What are Growth Development Diseases (Developmental Orthopedic Diseases)?
Poor nutrition is suspected to be a cause of Growth Development Diseases. When a dog has a high calorie intake it causes excess weight gain and in turn often rapid growth. When a Dane puppys growth is accelerated by their diet, their developing bones and bodies are unable to handle the rapid growth which in turn can lead to growth development diseases (Developmental Orthopedic Diseases). Among these diseases are Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD), Panosteitis (pano), and Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD). Proper exercise and a quality diet may lessen the risk of these growth/nutritional diseases. Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD) is a skeletal disorder of rapidly growing large and giant breed puppies. The most commonly affected bones are the ends of the long bones from the elbow to the wrist (the radius & ulna) and the ends of the long bone from the knee to the hock (the tibia). Both legs are usually affected at the same time by this disease. Early signs of the disease can be splaying of
