It is on Trupanion's bilateral list, which matters more than the condition's own severity suggests: because the lameness wanders from limb to limb, an episode recorded before the policy started can be read as the same condition when it reappears elsewhere later. A self-limiting problem in a puppy therefore has a habit of leaving a permanent mark on what a policy will cover.
What is growing pains in the long bones, in plain terms?
Panosteitis is inflammation inside the long bones of growing dogs. It causes a lameness that moves: sore on the left front one week, the right hind the next, with no injury to explain it. It hurts, sometimes a lot, and then it stops. Most dogs grow out of it by around two years old with pain relief and rest, and it leaves no lasting damage, which makes it unusual among the conditions on this site.
At what age does it usually appear?
Between about five and eighteen months, in fast-growing large breeds, and then never again. The pattern is the tell: a sound dog goes acutely lame with no injury, improves over a week or two, and comes back lame on a different leg. Owners often visit twice before anyone connects the episodes, which means the record usually contains two separate lameness entries for what is one condition.
Which clause should you check before you buy?
This one is worth checking precisely because it resolves. Look at how the policy defines a cured condition and whether it sets a symptom-free period after which cover returns, because none of the three documents in this register does. Without such a clause, a self-limiting puppy illness that has been over for years can still be cited as a known condition. Also check the bilateral definition, since the wandering lameness pattern means the record often names more than one limb for what is a single episode.
Do insurers treat both sides of the body as one condition?
Named as a bilateral condition in Trupanion policy form TRU-00001 (08/11), Definitions 7.c; read 2026-09-01
Panosteitis: how long before an insurer will pay for it?
Also called growing pains in the long bones. Each insurer's waiting period and second-side rule below, from its own policy document.
Which insurer covers growing pains in the long bones soonest, and which makes you wait?
Panosteitis falls under the orthopedic class at most US insurers. The table below gives each insurer's waiting period and its rule for the second side of the body, taken from the insurer's own policy document.
| Insurer | Waiting period | Second side of the body | Hereditary and congenital | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spot | 14 days | Does not reach this condition This policy does name a second-side rule, but by naming specific conditions rather than a whole class, and this condition is not among them. | Covered | Definitions, Ligament and Knee Conditions, page 2, which names ligament, patella, meniscus and soft tissue disorders of the knee and calls them bilateral and related regardless of cause; Definitions, Bilateral Condition, page 2; Exclusions c and o |
| Lemonade | 30 days 30 days for orthopedic conditions, which this policy defines as including elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration, patellar luxation and ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments. The second-side rule comes from the definition of a Bilateral Condition rather than from the orthopedic clause: it is a test on the condition, which has to be chronic and affect both sides, and not on the class. | Second side counts as pre-existing | Covered | Waiting periods; Definitions, Orthopedic Conditions, page 14, which names elbow dysplasia, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disc degeneration, patellar luxation and ruptured cranial cruciate ligaments; Definitions, Bilateral Condition, page 14: "a chronic condition that affects both sides of your pet's body, even if clinical signs or symptoms do not present at the same time"; Pre-existing conditions, which excludes bilateral conditions whose signs were present before the start date or before the end of a waiting period |
| Trupanion | 30 days No separate orthopedic waiting period is stated in this specimen; orthopedic illness falls under the general 30 day illness waiting period. | Second side counts as pre-existing | Not stated in the document | Waiting period at 5.b(2), page 3 of 9; bilateral exclusion at 5.c(2), page 3 of 9, which names luxating patella by example; definition of a bilateral condition at 7.c, page 6 of 9, which names elbow dysplasia including fragmented coronoid process, ununited anconeal process and osteochondritis dissecans, cruciate issues, luxating patella, hip dysplasia, cherry eye, entropion/ectropion, panosteitis and cataracts |
| Figo | 180 days | Does not reach this condition This policy does name a second-side rule, but by naming specific conditions rather than a whole class, and this condition is not among them. | Covered | Definitions 44, Waiting Period, page 3 of 13, which sets the orthopedic waiting period for dogs at six months; Definitions 28, Orthopedic; General Conditions 6, page 4 of 13, on the Orthopedic Waiver Form |
The waiting period for growing pains in the long bones is the number that decides whether a claim in the first year is paid at all, and it is the figure insurers vary most quietly. Each row below states the section of the policy it came from.
Every row cites the policy form code and the section it was read from, with the date we read it. Oldest check date on this page: .