Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD)

[enzo_canecorso]

Hello - My 3 month old Cane Corso puppy had a slight limp about a week ago. It would come and go throughout the day and never really seem to bother him much. Friday he acted completely normal and was not limping at all. Saturday morning he would cry when we touched his front legs, we kept him kind of quiet throughout the day but by mid afternoon he wouldnt walk. Just sit there and whimper at you until you went to him. We took him to the 24 hour vet and they said he most likely has Panosteitis and gave him a prescription for an anti-inflammatory pill. Sunday morning was bad, he wouldnt stand up and would scream out in pain when we touched his legs even in the slightest bit. We took him back to the vet and they did x-rays and blood work. The blood work and urine analysis came out normal but his xrays looked a little funny so they sent them to a radiologist to be read. They sent us home with a pain pill for him and a fentanyl patch on his leg. He progressively got worse and was not even wanting to lift his head up off the bed. We just kept him calm and tried to keep him comfortable because the vet said that the patch could take a while. Last night the vet called me back and said that the xrays show that he has HOD (hypertrophic Osteodystrophy) he seems to fit the symptoms but this is all so hard/scary for us. We had to take him back to the vet this morning and they are keeping him for 24 hrs and have him hooked up to an IV. I dont know what to do anymore. I've spent most of my work day googling different things and I cant seem to really find anything helpful. I've never seen an animal in more pain. He is eating and drinking like normal, but he will not stand or lift his head. Has anybody else experianced this, any tips or tricks to get through it. I dont even know if he will get through it, I took him to the vet expecting them to say he needed to be put down. I dont want to give up on him but I also dont want to push him through it just to be a 120lb dog with limb abnormalities who cant walk right and is in pain.

Thank you

 

[sjdavenport]

Sorry about your pup, I've heard HOD is extremely painful. I know how difficult it can be to see your baby in pain. Unfortunately there really isn't much to do in the way of treatment other than supportive care, which would include pain management, anti-inflammatories (is the other pain medication he on an NSAID?), fluids, and antibiotics if he starts to have other systemic involvement. A last resort in severe cases would be steroids, but of course that's kind of scary to use in a young pup. With supportive care and strict rest, he should recover in a week or two. However, it's possible that he may have relapses until he is grown and his growth plates close. Unless he is one of the very rare severe cases, you shouldn't worry about him growing up to have painful limb abnormalities. They generally have a full recovery. Good luck to you and your puppy, and I wish him a speedy recovery!

 

[scorning]

I haven't dealt with it, but I've had other problems with my danes before and found the Great Dane Lady website to be helpful, especially if your vet isn't experienced with giant breed dogs.

http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/guide_to_recognizing_bone_diseases.htm



http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/feed_program_for_hod.htm

 

[angelbears]

Yes, her site helped me out a lot with my problem child. Don't feel pressured to buy from the site but do use it for the useful info.

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

We had HOD in one of our male rotties. We were lucky in that he didn't seem to have the typical pain associated with it. We switched him to an adult food to slow down growth (at that time he was on adolescent), when in the car he was in a seat belt so should we have to stop suddenly there was no impact to his legs. He did not get walked much but played in the yard at his own pace. It isn't fun but it is managable and my old guy lived to be 10.5 years, just had to get him over the first hurdle of HOD.