Frankies leg (update)

[beeniesmom]

Rememebr this: http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=98377

Following that episode... he was ok, for a few days.

Lately his knee pops often, when he get rough and chases Beenie.
It pops out everyday almost every day and pops back in when he sits.

He hurt himself pretty bad jumping out of my car this weekend. Was limping and whining. I was very upset. The vet was tied up and said it would have to wait until Friday.

He is fine today. kinda.... it only slipped out once.

He is scheduled to go in Friday at 3.00. I really hope it's not a stage 4 luxating patella and hope surgery is not required. Beenie had something very similar when she was about his age but outgrew it. I hope the same happens for lil man.

[Jadapit]

Ouch! Poor guy. I sure hope he doesn't have to have sugery. You both will be in my thoughts. Please keep us posted on what the vet has to say.

[gemini9961]

Carmen,

My thoughts are with you and Frankie and hope all is well.

Amber

[k9krazee]

Oh no :( He will be in my thoughts!

[Karen]

I know Cinder's brudder Smokey has a "trick" knee, think it's also a luxatng patella.

Hope Frankie outgrows it, or it'll be okay without Sir Jury.

[Ginger's Mom]

Aww poor baby. I hope it is just has something to do with being a growing boy, and that it is not anything serious. Good thoughts going out. Let us know what that vet says.

[chocolatepuppy]

Oh no Frankie! I hope it isn't bad enough to need surgery.Pawsitive thoughts coming your way Frankie.

[lv4dogs]

Oh no Carmen I am so sorry to hear that. That poor boy has been through so much already. Yous will be in my thoughts & prayers.

[pnance]

Ouch..poor boy...hope it's nothing serious, he'll be in my thoughts.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Poor little guy - let us know how the vet visit goes. Hugs to your boy and his lovely sister

[anna_66]

Gosh I'm sorry I didn't see this before now. I do hope that the vet visit goes alright today. Please let us know what he says.
{{{HUGS}}}

[beeniesmom]

Thanks for your support and kind words guys. I will let you know what the vet tells me when I get back home.

They (Beenie and Frankie) will both be mad at me for taking them to the vet. Beenie has an appointment too, right after Frankie, to get her booster rabies and to check out a little cist on her neck that comes and goes.

They won't speak to me for the whole weekend... I can already tell.

They know something is going on because they were unusually quiet this morning. :p

[lv4dogs]

Cramen, I wish yous the best of luck at the vets today. Beenie & Frankie will be in my thoughts today.

[beeniesmom]

OK, we are back.

Beenie was a real trooper with her yearly exam and all tests came back normal. (poop and blood work). No parasites, no heartworms.

They say that she has bad allergies and that is causing those cists to flare up on her neck. They gave her antihistamine and antibiotics for 3 weeks. She will get a check up 3 fridays from today (March 31st).

Frankie has allergies too. She saw some pink areas in his ears that made her think that he has them too. Gave him antihistamines only.

Now for the BAD news....about Frankies knee. He has stage 3-4 patellar luxation (worst kind) on his right leg and stage 1 on his left one. That means he should have surgery to his right leg.

The vet says that we can play the waiting game. His knees may get stronger since he is still a growing boy. He may also just rip a tendon and require immediate surgery. She reccomends we wait. I also want to wait. She will re-evaluate him in August and said that unless it gets worse (popping out many times a day without being able to pop it back in) we should wait.

This really sucks, not only for his health, even thought she said he doesn't feel pain, just instability, but also because this probably means that we won't be able to go down to the April 1st meeting in Tampa. Frankie needs to be calm and avoid rough palying for a while. I hope I'll be able to control him.

God, I love my babies so much.

[beeniesmom]

oh.... forgot to mention. Beenie gained 1 pound (23 now), Frankie gained 11 since the last time they saw him (25.6 lbs). MY FAT BOY!!!!

[Lady's Human]

Lady can sympathise with Beenie and Frankie on the weight issue, she's up to 70 lbs, the vet said she's fine, but she doesn't have her girlish figure anymore. :D

Hopefully Frankie doesn't have to have surgery, but if he does, we hope all goes well.

[Queen of Poop]

Do some looking around. There are doggie knee braces out there. I looked well over 2 years ago when my Sami started having trouble and found some, but that was a while ago.

Otherwise, good to hear that the puppers are ok.

[chocolatepuppy]

Carmen, I will keep Frankie in my prayers. Hopefully he will do well without surgery.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Hug those dear little doggies for me

[Alysser]

AW! Poor baby:(I hope Frankie gets better soon!

[Cinder & Smoke]

The vet says that we can play the waiting game.
His knees may get stronger since he is still a growing boy.
He may also just rip a tendon and require immediate surgery.
She recommends we wait. I also want to wait.
She will re-evaluate him in August and said that unless it gets worse (popping out many times a day without being able to pop it back in) we should wait.

... she said he doesn't feel pain, just instability ...


Smokey has (or had) a Luxating Patella on his right hind knee - that bothered him quite
a bit during his second year here on the planet. Doc thinks it's possible his
abusive first owner might have kicked him in the knee and caused the damage.

Doc Mike watched it for a couple of months and also taught me how to *pop* it
back in if Smokey couldn't do it himself. It seemed to be getting worse so Doc
sent us to a Surgeon for an exam. The Surgeon said he could "fix it" - the
greatest problem would be restricting SmokeMutt for almost 6 months while
the knee healed.

