A Guide To Recognizing Bone Diseases

This is a copy of the guide I offer my puppy buyers as part of my educational packet. I have been asked to share this with other owners and breeders as support information to be used in conjunction with veterinarian care. Feel free to copy and share with others if you find it useful.

Raising a large/giant breed that first year can be somewhat difficult. One of the major stumbling blocks are 3 common bone diseases HOD, OCD and Pano. I would like to discuss the facts and myths surrounding these diseases as I have found much misinformation out there in the Internet. This information will give you a way to determine which disease you may be dealing with and the best course of treatment. This information is not meant to take the place of seeing a veterinarian. If you suspect your puppy is not well, use this as support information for you and your veterinarian, in diagnosing the problem with your puppy.

Fact: These diseases, HOD (Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy), OCD (Osteochondritis Dissecans), Pano (Panosteitis) are not genetic in origin.

Fact: Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, by Mark Morris 1998 states these diseases HOD, OCD and Panosteitis (Pano) are Nutritional Diseases and are not listed in the index under Genetic Diseases.

Fact: Animals that are inbred/line bred are more sensitive to vaccines, medications, foods, worming and flea preparations.

Fact: Most research on bone diseases has been done in the equine field. For many answers we must go to equine research.

Fact: Euthanasia does not have to be an option. These 3 diseases are treatable and not life threatening. Proper diagnosis and treatment are necessary to correct the situation.

Fact: As a matter of interest, chickens and hogs have HOD before they are shipped to market because they are fed high calorie foods to make them grow rapidly for market.

~ A Problem of Intake in Calories versus Output of Energy - too many calories consumed and/or unbalanced diet disrupted by supplementing

~ Age Range for Disease - 10 weeks to 6 months (worst time is 3 months - 6 months)

~ Middle stages: large knotty joints, toes turning in or out, roached toplines, pinched rear end assembly

~ Advanced stages: fever (104-106), refusal to eat, jaws tender, swelling of joint areas often hot to the touch, animals cry in pain, unable to get up, flat feet, bowing of the limbs, lack of mobility, depression and/or polyarthritis in all limbs.

In diagnosis of this disease, it is very confusing because the symptoms I have listed above are also the same symptoms that your puppy can have when having a response to the following diseases.

~ Allergic Reactions to Antibiotics - Sulfonamide Drugs (Tribrissin, Ditrim, Bactrim, TMZ, TMP/SDZ, Primor), Keflex (Cefa-Tabs, Cephalexin)

These diseases "mimic" the same symptoms as HOD which is why so many puppies are misdiagnosed: (fever, achy joints (polyarthritis), swelling of the joints, animals in pain, fever, lack of mobility, depression and anorexia.

Fact: A puppy may exhibit these symptoms due to one or more of the items listed above: diet, vaccines, antibiotic response or septicemia.

True HOD is a nutritionally caused disease, so in order to determine the real source of the problem, we must go through a series of questions to determine the cause of the illness and how to correct the problem. By the time the Veterinarian sees the puppy it is usually in the advanced stages. Unless your veterinarian has dealt with many large/giant breeds, they may not be sure how to handle this problem. You can give them a copy of this guideline and it will assist them in determining the cause for your puppies symptoms (see advance stages).

When I receive phone calls from breeders/owners or veterinarians for guidance in this particular disease (HOD) we go through a series of questions.

Diet - Are you feeding a moderate protein/moderate fat diet? (21%-24% max. protein and 12%-16% fat) is considered moderate.

If you are feeding a moderate calorie diet in moderate amounts, we know that it is appropriate for the large breeds to grow slow and even.

One is not enough in calories for growing animals and the other has too many calories and is to difficult for the owner to regulate the caloric intake. Using high quality moderate foods are best.

Amount to Feed - this is a general guideline for the giant breeds being fed a moderate food. If your puppy is consuming more daily than these recommendations, they may be consuming more calories than they need daily and the results will be a case of "true" HOD.

