Sick Standard Schnauzer

[wknm44]

Two nights ago my 1 year old male schnauzer started holding up his right hind leg for no particular reason like his foot was hurt. We went to bed thinking that maybe in the morning he will feel better.  Then when he woke up that next morning he was acting lethargic and seemed scared.  His stomach was very tense and was making weird sounds that were not normal he was also over salivating but his leg problem seem to have gone away.  We took him to the vet where they did a pancreas test that came back negative, and said they thought it was a gastric problem and gave him a shot of anti vomit medicine.  When we returned back home he stated to perk up and played fine the rest of the day even going to a park for 3 hours where her played vigorously.  Then when it came time to go back to sleep he started limping again but this time on his left leg instead of his right, he began to act the same as the morning scared and not responding as he normally would.  We went to bed again, where he seem to sleep much better than the previous night.  We awoke and his leg problem was gone but he was still acting a little off and not as responsive and perky as normal.  Do you have any idea what would be causing this?

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

Congratulations on being able to diagnose the problem yourself.  Another possibility for the problem you describe is Lyme disease and other tick borne disease.  I would use Rimadyl if the pain occurs again and have a tick disease profile.

X-rays of the affected limbs will show panosteitis and are usually diagnostic.

[wknm44]

I think I found an answer to the limping problem.  I found this athttp://www.loveofbreeds.com/MiniSch.html
Panosteitis which is a developmental problem associated with too rapid growth. Lameness can occur in one limb or over time in all limbs. Typically the dog will stand with one leg up- a day or so later the dog will hold another leg up. The pain associated with Pano will often switch legs several times. Treatment usually involves resting and sometimes an arthritis type pain medication for a few days. This is not life threatening nor will it affect the dog throughout it's lifetime.

Do you think this may be the cause?