Ocd Lesion In Dogs.

[saradale]

The owner of a dog I breed has been having some problems with this joints. At first their local vet diagnosed him with hip displasia, but they have since taken him to an orthopaedic surgon and he has suggested that he has OCD Lesion in his right hock. They were also told that this is a genetic condition. I have been doing some reading up on this and can't seem to find any info that says it is genetic. The dog is 25mths old now, border collie. He was first diagnosed in early February.

I questioned the first diagnosis of hip displasia, as I have had both parents hip xrayed and scored. Mums is 3:3 and dad is 0:0. How common his it for a dog to develop hip displasia when bred from parents with such good scores?

Thanks for any answeres in advance.

[persephone]

maybe some info in HERE?

[Staranais]

OCD in any joint is believed to be multifactorial. Lots of different genes affecting cartilage growth, combined with trauma (repetitive exercise or one off trauma), diet (too much energy or too much protein), & probably other environmental factors affecting cartilage growth and blood supply we don't know much about yet.

Think of it this way. A dog that has a genetic predisposition to OCD (slightly softer cartilage, for example) probably won't develop OCD if it has a perfect diet and no trauma during its upbringing. But a dog with perfect joints probably wouldn't develop OCD even if you fed it a slightly unbalanced diet, or it suffers some trauma, either. It takes the genetic predisposition, plus something at least slightly wrong with the environment, to cause the lesions.

HD is multifactorial, again, a product of many different genes, with maybe some help from incorrect diet, inappropriate exercise. And unfortunately x-rays only expose the phenotype not the genotype - you can see the cake, but not the recipe. So it's perfectly possible for parents with good hip scores to throw HD puppies. The parents could have had good x-rays but average genetics (for example, a careful upbringing meaning that any predisposition to HD wasn't exposed, giving "good" x-rays). Or the pup could have by chance received all of the bad hip genes that either parent had - sexual reproduction is luck of the draw! Or a linebreeding could have exposed deleterious recessive genes by making them homozygous (that is, after all, the point of linebreeding - it exposes and fixes traits, both good and bad).

As an example, according to the OFA statistics on elbow dysplasia (another multifactorial joint disease), mating two radiographically "dysplastic" dogs gives an approximately 40% chance of dysplastic puppies. But mating two radiographically "normal" dogs still results in 12% of puppies affected with ED! Taking hip and elbow scores from siblings and ancestors of the sire and dam gives more information & should reduce the risk puppies suffer joint problems, but there's only so much even a good breeder can do.

Hope that makes some sense.

Edited May 3, 2010 by Staranais

[Staranais]

Just did a quick literature search, and can't find any concrete numbers for you regarding what proportion of hock OCD is supposed to be caused by hereditary as opposed to environmental factors. It's been far less studied than HD, or even ED, has been. But all the papers I've found agree it has a genetic component, as well as being influenced by trauma and diet. They're just not sure which genes are involved yet, or how it all works.

(Spot who is procrastinating instead of studying for the small animal medicine test! Tee hee.)

[KJ]

I have a Lab with OCD of the hock and believe (and the specialist has indicated)there is a genetic component.

How is the dogs ocd being treated?

[sas]

Hip/Elbow Scoring is just the start, you have all the dogs behind those dogs too.

If you want factual information, rather than googling that can give you any answer you want, you may want to have a call with the specialist this person is seeing with the dog.

[sandgrubber]

Bottom line: it's complicated; genetics is a craps shoot; and many vets tred beyond their realm of competence.

I don't know what an 'OCD Lesion' means and can't form an opinion.

The guts of the matter is the genetics is complex and environment has a hand to play; and bad Xrays or positioning can result in misdiagnosis..

Good luck sorting out the many variables.

The owner of a dog I breed has been having some problems with this joints. At first their local vet diagnosed him with hip displasia, but they have since taken him to an orthopaedic surgon and he has suggested that he has OCD Lesion in his right hock. They were also told that this is a genetic condition. I have been doing some reading up on this and can't seem to find any info that says it is genetic. The dog is 25mths old now, border collie. He was first diagnosed in early February.

I questioned the first diagnosis of hip displasia, as I have had both parents hip xrayed and scored. Mums is 3:3 and dad is 0:0. How common his it for a dog to develop hip displasia when bred from parents with such good scores?

Thanks for any answeres in advance.

Edited May 4, 2010 by sandgrubber

[blacklabrador]

Yes OCD has a genetic component and No, hip and elbow scores guarantee nothing.

[blacklabrador]

"Is it inherited?

OCD is a considered to be a common disease in large and rapidly growing breeds of dogs, with most affected breeds averaging over 60 lbs. However, some medium breeds, such as the Brittany spaniel, bull terrier, greyhound and border collie, also have a high incidence of this disease. Although the factors that cause OCD are not completely resolved, direct factors considered to be involved in the development of OCD are rapid growth and trauma to the joint. Indirect factors affecting rapid growth include nutrition, hormones, and genetic predisposition to rapid growth and large size. Indirect influences that may lead to increased trauma to the joint include conformation and behavior, which are also influenced by heredity. Therefore, the genetic link for most types of OCD is considered to be indirect, that is, an inherited tendency. Certain sites for OCD lesions, such as the elbow, appear to have a greater direct genetic contribution and a higher heritability than other sites, such as the shoulder."What causes the formation of OCD?

"The cause of OCD is considered to be multifactorial. It is thought that there are several factors that contribute to the formation of OCD lesions including trauma to the joint, genetics, rapid growth, hormone imbalances, and nutrition."

[dancinbcs]

OCD (shoulder, elbow or hock) is known to occur in Border Collies and is concidered to have a partial genetic component. It is not common, nor is it very rare. It is usually diagnosed between 4 and 8 months and is more common in large fast growing puppies. Environment plays a big part and puppies that have access to areas where they can jump, such as a terraced yard, seem to be more at risk. All the cases I know of could also be traced to a specific injury that our very active breed are always prone to. Diet also plays a big part in both OCD and HD.

It is possible to get a dog with HD from parents with good hips. Breeding only from good hips increases the chances that the puppies will have good hips, but does not guarantee it.

The exact genetics involved in HD and OCD are not known but most breeders would not breed from an affected dog. A mating that produced either HD or OCD should not be repeated. Opinion is divided about wether the parents should be bred to different lines or not bred at all. With no proof of an exact genetic cause, it is up to each individual breeder to make that decision. If you decide to breed the parents again and they produce the problem to a different partner, then they should be removed from breeding.

[saradale]

Thanks very much for the info everyone. I have taken some useful stuff out of there.

As for treatment, I understand that their vet is wanting to leave him for the time being, but do surgery if and when his condition worsens. For now he is restricted to onlead exercise only with short jogs and walks. They have started taking him swimming to burn off some energy.