We *waited* some more - and the ole Trick Knee actually seemed to get better!
I never really "restricted" his activities, but encouraged him to swim - which
he'll do till he's so tired he can hardly move. It's possible he "strengthened" the knee with
his activities and "reasonable" exercise.
By the time Smokey turned 3 - he almost never had a pop-out happen! http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/smile.gif
And when the knee did pop, he hardly ever cried in pain - he'd just stop and
give the leg/foot a *shake* - then continue on his way - all fixed!

He's just over 5 now; and it's been over two years since I've seen him have
a problem with the knee. Doc doesn't even give it much of a check at his
annual check-up - we're practicing "Leave well enough alone!"

He does "sit" a little bit oddly (with the bum knee leg angled out a bit) - but
he runs like a deer, jumps, and rough-houses like he never had a problem.

Did your Vet SHOW you how to "pop" the knee back into position?
I learned how and for almost I year I "helped" Smokey. If HE couldn't *pop* the
knee back into place - he knew that a lil *YIP* was all it took to bring ole Dad
on the run - and he'd stick the bum knee out for me to work on!
I got really *good* at "knee poppin"! http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/wink.gif

Hope Frankie's knee gets better on its own!

/s/ Phred

[cyber-sibes]

Gosh, I just saw this. Poor boy, and good luck trying to keep him quiet! Hopefully he'll out grow it like Smokey did, and be able to skip the surgery bit! ;)

[Daisy and Delilah]

Oh no Carmen!! I'm just seeing this too. Poor little guy! Daisy has a luxated patella too. I think she was born with it cause she's always had it. She limps alot but the vet says it's not bad enough for surgery. It's a waiting game with her. Poor little baby never shows that she's in pain at all but isn't that the way they are? Always so strong. Please give Frankie some kisses for me and I hope he does well with his surgery. Kisses to Beenie too.
((((((HUGS))))))

[Misty_Pearl]

Tristan, my oldest male pomeranian, had to have surgery on both knees. Of course they were scheduled a month apart but he did perfectly fine. Had no problems at all. Of course, most dogs play more and harder than pomeranians...

[Ginger's Mom]

First, big hugs to Beenie for being such a good and brave girl for her visit. Sorry to hear that the news on Frankie wasn't as positive. I hope the little guy's knee heals on it's own.

[beeniesmom]

Wow, thank you all for your responses.
We will take it one day at a time and hope for the best.
It seems like little man has more than his share of problems.
He seemed like such a healthy doggie. That's what we get for getting a breed dog (probably badly bred) and not a cute mutt at the aspca.
I love him the same and thank God I have the means ($) to take care of him.

[Cinder & Smoke]

We will take it one day at a time and hope for the best.


Keep a close eye on Frankie ~
You need to be sure he's "figured it out" and understands just what he Can
and Can NOT do with his "bum knee".

I was lucky with Smokey ...
He arrived a year old and seeming to have no problems ... till he and Cinder became
such fast friends and constant "runnin buddies" - THAT's when the knee started to pop out! http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/frown.gif
But as we both learned how to deal with it when it popped -
HE also learned how to deal with it so it DIDN'T pop ... he changed his
"running style" to only use the "bum leg" under certain conditions - if he
didn't REALLY need it - he'd carry it or *skip steps* to save wear & tear!

Took him about a year to fine tune things; but "we" got it to the point where
about the only time he'd pop his knee was when they were rough-housing and
rasslin ... merely running around at top speed, leaping, and changing directions was
never a problem! http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/rolleyes.gif The "bum leg" is not as muscled or quite as large
as the "good one" - but you have to be a very close observer to notice how
he sometimes favors one over the other!

My worry about not doing the surgery is if he'll have problems later in life - maybe
when he "furgetz" some of his techniques for keeping his knee on the right track.

His only medication is 1,000 mg of Glucosamine every morning - which seemed to
help when we started using it when the knee first acted up.
He gets nothing for pain or swelling - since there is none of that.

Good Luck with Frankie - hopefully he will "learn" how to live with his Bum Knee and
be able to manage on his own.

/s/ Phred & Smokey

[chocolatepuppy]

That's what we get for getting a breed dog (probably badly bred) and not a cute mutt at the aspca.

Sorry Carmen, have to laugh at this one...my two cute mutts came from a shelter...and as you know I spend most of my time in Dog Health. :rolleyes: It could happen to any pup ...Frankie is still in my prayers. :)

[cyber-sibes]

That's what we get for getting a breed dog (probably badly bred) and not a cute mutt at the aspca.
I love him the same and thank God I have the means ($) to take care of him.
Your two are my very favorite Bostons, they are so incredibly cute! There's nothing "wrong" with getting a dog from a breeder; I've had a mutt from the humane society, one from a byb, and one from a show breeder. Each one's had their own problems, but overall, all 3 have been in good health.
That last line is the one to focus on! Bless your heart for not "dumping" him off somewhere, God knew what He was doing when he sent Frankie to you! Will keep Frankie & you in my prayers :)

[lv4dogs]

Oh no Carmen, I am so sorry to hear that. Yous will be in my thoughts. I am so sorry but I don't have time to read the entire post today I will tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know Im thinking of yous.

[Jadapit]

Geez, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope everything clears up so he doesn't have to have sugery. I will keep Frankie in my thoughts and prayers. You too, I know how hard it is when our fur babies are not well.