2 months	2-4 cups per day
3 months	3-5 cups per day
4 months	4-6 cups per day
5 months	5-7 cups per day
6 months	6-8 cups per day
7 months	7-9 cups per day
8 months	8-10 cups per day
9 months	9-11 cups per day

This is a general rule, based on moderate caloric foods and for animals that may be crated during part of their daily routine or less active during extreme weather conditions, heat and cold.

Are You Supplementing? - If you are supplementing with vitamins, minerals, (calcium) and certain people foods such as rice, cottage cheese, eggs and meat, you might be throwing the balance off of your commercial food as well as adding unneeded calories.

"Many people believe more is better. Because of this misconception, people may add additional supplements like calcium which can be harmful, impare absorption of other important minerals, retard growth, and possibly predispose a dog to bloat. No supplementation of calcium is needed when feeding a high quality prepared pet food" (Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, Textbook by Mark Morris 1998)

This is not to say you should not use real "FOODS", but during these delicate growing stages, I recommend we go easy on them using only fruits, veggies and a little meat in moderation. (Copies of the Blackwatch Feeding Program for Adults and Puppies are available upon request or you can copy them directly from this website.)

Using the above guidelines, if you determine the dog is being feed a balanced diet and not too many cups per day then we must look at other factors involved.

Sulfonimide Drugs (Ditrim, TMZ, TMP/SDZ, Tribrissin, Bactrim, Primor)
Keflex (Cefa-Tabs, Cephalexin, C-Tabs)

It is not at all uncommon for reactions to happen days after the dog has been on the drug. In some animals within 24 hours you will notice something is wrong, with others it maybe up to 7-10 days on the therapy before you notice the symptoms of: polyarthritis, lethargy, swelling in joint areas, fever or loss of appetite. (all the same symptoms as in the advanced stages of "true" HOD)

If you determine the "HOD like" symptoms are due to an allergic reaction to antibiotics, stop the antibiotic, change to another if you have to and generally the animal is treated with Azium/Dexamethasone for 2-3 days, until the swelling and aches go away. Discuss the course of action with your veterinarian.

If you determine the "HOD like" symptoms are not due to diet, or antibiotics, then we must look at the cause as Post Vaccine Syndrome.

Did your puppy have an inoculation within the past 7 days? Normally this response happens within 24-48 hours but can come on as late as a week or more past the date of inoculations. The symptoms are the same as in advanced stages of "true" HOD. Polyarthritis, lethargy, swelling of the joint area, fever and loss of appetite.

We have found two things helpful in cleansing the system due to Post Vaccine Syndrome.

MSM - Nutritional Sulfur (765-287-8288) dosage is 1/4 tsp. up to 45# and 1/2 tsp. up to 90# daily - increase according to weight. THE FIRST WEEK DOUBLE THE DOSE, then use once a day.

NZYMES (877-816-6500) - An Antioxidant Enzyme from a food source that is used to cleanse toxins from the body. I find it useful to prevent vaccine response, to help heal after a vaccine reaction and a must when putting animals under anesthetic. (for details on this product, see Blackwatch Feeding Program)

If you have ruled out diet, antibiotic reactions and vaccine response we must take a look at the possibility of a systemic bacterial infection. An infection could be from taping a joint (avoid this at all costs), a puncture wound, from unsterile ear cropping conditions, other surgery, a bite or a wound that has gone undetected.

Rather than use an antibiotic that may not work properly, RUN A BLOOD PANEL/CULTURE TO CHECK FOR A SYSTEMIC INFECTION AND FOR WHAT ANTIBIOTIC WILL WORK BEST ON THE INFECTION.

A Word Of Caution: (Avoid the use of Chloramphenical, an antibiotic being touted all over the Internet as the cure all for "HOD-like" symptoms caused by Septicemia, if it is still even on the market. You have other options.) "Although Chloramphenicl is effective in treating many conditions, it should be used in a limited number of situations because it is so dangerous. It can cause irreversible depression of bone marrow which can result in death." (Worst Pills Best Pills by Wolfe MD, and Hope, PhD, 1998)

I believe there is a better course of action than using a drug that is not meant to be used on growing animals (humans). Our puppies are under enough stress from growth, ear cropping, worming, vaccines. Why would you want to compromise their immune systems any more. Discuss a better course of action with your veterinarian than using Chloramphenical for Septicemia, if that is what has been diagnosed. * Note: Of the 5200 cases of bone diseases reported to the NATIONAL BONE SURVEY 1993, only two cases of "HOD-like" symptoms were the results of veterinarian diagnosed Septicemia.

