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Charlie has gone about 3 weeks now without a problem!  I don't want to jinx it, but I wanted to share about his progress.  He is feeling so much better...he's like a different dog.  It might recur at some point, but we think the deramaxx must be helping b/c he starts to limp if we don't give it to him first thing every day...and we also got the right food for him.

Now that he is getting around better, we are having major issues with preventing him from chewing up everything in sight.  Does anybody have advice on crate training?  He seems to have had a bad experience before we adopted him, because he is seriously resistant to the crate...but if we don't figure it out, he's going to destroy the house.  We've tried putting his food in there and throwing treats in there...he will go on and right back out as quickly as possible.  I really don't want to force him.

Just wanna say Thanks to all of you.
Last night we bought Charlie a KONG Toy, The one where you put the treats inside and I gotta say "It's the best dog toy ever".
He loves it and it keeps him busy.

Adam

I thought I'd give everybody an update on Charlie.  The vet changed his medicine from rimadyl to deramaxx, and it seems to have helped tremendously.  This is the first weekend that he has been able to walk in over a month.  He is still on the tramadol as well.  Now that he's getting around better, we have other problems like keeping him from chewing up everything in sight!  But I'd rather have that problem than a sick puppy.

Thanks again for all of your help!

This is Adam, The boyfriend. Nolagirl05 is out of town for the night. Charlie is in alot of pain, which is why I'm stil up at 3:11am our time.
It looks like to me his two front legs at the "ankle" are severely swollen. He is barely able to walk. we still have him on the two drugs mentioned earlier but they seem to not be woking.
I was wondering 1st. Is it okay to give him Bayer Low Dose 81mg along with the other drugs.
2nd i was wondering if it possible his legs can be swollen from this HOD?
I hate this so much , I wish he would just grow up over night. It's so hard seeing him in so much pain.
When he does walk its like his front legs are bowed outward and totally stiff. The knees are like they don't bend.
I have been carrying him out to the yard for the bathroom, but I wonder if it's actully good for him to try and walk.

Okay, I'll shut up now. Sorry for rambling. I'm just worried.
I hope tomorrow is a much better day for him. He is the sweetest dog I've ever owned. Seeing him in pain just kills me.

Thanks to everyone for your advice and knowledge.

Adam

Oxford MS.

Can somebody let us know about how much we can expect to pay for the Eagle Pack food?  It shouldn't be a problem, but I'd like to know what to expect b/c we have to drive an hour away to the nearest retailer.

ETA:  P.S.  We named him Charlie.

P.P.S.  We have stopped using the aspirin and his fever hasn't returned so far.  He is now on tramadol and rimadyl, and seems to be doing better for the last few days...but he is still moving kinda slowly and awkwardly.  The vet said he seems to be in less pain than he was a few weeks ago, so I am grateful for that.  It's hard to watch him suffer.

I also posted this in the medical section of the board b/c this condition is common in many breeds of large dogs...but I also wanted to post it here.

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My fiancee and I just adopted a 5-month-old Great Pyrenees puppy who was just diagnosed with HOD (hypertrophic osteodystrophy).  The vet gave him rimadyl and keflex.  He was up on his feet for a few days, but now the problem has returned.  From what we understand, he may experience this recurring problem until he is fully grown.  His fever is spiking sometimes and he is in pain.  We are giving him baby aspirin for the fever.

I was just wondering if anyone on this board has any experience with this condition, and what the best ways are to keep the dog comfortable.  He is such a sweet thing.

Also, by the way, we cannot seem to decide on a name.  Any suggestions are welcome.  I attached a picture.