I have a 3yr staff who had an operation for a slipping patella 6 months ago.He is still very lame ,especially after exercise or sleeping.We have followed all the vets instructions and hoped he would be much better by now. I was thinking about trying one of the suppliments advertised in the dog world paper but would like to hear if anyone has any experience with this problem/suppliments

As your boy was 3 yrs before the op was done, there is probably a fair amount of damage done to the joint which has lead to calcification and osteoarthritis. (not sure about spelling) Keep on with the care your vet has suggested and I would hope that with time the muscles will start to take the strain. There should be no problem in trying some of the things advertised, but keep away from calcium. If your boy is in pain then speak to your vet but if you think it is just lameness then I think time will help. Jackie H

Dislocating patellas are usually corrected in one of two ways. Assuming that the patella ligament is holding the patella true with the Trochlea (The groove in which it runs) then in most cases the groove is too shallow and the vet simply files the groove deeper. In some cases the ligament holds the patella to one side of the trochlea and the correction then is to cut and transplant the ligament to realign the patella over the groove. Correctly carried out the operations are normally successful.

This brings me to the next point. Are you saying that the patella is still dislocating or that there is just some stiffness in the joint? If the patella is still dislocating then no supplement in the world will put it right and a trip back to the vet is the order of the day to find out what has gone wrong. If on the other hand it is just stiffness in the joint then there are supplements which could be of help. Glucosamine or Cortaflex are two which spring to mind.

Either way I would suggest a trip to the vets to put your mind at rest.

Regards, John

My 5mth old Poodle pup was diagnosed with this and has already had her op. I was told the longer you leave it the worse it becomes because of the damage done. She had the op 2.5 weeks ago and apart from her rather bald leg :( she is bouncing about like no tomorrow. The vets are amazed at her progress although greatful that they have managed another months payment on their new car :D