Great Dane - Patellar Tendonitis

[lehughes]

Hi Laurie,

I ran across your page when searching how to help my Great Dane Athena. I have been to 2 vets in the past week including an orthopedic surgeon. She has been diagnosed with Bilateral patellar tendinitis and associated bone changes in the proximal tibia. My girl is only 3 years old. The orthopedic surgeon prescribed 150mg carprofen 2 times a day as well as gabapentin twice a day. The gabapentin just makes her so lethargic she wont do anything. I try taking her for walks and she cant even make it a quarter mile before laying down. She is so young and such a sweet girl I am just trying to figure out some way to get her back to some sort of healthy and active. I would greatly appreciate any input you have.

Thank you,

E.H.

Houston TX

[lehughes]

Hi E.,

I’m so sorry to hear about your pup. Danes are such gentle giants.

So it sounds like your dog has something similar to Osgood Schlacters in humans. I found a good link that describes it (in people) https://physio-pedia.com/Osgood-Schlatter's_Disease
It can occur in dogs as well, but it’s lesser known.

I would agree with the prescription of an anti-inflammatory (Carprofen)… Gabapentin is for pain, but as you noted below, you are seeing the side effect. As such, I’d go with anti-inflammatory effects instead. So the Carprofen is a good option. You could also look at some natural anti-inflammatory options: CBD (hemp based - no THC), MSM, Arnica, Golden Paste (Turmeric + Coconut oil). I dug around to hunt down some reputable sources for natural anti-inflammatories for dogs. The Carprofen would be where I’d start to get a jump on this, and then transition into one of the herbal remedies if you’re thinking along those lines.
https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/healt ... reatments/
https://www.petmd.com/dog/wellness/4-he ... ation-pets
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/t ... in-relief/

I would recommend seeing someone trained in canine rehab (Vet or PT)… but right now with everything being so crazy, it might be hard to find someone that is taking ‘non-emergency’ patients! Type in canine rehab Houston to see if you can find anyone. Some of the physical therapy modalities (machines) might help.
To that end, you could look up the Assisi Loop or the Heal Fast Loop - products you can buy online, that might be of some assistance.

I would also recommend stretching out her quads and sartorius (the strappy muscle that lies over the quads) - picture attached. Hold 15 - 30 seconds, repeat 3 times, once or twice a day. You could try heat or ice (both for the effect they have on blood flow - heat b/c it brings it in immediately, ice because of the pain relieving effect and then the rebound influx of blood flow. It might come down to which she tolerates best.) Put whichever on for about 10 minutes. And unfortunately, you’ll need to accommodate her reduced abilities until the inflammation begins to subside.

I hope this helps!

All the best!

Laurie