hi, does anyone have any experience of this? my dog was running on sunday and she suddenly started limping, shes not limping all the time we took her to the vet and she said it was patella luxation. i understand what this means but unsure of how to help the dog, as the vet was a bit rubbish really. anyone know anything? thanks

What breed is she and how old is she?

oops, i should have said! shes is a cross yorkie/jack russell, the vet said it was common in yorkies and such. Shes 2, but she still acts like a puppy!

Your vet's quite correct - the groove that the kneecap (patella) fits into is very shallow in the very small breeds and it's common for the kneecap to slip in and out almost at random. It's so common in the short-legged 'Jack Russells' that many people assume that their skipping action is normal - just a 'Jack Russell thing', not realising the real reason!

In larger breeds carrying more weight it's possible to operate to deepen the groove in the bone to help lock the patella in place but for a small lightweight dog it's not really worth it. :)

If it is a problem for the dog, surgery is usually the best option.

yes, she is quite a skinny dog, so its not like shes a fatty putting lots of weight on it. the vet also said that it would get worse as she got older but also that if she had surgery it would be more likely that she would get arthritis. i was just thinking really if ther was anything i could do to help, like feed her different things or sumthing or a bandage, lol, i dont really know. also if anyone elses dog has this.

i forgot to put that she doesn't seem to be in any pain, she just limps occasionally.

Limping IS a sign of pain, that's why most of us limp...cos it hurts! Really I would ask for a referral to an Orthopaedic Surgeon and ask them their thougths and advice...then decide on your plan of action but I fear that Surgery is the most reliable way to repair...Arthritis can happen to an injury or through the surgery, sorry! Hope things improve for the wee one! All the best, Dawn

My little yorkie was seen by an orthapedic surgeon earlier this year and on examination it was found she had patella luxation in her back legs. Her knees are permanently dislocated and do not slip in and out and because of this she does not need surgery unless her cruciate ligament snaps which he said is very unlikely in a dog of her size. Because there is no slipping she is not in any pain (she doesn't limp and we had no outward sign that there was a problem). However had the knees slipped in and out of place then he may have recommended surgery although a lot depends on the severity, size and weight of dog etc. The severity is graded and helps make the decision whether surgery is needed. I think you need a referral to an orthapedic surgeon for advice.
jane

My friend's Yorkie has patella luxation in both back legs. On leg has had surgery performed on it twice, the first time before she was a year old and most recently because the cruciate ligament tore. The other leg will require surgery in future. The dog is 3 years old.

My friend's vet was of the 'wait and see what happens' opinion but my friend was happy with this. I recommended a good orthopaedic surgeon at a practice where I live and my friend asked her vet for a referral. The orthopaedic surgeon recommended surgery and performed it 2 days later. That was about 2 months ago and she has made a great recovery.

My Löwchen also has patella luxation in both knees.  The specialist we saw said that his knees dislocate when the legs extend but go back into place when bent. We debated long and hard about whether to subject him to the operation - Buddy was managing perfectly well so the specialist was reluctant to advise one way or the other.  In the end we decided to leave things and, 3 years later, everything is still OK.  Seeing him race around the garden you'd never know he had a problem.
I've accepted that he may develop arthritis later in life but we'll deal with that at the time.
I hope your little dog does well, whatever you decide to do.
Jay

Hi - ask for a second opinion if you are not confident with the vets diagnosis, and you need a really good orthopeadic surgeon if you decide to go for the operation.  My GR had this done 3 times the first 2 failed mainly because he was such a big dog and very active, so after the 2nd op failed along with our confidence in the surgeon, we looked for another orthopeadic surgeon who took time explaining everything and I mean everything he was brilliant.  He used an external fixator on Spangler's leg and this was a success.  We were told that the operation is much simpler for small breeds and they don't usually have all the problems that the larger breeds get, so you do have this on your side!
If you contact me I'll give you the name of the orthopeadic surgeon we used.
Good luck
Maria
  

Thank you for the replies, its great to hear what other people have done, as the vet didn't really tell us what to do. i think we re going to wait a few days then take her to another vet one which people i know go to, we only went to this one because the old vet had retired. its just quite sad because shes usually really mad and naughty and running around! i didn't even know there were orthopeadic surgeons, so now i know! ill talk to my mum and the vet about what to do but its just usefull to know what other people have done and get more information! thanks!

Hi, my 3 year old cavalier has this.  It happened the same as you.  One day he suddenly started limping and we took him to the vet.  The vet did say that he may need surgery but it may help to take him swimming and to put him on Glucosamine & Chondroitin tablets.  We have been giving him these tablets (about 500mg) a day and ever since then he has not had the problem.  You can buy dog versions of these tablets but the vet said I could just use the human version which I do.

oh yes, we just got some glucosamie powder from the vet!

How much did the powder cost you, out of interest???

We had a miniature poodle - not so miniature, as she was built like a c.spaniel! - anyway, at 4 years old, she began yelping when jumping off chairs etc and would hold her back left leg up. If we pushed down firmly but gently over the knee, the kneecap slipped back into place. However, that was no solution, so we took her to our vet.

He did x-rays, and found that not only was her kneecap slipping, she also had a slightly displaced hip joint in the same leg. As she was so young, he suggested we only had the kneecap operated on, as the hip was not causing her any trouble at that young age.
As his speciality is orthopaedics, we went along with that.

He explained afterward that during the operation he'd created some tight, 'knotty' scar tissue to also strengthen that knee in the hope that it would further support her hip and that she'd hopefully not need surgery on that until she was much older.

She lived to 13.5, and that hip never did need surgery thanks to the good job he did with her knee, and the knee never gave her any more trouble.

aww. yes, i think surgery would probably be the best thing to do, the vet checked her hips too and said they were ok. It was just sudden cos we thought she had got sumthing in her paw or she had pulled a muscle when she started limping i didn't really think it would be a problem like this. poor doggie! 

The powder from the vet cost £7.50, my dad said.

:)

Okay, well you can probably buy the Glucosamine tablets for a LOT cheaper than that at any 'savers' shops or some such shops!!! Cheap pharmacies etc...good luck whatever you decide I'm sure will be the right decision! All the best, Dawn X