German Shepherd Puppy.

We need advice on this rare igerman shepherd puppy llness

Question.
My German Shepherd puppy Spirit developed a slight limp in her fore leg when she was five months old and was diagnosed, after having X-rays taken, as having hypertrophic osteodystrophy. I was told that several large breeds are susceptible to this condition and that not much is known about the cause or a cure.

She was put on a course of anti-inflamatory tablets which relieved the symptoms, but on completion, the limping has returned. The vet explained that some dogs grow out of it when their growth is complete and some just get worse.Can you tell me how common this condition is and if there is anything else I should know?

Answer.
Hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HO) in german shepherd puppy is a rare condition which involves irregular bone forming on the surface of the long bones of the limbs, causing pain and lameness. This is thought to occur due to changes in the blood flow to these areas as a consequence of nerve irritation caused by a disease process in either the chest or the abdomen, but the whole condition is not well understood.

It's probably worth making sure that the presence of any underlying disease has been ruled out in your dog's case, as if there is something causing the HO, it may need treatment and treating the cause should hopefully result in recovery from the HO too.

The things that can cause HO include tumours in the chest and the abdomen, so X-rays of the chest and abdomen are advisable. There is a condition of the bladder which is most commonly responsible for this condition in large breed pups so this area, in particular, should be thoroughly checked out.

Another condition which may be confused with HO and is also most common in large breed, growing german shepherd puppy dogs is panosteitis.

This also causes irregular bone to develop on the long bones, but where HO causes changes on the outside of the bones and can cause obvious changes in the contour of the limbs, panosteitis more commonly affects the inner surface of the bones. The two look subtly different on radiographs and whereas HO is concerning as it generally indicates a more serious underlying problem, panosteitis is something dogs tend to grow out of as they mature. If your vet is at all unsure of the diagnosis in your dog's case it may be worth considering having the radiographs sent to a canine orthopaedic specialist for a second opinion.

In either case, the use of anti-inflammatory pain-killing medication is advisable in order to keep Spirit comfortable, and reduced exercise is also a good idea. If HO is suspected then further radiographs may be advisable to identify any other problems; if Spirit has panosteitis then it will just be a matter of keeping her as comfortable as possible until she has grown out of this condition.

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