OCD

[BlackJack21]

I have a one and a half year border collie who I took home when he was about 4 months old. He was in a horse stall for most of the time from the time he was a puppy and when I got him he became much more active. I took him to work with me everyday on a horse farm and he did nothing but run. Soon after I got him he developed a limp in he shoulder which remained for months. I took him the my vet and without doing xrays the Dr. said it was more then likely an ocd. Now a year later the limp is gone but I also don't work on the farm and only work him for about an hour a day. What do you all know about ocd's?

[PennyT]

It was probably either an injury or canine panosteitis which is self-limiting, meaning it goes away.

 

Penny

[BlackJack21]

Ocd can do the same though and since he isn't working as hard as he used to could this become chronic??

[PennyT]

Then you will have to x-ray your dog.

 

Sometimes neither pano nor OCD will show there either.

 

Believe me, I know this, having spent a considerable sum every time one of my young dogs pulled up lame, then having the OCD not show up on film until enough cartilage tore.

 

If your dog is not lame, why do you care?

 

Penny

[BlackJack21]

I care about an old lameness returning! And i also know how often that happens when an animal increases physical activity like the leval he used to be at. I saw it all the time when I worked at the racetrack and I know it could happen. It could also not have been a true ocd that he outgrew. I guess there are many possibilities and I just want to learn as much as possible thats all

[karrider]

Just popping out of Lurk mode to say that with OCD it has been known for the offending piece of cartalige to break away ,when this happens the dog shows no symptoms, this is what happened to my friends BC, I think sometimes cases of OCD are either not diagnosed simply because when the dog isn't showing symptoms the owner assumes it was a muscle sprain or something similiar

Karin

[AK dog doc]

Good thinking to try to educate yourself in case it comes back. If it doesn't, you may never know what it was, but at that point (as noted in other replies) it really is academic and not important to know the cause of. But if it does recur, then info may be useful.

 

Border collies are a breed that is a bit prone to OCD. This is a condition in which the tissue underlying the joint cartilage doesn't mature properly, which leads to little tears or flaps in the cartilage, which may or may not break off. If they break off, they are referred to as "joint mice" and can grow - somtimes quite amazingly (more like "joint rats" at that point). If the joint mouse is away from the articular surface of the joint (where the two cartilage surfaces meet), no big pain. If the mouse gets in between, though, that DOES hurt, and can damage the rest of the cartilage. These dogs are generally intermittantly lame, however, so I doubt you're there. However, X rays or other imaging (CT scan, MRI) are the only way to be sure. It can be a very tough diagnosis, though, even with X rays.

 

Panosteitis ("panno") is another possible cause, which (as noted in other replies) is totally benign. Dogs outgrow it, so no worries there.

 

Another possibility is a soft tissue injury such as a strain or sprain, a muscle tear, bursitis, or joint capsule injury. If the dog has healed, these may no longer be of any concern. However, strains, sprains and bursitis can become chronic and difficult to fix if they're not allowed to heal fully before the animal goes back into work. I generally start at 2 weeks of rest and may go as long as 6 to 8 if need be, but your vet will be a better advisor since s/he can see the dog and I can't.

 

As a BTW, my border had a subtle intermittent shoulder lameness in puppyhood as well. I debated Xrays but since it has to be done under anesthesia I gave him some time first and tried not to let him jackrabbit around too much (NOT an easy job, as you well know). He totally outgrew it and is sound as a pre-recession dollar now. But I always have one eye on him in case of a recurrence....