a growth plate in the Pastern - handler had him jumping out of the truck onto his front! The one side of the growth plate closed, but other side kept growing and it made the foot turn out as he grew. Sad.