I am going to record BaiLee's diagnosis, treatment and prognosis for all to learn - from Jim and Eileen Chesworth
BaiLee was a normal puppy until he turned 4 months old. He was his usual self the night before. He liked to romp and was enthusiastic about learning. He was attending doggie school where he learned that all dogs are not approachable, heel , sit, stay, down and walk on a lead. We learned how to deal with dominating, mouthing and pawing behaviour effectively. BaiLee loved his crate and house trained after 3 accidents in the house.
The cause of HOD is unknown to date, therefore I am recording what I know for sure. We had been taking our puppy to the dog park where he could play with other dogs and socialize. BaiLee was not fond of car rides from day one but we had hoped that he would overcome this fear. He would froth and vomit occasionally. I feel that doggy school may have caused him stress because he is very smart with words. When we said, "Lets go to BaiLee school?" he went and hid under the table. He was also given his rabies shot a week before the onset of his symptoms.
When he was about 3 & 1/2 months old I noticed his second eye lids were VERY red and had a grayish discharge. I also noticed his JOINTS in his front legs were ENLARGED. I did not know, at this time, that those signs are NOT NORMAL because we have never owned an Irish Setter or a larger dog before.
BaiLee eats fresh or frozen vegetables, fruit and ice cubes as a treat. He lespecially oves honeydue, watermellon, brocollini, green beans, carrots, grapes, and ice cubes.
His usual routine was: get up at 5:30 am, go outside to do his business, eat and sleep till 10 or 11 am. Then he came to life and all hell broke loose. He wanted to run and play. Then came the horrible day. We noticed our little puppy was not himself. It was around the end of January 2008. This day he did not want to come out of his crate, you could see he was uncomfortable, he went outside and came back and laid on his bed. He did not want to eat.
I could tell he was running a fever. That afternoon my husband took him to our vet. They did blood work and those tests came back normal. He was sent home. The second day he was still in a great deal of pain, he was not eating, he did not come off his bed and was still running a fever.
We notified our breeder immediately. Our breeder felt it was HOD. She emailed the new treatment protical to us and we gave it to our vet, however our vet was cautious at this point. Our vet has never had the pleasure of caring for an Irish Setter before. Our vet sent the xrays to a specialist who verified the HOD and sent our vet a copy of the new treatment protical for HOD which was exactly the same as the breeder had provided.
At this time it was imperative to keep this young puppy quiet. We stopped his schooling, took him for gentle short walks, kept him on a lead in the house and put him in his kennel when he was frisky.
The new HOD protical is as follows:
30 mg of Prednisone, Pepcid AC, plus Klavamox (twice a day for 4 weeks) for 4 days
15 mg of Prednisone, Pepcid AC plus the Klavamox for 7 days
10 mg of Prednixone, Pepcid AC plus the Klavamox for 7 days
5 mg of Prednisone, Pepcid Ac plus the Klavamox for 7 days
5 mg of Prednisone every second day, Pepcid Ac and Klavamox for 3 more days twice a day
In addition he had pain medication as needed: 50 mg of Tramadol ( it ended up being 3 times a day)
Initially we intised him to eat with wet food. We also hid his medication inside a ball of wet food. Then he became ravinous from his medication. This appetite along with his limited exercise routine resulted in weight gain, which is NOT GOOD for a puppy who has joint problems. We thought we would worry about the weight gain once he was healed.
BaiLee has finished his medications on March 22, 2008 and has had to have pain medication yesterday and today, March 23, 2008. He is limping badly today, even after the pain pill. His eye lids are still red with a discharge.
We are going to make an appointment with the vet for tomorrow. Stand by for an update.
Bailee seemed to doing well for a couple of weeks then he made a turn for the worst.
We went back to the vet and had to start treatment all over again. It was heart breaking
We were more determined than ever to keepailee quit so we olayed catch in the living room. his walks were on to do his business then back on the leash tied to the coffee table.
As the weeks passed you could see a definite improvent. By July our walk were 1 block and back. By August there was no signs of the HOD Bailee was once again back to his old ways. We kept his running to a minimum but he could walk all he wanted.
September we went back to the Vet for exrays. the swelling was down significantly in his joints andd the exrays looked good.
Nov 5, 2009 Bailee has made a full recovery and is now part of an HOD study being conducted at Clemson u on behalf of the Irish Setters of America. They have taken blood, DNA profile and a full medical history.
The one thing we know for sure is they don't know what causes it. Here is a list of things they are concidering
1. Rabies shots being given too early next time I would wait until my puppy was 1 year of age
2. Stress
3. Hereditary
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