Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD)
Which kennel is Stone from?
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Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD) is a bone disease that occurs in fast-growing large and giant breed dogs.
My pup is xrayd yesterday and the vet fears he has this.
Anybody have experience with this? Treatment? Food? Supplements?
Also he found ''enostosis'' , growing pains. What to do?
Rest, dosed moving, what else?
What are the risks, what are the do's and donts, Thanks in advance.
Alex
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Hi Alex,
this is something that occurs in our large breed puppies often. PetMD has an article about it copied below. I find it interesting that the suspected cause if over reaction to vaccination. Just for the record we do not over vaccinate dogs. They only get the minimum required by state law and not the feel good shots peddled by most vets.
What to do:
1. reduce vaccination
2. reduce physical activity to moderate level
3. cut down on high protein food
4. switch to raw food diet
5. supplement your food with Glucosamine and Chondroitin (Nupro has a great supplement)
Please see below.
Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy in Puppies
Hypertrophic osteodystrophy is a disease of the front limbs in large-breed puppies. Affected puppies suffer from a noninfectious inflammation of the bony spicules (pointed, mineral structures) in the metaphysis of the long bones. The metaphysis is the conical part of the bone between the epiphysis (the growing end of the bone), and the diaphyses (the shaft of the long bone). The most severely affected bones are those that grow most rapidly. Swelling around the metaphyses, and bone deposition, cause widening of the metaphyses. Tiny fractures of the bony spicules in the metaphyses, and metaphyseal separation occur close to and parallel to the physis. The physis is the epiphysial cartilage in the joints – the soft, connective part of the bone that hardens (ossifies) after full growth has been reached, joining the parts of the bone into one. There may also be ossifying periostitis, a painful inflammation of the most external layer of the bone, the periosteum. Ossifying periostitis can cause bits of the periosteum to break off and mineralize in the soft tissues of the leg, and soft tissue in other organs may mineralize as well.
Affected puppies may also have accompanying signs of pneumonia and diarrhea. While the cause of this disease is unknown, it is currently suspected to be a hyper-reactive response to vaccination.
Symptoms and Types
- Symmetrical lameness (mild or severe), most often in the forelimbs
- Depression and reluctance to move
- Warm, swollen metaphyses (the soft, or growing part of the long bones in puppies)
- Fever, as high as 106° F
- Lack of appetite
- Weight loss
- Dehydration
- Diarrhea
- Possible pneumonia
Causes
Suspected (but not proven) to be a reaction in the bone-producing centers to vaccination.
Diagnosis
Your veterinarian will perform a thorough physical exam of your pet. While a chemical blood profile, a complete blood count, and a urinalysis are good indicators of possible systemic disease, radiograph imaging of the legs is crucial for diagnosis of hypertrophic osteodystrophy. Thoracic (chest) radiographs will also be taken if pneumonia is suspected.
http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/musculoskeletal/c_dg_osteodystrophy
Best wishes for you and your pup.
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Does anyone else have experience with this?
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Thanks Gary. We feed raw. Tuned down calcium protein and calories some. Keeping activity level in check. Seems to be doing the trick.
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Yes....
Common enough and IT SUCKS.
Good luck!
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I know a dog who had the same problems and the only solution is basically all the things gary said ...
especialy keeping the protein and activity level of the dog in check.
good luck man !
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Thanks Gary. We feed raw. Tuned down calcium protein and calories some. Keeping activity level in check. Seems to be doing the trick.
fantastic. let us know how it goes over time.
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I went through this with my great dane as well. Its heart breaking. Leg massages seemed to help with the growing pains or at least comfort him when he was in pain.
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Few months have passed since the trouble started. Lower calcium food seems to work. Also No bones in the diet. Started feeding a bit more again because he was actually losing weight while he should be growing. Slowly giving him some more excersise also because i am worried aboud his muscle development. He still limps a littlebit from time to time , although not consistent like before. I spoke to a lot of people about the issue and i get the feeling it is gonna take a lot of time for him to ''grow out of it'' .
Oppinion of the vet on glucosamin is that it is of no use in this case because it is not a joint problem but a growth problem in the middle of the bones. Any opinions on that?
Other than that he is doing great. Big teddybear most of the time. Dont come near his foodbowl when eating or risk loosing a few fingers. Obeys commands no problem when he feels like it. Very social behaviour to both k9 and human up til now. Some normal hirarchy issues with the rest of my pack ( total of 7 ) nothing that doesnt work itself out so far.
Ill check in later, thanks!
