Does anyone know what HOD is? Watch your pups

[manna81]

My 5 month old brindel boxer boy was just diagnosed with Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD). It is a very painful thing for my lil guy. And there is no cure for it. Its causes lameness and alot of pain in a young dog. About 2 weeks ago he was very sick and completly stoped walking. We thought maybe he had a touch of the flu or something but when he wouldnt even stand to potty outside we knew something was wrong. We took him to a vet in our town...They had no clue what was going on the had a very high fever and walked like he was drunk. So they put him on meds. We came home he got better for about 3 days. Than it went all back down hill. Once more he had a fever and was in such pain that when we took him outside he would just cry and cry. He has lost alot of weight and has no musle mass in his back legs. Well made an emergency call to a vet that was a town away he took such good care of my lil.guy Dozer.... anyway we took a blood test right away and started him on an IV. The next morning the vet called he said Dozers fever went down and the next step was Xrays. Well the vet called back maybe an hour late and said its HOD very rare. He hasnt see HOD since
he was in school. So back to all of you with puppies just make sure you watch them. I have been looking this stuff up and researching so much. Its mostly in large breeds. Signs start around 3mon. to 5mon. of age. So I just wanted to give some people a heads up because I had no idea what HOD was and so dogs can die from it. If you have any questions go to your search and read about it. Or you can write me back. If you know about HOD and had any advise let me know. Thanks, manna81

 

[gmacleod]

I'm sorry to hear about Dozer. HOD is indeed a very nasty disease. There have been a few (fortunately not many) members here whose pups have suffered from that, so by doing a forum search you'll find others' posts about their experiences. I'm afraid to say that not all of them have happy endings though :(

Possibly this link could help you out a bit: http://www.cah.com/library/hod.html

 

[courtney323]

manna81 -

Please post your Introduction. A copy of the Rules can be found HERE

 

[manna81]

thanks

Thank you for the replys im new at this so I dont know alot about this. Dozer is feeling a bit better today. He wants to play but he cant. I feel so bad.

 

[courtney323]

manna81 -

One more time: Please post your Introduction, before you get banned for breaking the rules repeatedly

 

[manna81]

ok I think I know what im doing now

Im sorry ... I had no idea what you was talking about I have read the rules but I still dont understand much. I'm very new at this whole computer thing.
I posted my introduction. And I hope I did that right. Thank you for the help.
Dozer is still doing better he seems like the isn't hurting him as much. Have you ever heard of the P/D diet? Our vet put him on it to slow the growth of his bones. He seems to like the caned food. No fever today so thats great!

 

[loveRboxers]

Axl had it, he's fine now!!!

I am so sorry to hear what you're going though. My Axl is two years old now and he had two episodes of HOD. THis is a very rare "growth disorder" caused by too much protein and vitamins in a pup. It causes the long bones to separate from the growth plates and allows fluid and swelling aroung the joints. this is extreamly painful for the dog and parent. It is really only seen in Great Dane's. My vet said that it is so rare it is hardly even studied in school. There is a cure though!! Take your pup off of puppy food and DO NOT give any supplements, put him straight on adult food. THe first time Axl had it was right after we got him and he had a cold with it. We and the vet thought that he was so young that the infection had gone to his joints, then when he didn't get better they thought he had distemper, especially because every time he would stand all of his legs went straight out and he feel on his face. After spending a small fortune I decided to bring Axl hope to wait on test results and really to let him die at home, but when I went to pick him up he was walking! We never figured it out that time, then about 4months later it happened again, this time x-rays were run and HOD was discovered. We quickly took him off puppy food and with the help of pain meds and IV he was soon better. That has been 1year and 8mos ago and Axl is VERY HEALTHY, no more problems. Tell your vey to research this more in depth. Good luck. let us know, we're thinking about you.

 

[manna81]

Thanks

Well we go back to the vet on monday to refill his meds. The vet wants to keep him on this P/D diet all fiber no protien. Im glad your pup came out of it.

 

[loveRboxers]

When my DH came home I was telling him about your situation because I was surprised to hear of someone else going thru what we had to. Anyways, he too wanted to be as helpful as possible and he reminded me that Axl was also put on Z-pack (children's strength). I really hope your pup pulls through because I know the sleepless nights he's having and the pain he's in. Maybe you can share some of this info with your vet because like he/she said and my vet said, it is very rare and I want to make sure your fur baby gets all the help he can. Again, good luck and we're thinking of you guys

 

[manna81]

Thank you for yor thoughts

My boyfriend and I started him slowly on adult food today. The vet gave us caned food P/D diet to slow down the growth in his bones. His MEDS are rimadyl & amoxicillin. He seems to be improving day by day. He wanted to play so badly today. It is so hard to not let him his suposta be a puppy and have fun. But its best for him. I have done so much research one hod. I think I have looked at every site there is. I just wish it would go away. I hate seeing him in pain. The doc. said that he would have his good days and his bad....But since we brought him home last monday from the vet he hasn't had a fever. And he has been walking so much better but thats limited.We carry him up and down the stairs all the time. We don't let him do that just so his joints wont hurt him. Thank you for you coments its a big help knowing that we aren't the only ones that went through this.