The last two diseases I will talk about are not as confusing as HOD. These are rather straight forward and easy to assess.

Lameness. Pain present at flexing the joint. Can happen in more than one joint. This is a defect in the cartilage overlaying or attaching to the bone. It does not take place properly and a small piece or flap peels up and acts as an irritant.

~ Supplement with Vitamin C (1000-1500 mg) daily. If an animal cannot tolerate regular ascorbic acid Vitamin C, then an ESTER - C will work

If this is diagnosed early enough it may be possible to repair the problems with changes in diet and the use of Adequan or products which support joint health and repair, such as JOINT RESCUE (800-926-5100). Sometimes surgery to remove the piece of cartilage is the only option. Discuss this with an Orthopedics veterinarian if surgery is a possibility. *As a note of interest, when I ran the National Bone Survey in this breed, in 1991 we had over 3,237 cases of veterinarian diagnosed bone diseases reported to the survey. Of those numbers, 517 were OCD cases. Of those cases, all were fed the same 3 commercial dog foods. Interesting isn't it! Or was that just a coincidence?

*Note: Once in a while when an animal has been injured, the trauma to that area will cause OCD in a joint. When it is nutritionally caused is it often in more than one joint. Make sure you don't excuse your feeding program problems and call the problem "injury" related. Breeders have a tendency to stick their head in the sand.

Definition of Panosteitis (Pano): Pano, is how breeders affectionately refer to this disease. It is the least invasive and least threatening of the three bone diseases discussed in this article.

Feeding a moderate diet in moderate amounts to keep growth slow and even. Excessive feeding can actually alter the length of bone and shape of muscle making an animal unsound in their development.

~ MSM - Nutritional Sulfur (765-287-8288) works on the bodies metabolism and electrical system.

The following 3 diseases are difficult to diagnose at times. It requires looking at a total history of the animal, including feeding, medications, vaccines, injuries, surgeries, etc. I hope this method of discussing these problems makes it a little easier to understand and helps you find a solution, when and if you have these problems.

Remember two heads are better than one, do not hesitate to call me and discuss the problem. Hopefully we can find the cause and treatment for the situation along with help from your veterinarian.

This paper was meant to discuss the three most common diseases that affect our puppies the first year of their fragile lives. There are other problems, some much more serious for our breed than the bone diseases. At the risk of pontificating, I am asking young/new breeders to get involved in the resource material that is available to you through the Canine Genetics Diversity Project on the Internet. See my "Links" page for a direct link to the site of the Canine Genetics Diversity Project.

If you are on the Internet, and you intend to breed, you owe it to our breed to lurk and listen to these individuals on the Genetics Lists. These are highly educated individuals, many in the field of genetics, who are also dog breeders. I know much of what they say will go over your head, it does mine at times, but I have learned a vast amount of information in the process. Our breed is in trouble, we are riddled with health problems, unthrifty animals that are sensitive to every thing they come in contact with in their lives, from food allergies to flea preparations.

Take the time to study if you are going to breed, we need healthy, more vigorous animals. This means outcrossing and opening up our gene pool. One thing you will learn is the way in which we have been taught to breed our dogs is incorrect. Zoos now realize it, those involved in saving endangered species know it, and now we must come into the next century with a new attitude and approach about producing dogs.......or we will be without the breed in another 50 years.

The email address for the Canine Genetics Diversity Project List is, jbarm@uottawa.ca Also, if you want a copy of the Blackwatch Feeding Program, List of Quality Foods or Puppy Guidelines you can print a copy from this website. (See Index Of Articles). If you have any questions or problems, please do not hesitate to contact me.