Osteo Chondritis Dissecans-OCD- ? - Page 1

I have done a lot of research over the weekend on OCD...read some horror stories and read some good suggestions, however there is lack of personal experience posted and I just need a reality check on actual events...

reason for research:
Bailey my 9-10 month old may possibly have OCD, this is still to be confirmed by x-rays which are scheduled to be done in 2 weeks, she is on pain meds right now for 10 days and her exercise is restricted...pain meds seem to help..

background:
she started limping on her right hind leg (its not full blown off the ground foot limp, its almost invisible 80% of times...its noticeable when she has to shift weight from one foot to the other, she tends to hop them together to a side..so its not obvious limp...she also no longer trots its more of a fast run with both sets of feet together) this started about a month ago (at least thats when i noticed it) but very on/off seems like some days she was 100%. She was not rushed to the vet because she lost/hit her toe nail and I believed that was the reason for limp and the reason i noted the limp, toe nail fell off within a week-two, now i can feel a new nail growing but she is still limping...I also felt a small bump between her toes(did warm compress) about 3 weeks ago which by last week also became very small and it did not seem like a reason for a limp...
So with 2 things/reasons out of the way I took her to the vet last week...vet noted some muscle loss when comparing to both hind legs, she suggested i try pain meds for 10 days, if limp persist than we follow with x-rays...i was also told if you can still see her limping with pain meds its a bone issue (most likely OCD) could be HD but since its not bi-lateral OCD is likely the reason, to a vet it also seemed like she is having more issue in knee area versus hip or toes (I could not tell either way), and if no limp on pain meds its muscle issue....

well, Bailey been on pain meds (last 3 days) she has improved but there is still a slight limp she seems to move both hind feet at the same time and avoids placing her full weight on the one thats been bothering her (unless she is used to moving this way??) , she is not grunting nor acting like she is in pain, wants to run and play...well, even when she limped she always wanted to run and play...

so, once x-rays are done, and lets say she is confirmed w/ OCD...what are my options?...can it be managed w/o surgery?...can a dog still be active/sports? ...will she limp for the rest of her life if surgery is not done?....what would be a life span and quality of life?...

For those who may be wondering about pedigree/breeder...she was dumped her in my yard and for a free dog she is costing a lot more than my 2 others put together....but she is still my dog and my responsibility, she has been spayed and other than resent issues is a great dog...

Your vet is shooting from the hip;  you need the x-rays, you can guess forever and not hit the nail on the head or get to the end of the problem. 

My friends male started limping at 2;  of course went to vet had a bump between his toes;  turned out to be hemangioma was dead before his 3 birthday.  (I don't think the spelling is correct) but you understand what I am saying.  So you need the x-rays.  It is possible that crate rest will  help; but possibly will come right back with exercise, if she is 9 months old, might just be something like pano.??  Best of luck  Nan

Thanks, you have a point...will post x-rays as soon as I get them...

 OCD can have dietary causes...how long have you had her? Could also be pano. Could be a zillion other things, too, even as simple as an injury like an ACL that caused enough pain for muscle wasting to occur. Maybe it was partially torn and she completed the tear recently...you won't know a thing w/out xrays. 

Jenny..I had her 7.5 month...she is on Kirkland puppy food and she does have raw chicken/turkey or beef 3 days a week for dinner.
Broad spectrum Blood work came back perfect, she is negative for pano, negative for parasites, etc....

 Huh? How is she "negative" for pano? You had her xrayed? It doesn't always show.

Jenny..sorry...not pano....xrays will be done end of next week...I dont know what I was thinking when I typed that...its been one hell of a week between dogs and work and family..

sorry pano has not been ruled out...

I agree totally with Jenni, Pano is very hard to see on xrays and often times a vet will misdiagnose it. However its not that uncommon in the larger breeds becuase they grow so fast and will develope pain or limps until they mature. I had to deal with this very problem with a Bouvier Puppy one time. Took him until he was almost a year before the symptoms finally subsided. At two he xrayed good on his elbows and excellent on his hips. I had him on the Kirkland as we used it for all of our dogs. We took him off of it and put him on Eukanuba for large breed dogs, with frozen fresh mixed vegatibles and no dairy products such as cottage cheese. That was a huge help. Then we added Cosoquin to his diet and the limp went away. Its really trial and error but you have to make changes until you find the one that will work for your dog.

 Gotcha, LadyFrost. ;-) You had me a bit confused on that one....I'm wondering if there's some new pano test they came up with and I missed a memo! LOL

I also agree it could be just about anything and xrays should give a better picture.

I had a gsd with OCD , my agility comp dog, she began showing intermittent limping on a rear leg when she was around 5 years old, first they thought it was a slight cruciate tear, it would come and go, I 'knew' it was something that wasn't going away with just "rest", and insisted on xrays.

Had an ortho specialist go over her and they weren't seeing anything on xrays and again, kept saying cruciate,,I finally insisted they open her up,  it was OCD not showing up on xrays (I have always had weird medical stuff with some of my dogs!)...They cleaned out the joint, this was when she was 7 years old...she made a wonderful recovery but at around 10 , the arthritis started really settling in.

So my suggestion,,if it isn't pano, have an ortho specialist look at those xrays as well (not that it did me any good) 

Good luck
diane