Hock Ocd

[KJ]

Just wondering if there is anyone on the forum who has a dog with ocd of the hock?

My pup had surgery at 6 months but now, at 16 months, is very lame again She is seeing her specialist on Wed.

I know the prognosis is not as good as for ocd of the shoulder or elbows but hopefully some DOLers have some successful outcome/treatment stories.

[menacebear]

My BRD Clifford has OCD in both hocks. He had surgery at 6 months old when he went totally lame on his right hind leg and partly lame on his left. He had both hocks operated on and then had to be crated for 6 weeks. Not fun with a 6 month old puppy as i bet you know :D After that we did physio with his legs to improve the mobility in his hocks and I took him to Dogs in Motion swimming pool to strengthen his hind legs and we started giving him short on leash walks. He also had a course of carthrophen every week for 4 weeks and then every 3 months for around a year. Because of the severity of his OCD the vet said that he would be lucky to still have much mobility at around 4 years old because of the degree of arthritic change that may occur by then.

He will be 4 in january and is an absolute tank He runs and runs and is a crazy bugger. He keeps up with all the other dogs no issue except he occasionally hops on his leg now and then. Normally he mostly hops if he is walking on lead so I don't tend to walk him on leash very often. The hard foot paths arent the best thing for dogs with OCD in their hocks because they have no real fluid between their joints so it is basically bone banging on bone. I prefer to let him run off leash so that he can regulate how much he wants to move around rather than forcing him to walk for too long on leash. We used to walk the dogs around a 4km circuit at an offleash park and afterwards he would be fine however if he was walked 4km on concrete he wouldnt be able to walk the next day.

I don't do anything to manage his OCD except to give him a pain pill if he needs one. He's probably had about 5 all year if that. He is due for some more cartrophen so I will get that done soon. The vet advises glucosamine powder and fish oil tablets but I do admit I have been slack on that lately. He is fed a raw diet and the most important thing that helps him along IMO is that I keep him lean. As is very very lean, greyhound lean. Much less stress on his joints that way.

I used Chris Boneo at keysborough vet clinic for his surgery and I think he is an exceptional vet. I have attached a couple of pics of Cliffy so that you can see what I mean about keeping him lean and also just how straight his back legs are :D He is slightly leaner in these pics then he is now but you'll get the idea.

Hope that helps :D

[KJ]

Thanks for the reply, it is good to hear of a positive outcome ;)

Clifford looks really happy. I see what you mean about his straight back legs! I already keep my girl lean and I know it is a great help.

What does BRD mean??

Edited September 7, 2009 by KJ

[menacebear]

BRD means big red dog cos as you can see Cliffy is no particulr breed at all. He is very very happy and it is pretty rare that his legs slow him up at all. I hope the same for you pup. Keeps us updated how you go after the specialist.

Good luck and fingers crossed for you