Limping French Bulldog

Question
Hello,

I have a 1 1/2 year old french bulldog Daisy.  About 5 months ago she started acting weird.  She would not climb the stairs (which she normally did) and cried when we picked her up.  We immediately brought her to the vet.  The vet could not find anything wrong with her.  Her bent all her legs at the joint and she did not even make a noise.  The vet gave her some pain meds and put her on bed rest.  About 1 month latter she was better but not 100% so we brought her back to the vet.  This time he took x-rays but again could not find anything wrong.  No hip displacement or broken bones.  She was fine for a while and yesterday I noticed that she is limping again on her back leg.  I am not sure what is causing this limping which seems to come and go.  Not sure if it could be a muscle issue or if French Bulldogs are prone to this when they overexert themselves (running fast, jumping, etc...).  Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks,Lisa

Answer
Ask your vet about panosteitis or "pano". It's also called "wandering lameness". There's no cure but it does go away on it's own. Don't let your vet put the dog on steroids as it doesn't do anything but mask the condition. A low dose coated aspirin a day is fine. While the dog is lame, just keep her as quiet as possible and no stairs or rough play. It may go away for a few weeks and then come back. Eventually it will be gone usually by the time a dog is 2 years of age at the latest.