More Limping Dogs

A phone call from a friend has left me saddened for her. Like Ross her young dog had been limping on and off since he was 4 months old. She'd been on exactly the same route as I had, though I must admit that when I saw him as a youngster I was very concerned about his stiffness and inability to get up from lying down, something I've not seen with Ross. Anyway she's seen vets, had Xrays and had them looked at by an orthopedic specialist. The conclusion was very much like Ross .. most likely to be Pano but could be something more serious which will need a CT Scan to diagnose .. make an appointment if the lameness continues.
Now at 18 months Merlin is still lame on and off and his owner took him for the £1300 CT Scan. She now has the answers and for her they are worst case scenario. Merlin has OCD in both shoulders. (The term osteochondrosis refers is an abnormal development of the cartilage on the end of a bone in the joint Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD or OD) is an inflammatory condition that occurs when the diseased cartilage separates from the underlying bone.) She has been given options ranging from do nothing now and treat with pain killers until he deteriorates to a referal to Fitzpatrick now. Hard decisions for her .. such a lot to take in and deal with and I'm so sorry for her and Merlin.
I've only limited experience of this condition. Sultan my Rottie had it and had been operated on, but I know very little about it as it was prior to me knowing him. Treatments have improved tremendously I'm sure as it was probably 25 years ago that Sultan was treated and he was still lame in his older years.