luxated patella

[Horsefly]

One of our dogs has been limping the past month and we took him to the vet yesterday as it wasn't getting better. We had though he just sprained something because he runs and tumbles pretty hard with his sister but after two weeks and it wasn't getting better we figured we should take him in. Come to find out he has a luxated patella or slipped knee cap. It is on his back leg and the knee cap is slipped out of it's groove all the time. The vet said 50% of toy breeds have this but it isn't really very noticeable with them. My dog is a 65lb lab mix so obviously not a toy breed lol. The vet also said his back legs are really upright, most dogs have a pretty considerable bend in the back legs, so that is probably some of the problem. He is only 18 months old or so so he is pretty young. Our vet isn't comfortable doing the sugery to fix it and referred us to a vet specializing in that kind of stuff. He said it usually cost aprox. $1000+.

there is no way we can spend that on him. Something in the $100-200 range maybe but I know that would never happen. Aren't mutts suposed to be stronger and healthier? He manages okay with the limp now and it doesn't seem to hurt him like it would us. Vet gave us some Rimadyl to give him for a week to see if it could help with the inflammation and pain and see what happens. It seems there should be some kind of brace you could put on his leg to hold the knee cap in place. So has anyone else delt with this before or have any helpful comments for me? The vet said he is at a high risk to get arthritis in the joint now and then he would be stiff. Would any kind of joint supplement or something help prevent this? I feel bad he has to go through life with this limp, he is a gorgeous dog (I'm not being biased at all, really

). I want to help him out any I can, has anyone found a way to treat or manage this without surgeries? Thanks for reading

 

[Livinzoo]

A friend had a pit mix that had it. She found that Glyco-Flex helped. There are 3 formulas of it, not sure which one she used.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

erm, i only have bad news for you i think

we have two bull terriers (65 lb dogs) and one of them had the same problem at five months old.

we noticed eventually he wouldnt even walk on the leg anymore because it just would not pop back into place. Yes we did have to pay $1000 for the surgery to fix it and no rimadyl DOES NOT help. Our puppy again developed a luxating patella in his other knee at eight months old. again he couldnt walk and again we had to pay up the butt to have the knee fixed.

The reality is that your dog cannot live his life with a luxating pattella. Thank god we got the first one fixed or else by the time the second one happened he would have not been able to walk whatsoever. He is arthritic in his hind legs and hes not a big runner or jumper, but hes happy now that those knees are taken care of. (he is not even two years old yet). Maybe a small dog could deal with it but not a large one for sure. when the knee keeps popping out of place it is grinding down the bone that is trying to hold it in, eventually if you do not have the surgery there will be nothing to hold his knee in place and the leg will be completely immobile.

I really think you should consider asking your vet for a payment plan or consider rehoming your dog with someone who will not mind paying for the surgery. Im sorry, thats just my opinion

 

[SillyChicken]

I have a dog right now that has both knees messed up. At some point we'll have to put her down because of it.. But for now, she does ok. We had surgery on the one leg, and not on the other. She actually does better on the non-operated leg. (I know results vary) She also has artritis in her upper knee bones and is unable to sit normal (she's been like this since 2 yrs old, she's now 5).

I would keep the dog confined in a crate, and walked on leash only for a while... absolutly no rough play. See if that helps.

 

[Brindlebtch]

One of my performance dogs had a luxating patella and we took her to A&M to have surgery. Your price is about right. We rehabbed her very carefully and she was able to continue working at 100%. When she was older she did better on her repaired leg than the other one.

 

[Horsefly]

I apreciate being able to hear about other dogs who have this same problem. We are keeping him in his kennal or on a tie out outside for a week while he is on the pain meds. I let him off twice a day by himself to run if he wants and just stretch some but I don't chase or play with him during that time so I don't encourage him to stress his leg. He still walks on it some but if he wants to be somewhere he just picks it up and carries it, guess its faster that way. As long as his other leg stays strong I think we will be okay, there are alot of three legged dogs out there, I don't think it affects their quality of life any. We are going to call the other vet just to see our options but there is a 99% chance we can't do anything for him.
Brindlebtch and Sillychicken, what kind of dogs do yall have? I'm wondering if the pit breed dog is more seseptible to this because I suspect he is maybe a lab pit mix but I would never say that in front of my parents

.
Willy!

 

[welsummerchicks]

Any dog with overly straight hind legs tends to it.

I think the only way to reduce the pain and keep the dog functional is to get the surgery.

 

[Brindlebtch]

An American Staffordshire Terrier female we owned had it. She was extremely well built and angulated, but the trochlear grooves on her leg bones were too shallow so the patella could pop out during jumping and whatnot. It was a genetic problem with the line, I later found out.

 

[chickbea]

Many vets will be happy to set up a payment plan for you, but you usually have to ask them, as they aren't likely to offer!

 

[farmchick897]

I had a Golden Retreiver that had the same thing happen and the vet recommended surgery, he went for a
2nd opinion and the vet said he was young and might heal okay. He healed just fine, never noticed any limp or problems and lived until 8 when he got cancer.