My 10 month old Yorkie has just been diagnosed with slipping patella in both back legs. She is not in any pain so the vet wants to wait awhile before operating to give her legs a chance to mature a bit more. I would be gratefull if any members could share their experience of this condition with me. Thanks a lot.

flatcoat retrievers get this to,i would wait like the vet said let her finshes growing and street walk her only to build up the muscle and tissues around the area,can you put the knee back in its joint when it comes out,if you cannot ask the vet to show you how to do it.

Hi Briedog,

Why do people suggest road walking for patella luxation? And how much would you say would be acceptable, how many times a day? Also, when you say road walking do you mean only on roads - or will any hard surafe do? ie, footpaths etc

Look forward to your reply,

Alex

I had an Irish Setter that had patella luxation when he was 5 months old. We were refered to Malcolm Ness, and his advice was to allow lots of exercise. More than you would normally be happy with in such a young dog of this breed. I was told to let him run as much as he liked, and also to let him jump, this was to develop strength in the muscles that hold the knee joint together. The treatment was a success and we avoided the need for surgery.
Dawn R.

My vet has advised that I allow as much exercise as my dog wants. She is only a tiny Yorkie but she loves to run off lead in safe places. This is really what I want to know, I'm scared this sort of exercise may cause more damange, although I suppose I should just take the vets advise. Just wanted to know other peoples opinions

I had an Irish Setter with the same problem. My vet at the time told me it could pass with age, but at about 9 months he took to swimming, he would swim for hours. The problem went away, with age or swimming I'm not sure, but the swimming must have helped.
Karen

Hope fuly i am doing al the right things then! And as said before only time will tell on this one...

Same question though - is conditioning work only roads, or can it be hard packed footpaths also?

I think a nice footpath is preferable to the side of a road, much more pleasant for you and your dog.

Hi Alex,
Any exercise is good for this condition but swimming is excellent. The only way to stop a patella from slipping is to build up the muscles around the joint. Once this is achieved, the patella is stable. The added problem is that recurrent slipping can cause arthritis in the joint in later years, so it's worth working at :) I have had the same problem as your dog for 20 years, so I can sympathise :)
Joan :)