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Oppinion of the vet on glucosamin is that it is of no use in this case because it is not a joint problem but a growth problem in the middle of the bones. Any opinions on that?
I would disagree with that opinion. Joint support supplement in large breeds is not a bad thing. Though the supplements may not directly treat the HOD problem is can still benefit the dog when it comes to joint development. You may want to also try about 2000 mg or vitamin "c". We have some articles about the benefits of vitamin "c" on here also.
Thank you very much for the update.
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Stone is hospitalized lastnight with acute kidney failure. After a week of vague symptoms hé finally stopped eating all together. Xrayes showed something could be obstructing the intestines but after surgery turned out to be false. After bloodwork two days later the numbers were through the roof. Our last hope now is intensive care and flushing the kidneys with iv. If this fails we Will loose him.
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I am so sorry to learn about that. I wish him a good recovery and you for strength to deal the situation.
Best regards
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Contactcombat, i am very sorry to hear that.
Good luck.
I went through all this a few years ago, i know how hard it is to see how your dog must going through all this.
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Thank u. What was the outcome and cause in your dog? Did hé/she recover?
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I had to put him down when he was a year old.
I studied a lot before i got him, specialy about growingpains well my conclusion is when it is wrong it is wrong and you cant do anything about it.
Everybody wants them bigger and bigger and the breeders want to breed bigger because of the money and so we will loose this wonderful healthy breed.
My dog had no kidney failure but growing pains and all the joints were a mess. It was very painfull to see him walking with a lot of pain.
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Sorry to hear.
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Which kennel is Stone from?
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Ruski Izvor. Polina. Serbia.
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Why do you ask?
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Ow thats funny.
Gary you didnt know that?
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Hé did. I told him before.
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Yes you did. Sorry about that but I wanted to be sure. I have two dogs from her kennel. So now I will do some research!
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Just talked to the clinic. Stone probably has been dealing with kidney problems since birth. Kidneys to small and miniralisation spreading even to the lungs. At best we could save him for a few months. But maybe even not that.
My pup is being put to sleep tonight.
The pain of loosing a pup this way is terrible. We Will miss him forever.
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I am so sorry Alex. Last year I lost two of my oldest dogs so I know what you are feeling.
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Thank you.
The specialists suspect kidney dysplasia from young age. The radiologist with 20 years of experience had never seen this in a young dog like this. When hé got very sick last week and acted like hé was in pain we took him for xrayes to see if there was an obstruction in the intestines. Then we operated on him to try to find the cause. The anastetics and surgery have probably pushed him over the final edge from bad to worse. But without it it would not have made another half year of difference. Hé was already very sick.
Looking back on his year with us a lot seems to make sense. What i first put under "must be the breed " since i didnt have experience with co now i can relate to him not being completely healthy.
Maybe there was a lot of signs we missed. If we could have seen it at all. You dont suspect this in such a young strong dog.
Signs we missed or didnt think anything of; Always pee in larger volume than my cane corso's , Not standing on back legs (hé Just wouldnt/couldnt do it) , getting up from lying down not quite like a young dog should, i always thought his weight should be a bit more, teeth not perfectly White, hè was calm and steady but maybe a little to calm.
I write all this to maybe help someone take notice in little things that are "off " in your dog. When in doubt get bloodwork done as soon as you can.
Alex
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Thank you for sharing your's and Stone's story. The information you provided may help other owners of the CO and similar breeds to identify potential problems early.
Will you get another Caucasian Ovcharka after this experience?
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Absolutely. I feel this was freakish bad luck and has little to do with the breed or breeder. I trust my breeder when she says she has never experienced this in 20 years.
I hope i Will find a beautifull new family member soon.
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Excellent - I went to Novi Sad and spent time with Polina at her home / kennel - she has great dogs and indepth knowledge of them all so I can imagine her surprise by this.
I trust her judgement and have two of her dogs. Best wishes for finding your new dog. In the mean time I hope you still stick around on MD and continue to share your knowledge and interest with us.
Best regards,
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Thanks Gary.
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i am very sorry to hear this. I went trough this a few years ago. I had to put him down too but het was moeilijker om hem te zien leiden dan om hem in te laten slapen. Natuurlijk doet het zeer maar toe kijken hoe je hond leidt doet veel meer zeer.
I hope you find a new compagnion. It will never be the same but every dog has his own wonderful personality.
Good luck!
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I'm very sorry for your loss Alex ! I also lost a pup way too soon ...
Stone was a beautiful CO !
