OCD

[Barb Scott]

We ran into a half brother of our 5 month old puppy this weekend; he was diagnosed and had surgery for OCD at the age of 6 months. His owner insisted it was entirely genetic (I always thought it was genetic to a point, but also that it depended on activity levels, rough play, fast growth etc.) Has anyone on this board experienced OCD? Any advice?

Thanks,

Barb Scott

[Betsy]

Riley had surgery for OCD at 10 months of age. About 90% of the research I did said it was NOT genetic, but due mainly to diet and/or injury. In our case, I am attributing commerical (bad!) puppy food, plus repeated chasing the ball down the stairs, jumping from the last couple of stairs, landing on his front two legs. His OCD was in his front left shoulder.

 

Most of what I read said it was due to fast growth, nutritional deficiencies and trauma to the joint (repeated trauma, usually).

 

As far as advice, I would just say to avoid repetitive motions (like the jumping off things, or tight turns) and be sure to have the pup on a high quality kibble with chelated minerals, and having glucosamine/chrondroitin in the food wouldn't hurt either.

 

Betsy

[Denise Wall]

I wrote an article on OCD a few years ago that's probably still pretty current in case you're interested.

 

http://www.stilhope.com/ocdarticle.htm

[Barb Scott]

Thanks for the information.

Barb

[Betsy]

Great article, Denise. I have one question.

 

Riley first started showing signs of lameness around 6 months of age. The vet recommended conservative treatment of rest and anti-inflammatories. This lasted for 4 months before he had a cartilege flap removed - it was still attached and about the size of a dime.

 

My question is regarding this statement in your article:

 

"Regardless of the conservative approach used, a higher percentage of dogs go on to have permanent lameness and secondary joint changes associated with osteoarthritis when conservative treatment is used instead of a surgical approach."

 

Having done the conservative treatment for 4 months prior to the surgery, is Riley more likely to have permanent lameness and/or osteoarthritis? He seems to be relatively fine, but every now and then it appears that he is favoring that leg, but rarely any outright limping. It does appear possibly weaker than his non-affected leg as he sometimes slips when taking a tight turn on that side (or he could be slipping due to pain?)

 

He was on glucosamine/chrondroitin for about 8 months after sugery, but gradually weaned off and now only gets what is in his food (300mg and 100mg respectively).

 

Thanks,

Betsy

[Denise Wall]

Betsy,

 

Having done the conservative treatment for 4 months prior to the surgery, is Riley more likely to have permanent lameness and/or osteoarthritis?

 

I'm not a vet but I'd say on average he has an increased risk of more osteoarthritis than if he'd had the surgery right away. Having the surgery at all, even after four months, will reduce his risk of lameness over conservative treatment only.

 

The longer the time and the greater the severity of the inflammation in the joint, the greater the chances of osteoarthritis. That's just the nature of the beast.

[Barb Scott]

Thanks so much for the article Denise. It was easy to read and seemed to be very well documented. I passed it on to my pup's breeder.

Barb Scott