Using Rimadyl as a daily pain medication for OCD?
Little concerned with this, other options.

I have always been under the impression that Rimadyl is used VERY temporally (if that), and "long" term use is for terminal cases only

http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/nsaid/lawsuitsettled.html

I would not in a young dog. I would start Adequan once a week for a month, and then once a month for life. Do not do hock surgery! Can't hurt to supplement with a joint supplement too. Does he seem to be in a lot of pain?

Doesn't whine or seem to be in pain but so hard to tell with a puppy. If I walk him over about 15 minutes he will start limping or if he plays with his mama to hard, it will flair up. Very nervous about daily Rimadyl.

I agree with this. No SURGERY! Don't let a blade touch that baby's hocks! and no long term rimadyl for a young dog. Too many adverse side effects.

My first question would be about his activity. Have you rested him? Most times that will help more than any drug. I had a pup with OCD and she never limped if she hadn't been running around with other dogs. Right after she was diagnosed I removed her from the other dogs, crate rested her, and leash walked her for potty breaks until the limping stopped. Then I continued that plan for another 2 weeks after the last sign of limping before allowing her off the leash and out of the crate. I still monitored her with the other dogs though and never left her alone with the pack.

Prevention is the key. If she didn't play too rough, she wouldn't hurt herself more. It's tough to crate rest a puppy and play in the floor with her, but I did it until her growth spurts were done. Now she is 5 and rarely limps at all, only after a lot of physical activity. One day of crate rest and she's fine.

Start giving him Glucosamine with MSM (must have MSM or the dog can't absorb the glucosamine) and fish oil. I never gave these to my girl, but I've heard good things about cosequin and dausequin (sp?). You may want to ask around about those.

Feed him a diet that encourages slow growth, and watch for the calcium/phos percents. The ideal ratio is 1:1 or 1.5:1, and the ideal % is around 1% calcium.

Good luck with your baby. OCD is so disappointing, but it's not the end of the world for a young dog. They can still live long, healthy, and comfortable lives.

Just please don't do surgery. That could make this worse for him later.

We were posting at the same time, so you just answered my question.

Immediately stop walking him more than 15 minutes and don't let him play with any other dog.

REST him until he quits limping for at least two weeks. That will work miracles. Everyone is always looking for the next miracle drug. In this case, rest is what he needs most. Crate him, leash walk him to potty, and stop walking him around the neighborhood.

You are just making his condition worse by not allowing him to rest and heal.

To Breeder Too
I would love to hear why surg may cause problems later.
I had bred a pup who after sustaining an injury started limping-the family told me what happened and I suggested all the rest that you mentioned-none was done . Pup was 7 mos at this time.
Long story short they took him to an ortho vet who said he was born with this and had to have surg to repair it.
They did the surg-pup is post op 7 mos and doing fine.
I was told by others at the time to advise them against surg but the specialist said that was the only way to repair the OCD in the hock.

I would like to know what veterinary hospital "Breeder Too" graduated from?
Your information is faulty and one should be diagnosing, prognosing or giving specific instructions pro or con-surgery over the internet. No licensed veterinarian would even post specific recommendations for this person without examining your dog.
Original poster, if you are concerned about using Rimadyl, discuss with your vet. Rimadyl or the generic carprofen has been around for 20 years and millions of dogs have been on it. There is a vast amount of information on this drug. Just like aspirin, it can cause problems in certain individuals but 99.9% of dogs benefit from this drug with no problems.
If you have questions regarding surgery, again, your vet is the best person to talk to or seek a second opinion in your dog's specific case.
None of us have seen the xrays to see the severity of the OCD lesions. Nor is a lay person able to interpret OCD of the hock, much less make recommendations over the internet.

The resting suggestions sound excellent. Same as they do for pano. You could use an xpen, not necessarily a crate that might be too cramped. A thick comforter or quilt wrapped around a bed or cushion.

