In response to the recent COVID-19 epidemic, we are taking recommended precautions. We are providing curb-side service. Communication with clients and doctors will be largely conducted via phone, Zoom meeting, FaceTime or another platform. Pets needing surgery or other treatments/diagnostics will be transferred from you to our staff, typically in the parking lot, in an effort to minimize human contact. Please be patient with the process in order to keep everyone safe.
Symptoms of Growth Plate Injuries in Dogs
Symptoms may include but are not limited to:
Types
There are growth plates associated with the long bones of your dog. They are susceptible to injuries which can be acute or chronic, as well as mild to severe. Acute injury happens all of a sudden, typically from some sort of trauma. Chronic injury is the result of damage to the area over a longer period of time. In this situation, it is possible your dog had an abnormality since birth that is just now showing signs of clinical symptoms or it may be that you have been training him for agility and his bones are exhausted to the point of injury. For a mild injury, it may be simply a bruise while a more severe injury would be a break. The source of injury may be trauma, such as being hit by a car, or may be accidental such as your rambunctious puppy jumping off a high bed.
The early months of a puppy’s life are important for its later development. A healthy diet and regular exercise are essential to development. If you are getting a puppy for the first time discuss your concerns with your vet and they will be able to give you advice on all aspects of your puppy’s care.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Special scoring schemes for hip and elbow dysplasia have been developed – these allow the early detection of the condition so that the individual can be treated and to prevent the affected animal from being used for breeding and passing the condition on to its puppies.
Puppies with weak bones caused by poor diet have painful legs and are often lame and miserable. Sometimes their bones are so weak that they fracture easily. The condition can be easily managed by changing to a healthy balanced diet and keeping the puppy rested for several weeks to prevent further damage to the bones before they get stronger. Unfortunately if the disease is not recognised early significant damage may be done to the bones and this may limit the animal’s ability to develop normally even when the diet is corrected.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”What is panosteitis?” tab_id=”1555312917744-a2ffcc9e-240f”][vc_column_text]Panosteitis is a painful condition of bones which most often affects German shepherd dogs but can affect any growing dog. Typically a puppy will be lame on one leg for a week or so and then gets better only to develop problems with another leg a short time later. The condition can be diagnosed on an x-ray and most cases get better on their own with medication to relieve pain. Puppies grow out of the condition and by 1 year of age it would be unlikely to cause problems.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”What other diseases affect growing puppies?” tab_id=”1555312949653-57bc41e9-0923″][vc_column_text]Some puppies are born with genetic conditions passed from their parents. These conditions are often more common in some breeds than others. There are few genetic diseases that just affect the bone but several affect the development of the joints. The best known inherited joint disease is hip dysplasia.
[vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Puppies continue to grow and develop for months or years after birth. Giant breeds may not reach full adult size for 18 months or 2 years. During this growth period they are at particular risk from bone and joint disorders. Some of these are inherited such as hip and elbow dysplasia. Damage can also result from traumatic injury.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_ =”7762″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_tta_accordion active_section=”” collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Why is bone injury in pups serious?” tab_id=”1555312796836-9d6796bf-e40a”][vc_column_text]Puppies and young dogs have enormous healing potential and bone fractures, once treated, can heal rapidly and completely. When a puppy is born the ends of each bone are soft and it is from these soft parts that the bone continues to extend as the puppy grows. These areas are called the growth plates. Because the growth plates are softer they are a weak point of the bone in the growing animal. Once a dog reaches adult size the growth plates close and become bony. Any damage to the growth plates of bones prevents the bone from growing normally. If this happens to the bones in the leg this can have severe consequences and limb shortening or deformity can result.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”What damages growth plates?” tab_id=”1555312796855-eb83c108-7a07″][vc_column_text]Sometimes, surprisingly mild trauma, eg a knock or bang to the leg that does not break the skin can cause injury to the growth plates. For this reason, traumatic injury to the bones or joints of puppies and young dogs should always be reported to the veterinary surgeon. It may be necessary to monitor the injury over weeks and months to ensure that limb deformity is not occurring. If growth plate damage is suspected treatment must be started early to limit the adverse effects of interruptions in bone growth. The area most at risk is towards the lower end of the front limbs, around the carpus (or wrist) joint, above the paw. This is an important growth plate responsible for increasing the length of the forelimb is present just underneath the skin where it is very vulnerable to injury.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Can diet affect bone growth?” tab_id=”1555312873914-6cf708c3-e6f6″][vc_column_text]A balanced diet is very important for the development of healthy bones. Dogs fed a diet which does not contain enough calcium do not develop strong bones. Puppies fed an all meat diet may develop bone disease (also known as ‘Butcher’s dog disease’ and sometimes incorrectly called ‘rickets’). However, it is important to stress that a balanced diet is the key to a healthy puppy and feeding excess calcium supplements can be as dangerous as not giving enough.
What You Don’t Know About Growth Plates Could Hurt Your Puppy
Casper, a beautiful 4 month old golden Labrador cross recently visited Vetwest Clarkson when his owner noticed he had suddenly started holding up one back leg and was completely refusing to walk on it. Dr Ben Trotter examined Casper and could tell he was a brave little boy who had a problem with his stifle joint (knee joint). The stifle was swollen and very painful so Dr Ben recommended Casper be admitted straight into hospital for treatment and to investigate what was causing his discomfort.
The radiographs soon revealed that Casper had a tibial crest avulsion. This is an injury that only occurs in young, growing animals, often associated with being over exuberant when running, jumping and playing. The quadriceps muscles end up being stronger than the still developing bone and can pull away or ‘avulse part of the bone below the knee.
A tibial crest avulsion (often referred to as a fracture) benefits from early surgical intervention. By realigning the fragment of avulsed bone and anchoring it back in place with surgical implants, it allows the bone to heal and gives the best chance of a successful outcome. Caspers owner was very keen to fix the problem and was happy for Casper to go straight to surgery the same day. Luckily for Casper, his owners had taken out pet insurance which provided them with extra peace of mind.
Caspers orthopaedic surgery involved having metal bone pins and a wire tension band inserted into his knee. The pins and wire provided the anchor and anchor points to realign his knee as shown in the radiographs below.
As expected, Casper recovered well after his surgery and was allowed to go home the following day. His appreciative owners soon realised Casper was already using his leg better than before the surgery. Ten days later, Caspers incision had healed and his stitches were removed. Four weeks after surgery we are happy to report Casper is back to his mischievous puppy self and using his leg normally.
As mentioned above, a tibal creat avulsion is an injury that only occurs in young, growing animals. It is not uncommon, and luckily for Caspers owners both the surgery was very successful and the surgery costs were subsidised by their pet health insurance cover.