Dear Dr. John,

We are partial to Labs, and our current dog, almost a year old, is a large block-headed English-style Lab that has grown rapidly but has recently had intermittent bouts of lameness. It does not seem to affect any one leg in particular. We were worried about tick diseases like Lyme and others that can cause lameness, so we asked our vet to test him for that, and the results were negative.

Our vet thought that perhaps he was overexerting himself and so we have now had a few courses of treatment with carprofen. Does this sound right? We were also told that our pup could have growing pains, and we had never heard of such a thing. No x-rays have yet been taken but we were told that might be next. Should we be concerned and how long will this continue? R.J.

Dear R.J.,

Labrador Retrievers are one of many large breed dogs that can be afflicted with what is called growing pains. The real name of this condition is panosteitis and it is a painful inflammation of long bones that needs to be managed properly with medications as it seems is being done. Diet and genetics play a part in the development of this condition and there are other possible factors that might be implicated. The diagnosis is often made after ruling out other possibilities such as tick-borne diseases, sprains, and more.

Upon physical examination of the dog, it is not uncommon to elicit pain upon deep palpation and pressing on the affected bony areas. Radiographs can confirm the suspicion by indicating a bright increased density of the affected bones and cloudy bone marrow cavities. Carprofen is a commonly used NSAID for this condition. The medication you have been given for your dog is both anti-inflammatory and analgesic and all that you will need to give him on an as-needed basis when lameness flares up. The good news is that panosteitis is self-limiting and will completely go away in six months or by the age of 18-24 months so therefore do not be too concerned.

Dr. John de Jong is President of the World Veterinary Association. He owns and operates the Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic and can be reached at 781-899-9994.