There is also dermamax. metacam and other dog nsaids if needed. If you use any, I would go with an as needed basis. Not daily unless the dog is completely lame daily. When using them, constant blood work is extremely important.

Adequin is the medication I've heard the best about but I haven't had the need to use it. I used Deramax several years ago for a 10 to 13 year old with arthritis from CHD diagnosed well under 1 year. The right hip was very bad. She did remarkably well, later on she was just okay, at 9 she needed medication. Initially, she received 1/2 tablet every other day for over 2 years. It was increased with time. Adequin was not known about by my vet at the time.

Remember, constant blood work should be done if the dog is treated with any nsaid medications. Never use human nsaids without a vet prescribing them. Even then get a second opinion. Especialy tylenol or ibuprofen should never be used.

As for surgery. I won't comment as I'm unfamiliar with it for orthopedics and never experienced OCD of the hock in any of my litters.

That's up to the GP, surgeon, owner and breeder but that's ~jmhumbleo~. It should depend on who is, treating the dog, paying for the surgery and caring for the dog post operatively

Actually, I am an 18 year vet tech who is amazed at how often vets recommend unnecessary surgery, especially for OCD of the hock.

Studies show that puppies who have had surgery on their hocks show no significant improvement percentage-wise (limping & arthritic changes later in life) vs those who chose not to have the surgery.

My own vet, (the vet I work for) has 3 times suggested surgery to me that was unnecessary. Once for OCD, once for an injury, and once for inverted vulva. All 3 times I opted out and my dogs are totally fine. The pup with OCD is living a great life, the injury healed well without surgery, and the inverted vulva fixed with one heat.

Surgery is NOT always the best choice for the puppy. It may be the quickest (great for the owner), and the most expensive (great for the vet), but it's not always the best way to go.

My goodness, if you think vets are always right when they suggest surgery how do you rationalize all of the 6 month old puppies who are being spayed and neutered despite clear medical evidence that it is better for the dog to wait?

This dog was just diagnosed. My money is on the fact that he has been rough housing with adults for several months and he hasn't even been given the opportunity to rest.

She said in her own words "If I walk him over about 15 minutes he will start limping or if he plays with his mama to hard, it will flair up. Very nervous about daily Rimadyl."

He obviously hasn't been rested at all if he is playing with adults and going for long walks.

What is the problem with being conservative in treatment until the problem ACTUALLY warrants surgery? As an intelligent person who has dealt with OCD in the office and at home, my strong advice is not to listen to the vets who always jump to surgery first until the pup has been rested.

In my hasty typing, I didn't get my point across well. I said in my earlier post I wrote this,

EXACT QUOTE: "Just please don't do surgery. That could make this worse for him later."

I didn't mean that years from now it would be worse for him, I meant right after surgery. Pain management, healing, and rest. It would be easier to try to rest him now, without the additional pain, stitches, bandages, etc.

Glad your pup is doing well.

I believe wholeheartedly that this type of surgery is rarely ever warranted, and way too many pups are going under the knife without proper cause.

One thing that people don't realize is most of the time pups who don't have surgery for OCD who are rested the way you'd rest a pup after surgery also heal to the same degree. So when they do surgery and their dog quits limping or gets significantly better, they think the surgery worked.

Guess what? Usually you can rest them like you would post op and they will quit limping or get significantly better too.

Just my own personal experience here. Take it with a grain of salt if you want, but I would never let one of my dogs go through this type of surgery without properly resting him first.

I work with vets and I know they are only human, and constantly learning/making mistakes. Your dog is one of many patients to them. Your dog is much more to you. Do what you feel right with and don't EVER let a vet push you into something you aren't comfortable with.

As breeders we all have horror stories of vets who have mis-diagnosed our dogs, or have given our puppy buyers the worst advice possible.

Always question the diagnosis, treatment, and do what your heart tells you is right.

I just re-read this entire thread and noticed that the original poster never even mentioned surgery, just questioned rimadyl.

It looks like another random breeder mentioned surgery and we all ran with it.

Sorry OP if we hijacked your thread.