Osteocondrosis

[Sandalwood]

Has anyone heard of this? Do you know how to fix it without surgery?

Jerry Bear starting liimping on his front legs, alternating favoring one, then the other.

When we took him to the vet, she said he has "osteocondrosis." It is found in large breed males, predominantly, and is characterized by limping, since it affects the cartilage in their shoulders.

HELP!

[Ehler, Julie]

I have never heard of that before but it does interest me. Go back to the bulletin board and read the section on stiffness in rear legs. We a have been talking about the same kind of thing.

[karen israel]

I agree with Julie. Although they can develop tendonitis also. My pup grew up big and fast, also limped occasionally but grew out of it when his legs caught up with his body Whatever that meant, it wasn't serious.
You don't say what size your dog is but the bigger they are the more weight-bearing they have to do on their poor legs. I mentioned early an Xray did not show soft tissue (ligament) injury. Remember that altho they may not yelp it is a very painful condition and can cause further damage if left untreated. Your vet should recommend a surgeon who is experienced at this type of surgery -there's no other way-sorry-also a catscan or MIR...expensive, yes, but i would have remortgaged my house if I had to

[Fransetter]

Yes I have heard of OCD, and one of my dogs suffers with it. The way we are treating it without surgical intervention is as follows:

New Zealand Green Lipid Mussell. My dog weights 28kgs and therefore has a 500mg a day dosage. This stuff is real expensive, but by god it has helped her big time. Also Chondroitin otherwise known as (Glucosamine) helps. Chondroitin has been proven to build up the synovial fluid around the joint which dogs with OCD lack.

I recently took Lotte off all treatments because she appeared to be going really well, but after a while she starting limping again and crying in pain, so rested her up for a couple of days, gave her a shot of anti-inflammatories (Meloxicam), and then put her back on the New Zealand Green Lipid Mussell and the Glucosamine. Within a few days she was her usual happy self, so I stopped the Meloxicam and just left her on the other bits.

Do give these things a try, because the results have been very good, and more and more veterinarians are starting to use these combinations of treatments.

Fransetter


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[Sandalwood]

Where can I find more information about the New Zealand Green Lipid Mussel?

I have Jerry Bear on Glucosamine/Chondroitin and MSM, and he seems to have quit limping.

The vet thinks he won't need the surgery as long as he doesn't start again.

How long did you have her on the treatments before you took her off and she began limping again?

[Sandalwood]

bump

[samowen]

OCD- my long haired German Shepherd has it and and an operation for it , it helped but he still has arthritis in it now and he is not yet 2 years old and he also has arthritis in both back legs. Cosequin can help it has to come from the vet. Expensive but can help prevent the arthritis getting worse. Also swimming can help build muscles up.:-)

[samowen]

You cant ever fix it without surgery but you can make life easier.

Originally posted by Sandalwood:
Has anyone heard of this? Do you know how to fix it without surgery?

Jerry Bear starting liimping on his front legs, alternating favoring one, then the other.

When we took him to the vet, she said he has "osteocondrosis." It is found in large breed males, predominantly, and is characterized by limping, since it affects the cartilage in their shoulders.

HELP!

[carrie]

I know this is an old post but I've only just seen it. Guide Dogs here in the UK funded a veterinary study by The Animal Health Trust into OCD and it's treatment. If anyone is still interested,let me know and I'll pass on what info I have.

[Sandalwood]

Carrie,

I would love the info...could you e-mail me at [email protected]

Sandalwood

[carrie]

No problem, I will send it later on tonight (today for you guys) when the kids are asleep and the animals are fed!