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About Jana Connell RVT, CVT
Expertise
PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT do birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience
I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

Organizations
Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

Education/Credentials
Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Pet Birds > Ask the Veterinarian > OCD

Ask the Veterinarian - OCD

Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 10/31/2009

Question
Recently at 8.5 months old our great dane puppy was diagnosed with OCD. She limps only on her right paw, some days she limps worse then others. We were feeding her Eagle pack for large breed dogs and we were told by our vet to switch to science diet to try to help alleviate and correct this process. However, is there anything else we can do to try to heal this without surgical intervention? I am very nervous that she will not grown out of it and she will need surgery, and I would like to try to prevent surgery, I would hate to see her go through another surgery.

Answer
Another surgery? I am confused. Has she had one already on the other shoulder?
It is pretty hard to grow out of a problem like this since it is a piece of cartilage that is the problem.

With OCD, the dog tears or breaks off a tiny piece of the cartilage and then it floats or rubs in between the humerus and the joint. These pieces of cartilage continue to grow-causing great pain and discomfort for the dog.

Science Diet Large Breed Puppy food was designed after a three year study on joint problems just like this as well as the relationship between nutrients and bone growth problems with large breed dogs. It will help the dog's joints grow correctly and at 8.5 months for a large breed that continue to grow until the age of 2 this will be very beneficial for her.

Here is an article about OCD that will help you understand it a bit better:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2084&aid=464

I hope that this helps you see how OCD affects the joints and why surgery will probably still be necessary for her to heal and why. Your vet will evaluate her after being on the Science Diet to see whether or not it has helped enough so that she might not need surgery after all. I will hope for that!

Once she reaches a year old you could put her on the Large Breed Adult or leave her on the Puppy for another 6 months. Please let me know how she does.

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