Our puppy has HOD

[sallyk525]

Our puppy Maggie (5 months old) has recently been diagnosed with HOD (hypertrophic osteodystrophy). Her hind legs and hocks are swollen and she won't put any weight on them. We have to carry her outside to go potty and then she has a hard time squatting. We also have to bring her food and water to her. She just lays on her pillow all day. The vet said this is a rare, bad, and very painful disease and may take weeks to get over it. The only medication Maggie is getting is for pain--Carprofen and a Fentanyl patch. We have switched her to a large breed puppy food (Eukanuba) because apparently rapid growth contributes to this disease. Maggie just looks so sad, but is still retaining her pleasant disposition.

I've looked HOD on the internet and have gotten some information--some sights are pretty grim and others seem more positive about the prognosis.

Has anyone experienced this disease with their boxers? If so, can you let me know what I can expect and if you have any suggestions as to how I can make this easier for Maggie. We have come to love her dearly in the short time she has been in our house and it is so hard for me to see her like this.

 

[Sabrina Jay]

Sorry to hear about the problems with your puppy.

Here is a link under the Pet Education site.
Go to the search area, and type in what you are looking for.
Several articles on this comes up. I really like this site, as you can find lots of different information.

http://www.peteducation.com

Please keep us posted on your puppy.

 

[sallyk525]

Thanks for the info, Sabrina. I did find info on HOD on that site.

The frustrating part is that there's not much you can do other than to treat the pain. You can't "make it better."

Maggie is doing a little better. She's still in pain and limping, but she is able to walk and go outside to go potty without us having to carry her. Maggie is our first boxer and I am so amazed at her dispostion even under these circumstances. She's a real sweetie!

 

[willies_spots]

~We have switched her to a large breed puppy food (Eukanuba) because apparently rapid growth contributes to this disease. ~


i'm so sad to hear that your little one is in so much pain. poor girl! just a thought i wanted to pass on to you. a friend of mine breeds rotts and told me that when we got cassius (our boxer) to mix puppy food with adult food to prohibit fast growth. so you might even want to do that will the new food you got just in case. cassius and i send you and your baby lots of good pain free thoughts!

 

[sallyk525]

Thanks for the suggestion about mixing the food--and for good wishes. Maggie is doing much, much better. Our vet said to restrict her exercise for another week and a half which is proving very difficult. When we take her out in the yard, the first thing she does is grab a stick and start to run. We are very hopeful that this is over, but the vet said she could have a relapse.

 

[willies_spots]

thats a good sign if she wants to run! good luck!

 

[Kigger]

my dog was just diagnosed with HOD. I was just wondering how long it took your dog to get over it? Bubba is doing much better and it has been a week, but he has been at the vet all week. HOpefully we are almost over this thing.

Kristin

 

[sallyk525]

:( So sorry to hear about Bubba. It is such a painful disease. Hopefully the worst is over. It took Maggie about 2 weeks to get over it, but the first week was the worst. She never had a relapse, which is good and she doesn't have any ill effects from the disease. Keep us posted on Bubba's condition.