Luxating Patella

[LadyE]

My 7 year-old Lab has been diagnosed with a luxating patella. He loves exploring the woods around our house but last week I noticed he had a hard time getting up in the morning and was limping. I thought he was just suffering from sore muscles but this went on for several days so I brought him to the vet and the rest is history. He does not need surgery right now but the vet said he might need one later on if the symptoms worsen and affect his mobility.

[Karen]

Try not to worry too much, we have many dogs here on Pet Talk that have dealt with that. Give him a kiss on the noggin for me, okay? And good luck getting him not to play quite as hard ...

[Freedom]

Did the vet grade it? Luxating patellas are usually graded 1 to 4, with 1 being the least effected. This is when they tell you to have the dog rest to recover, and wait on surgery. I think around Grade 3, they recommend surgery.

Here is a link with good info for you!
http://www.bichonfriseusa.com/ref/luxpat/home.htm

Please don't worry that the link is for a bichon frise' site, that is just what I have for connections to all the online essays.

The surgery has a very high success rate. Hardest part is the 8 week recovery, when the dog must be on bed rest / crate rest. Once that is behind you, the dog is good to go!

I hope the info helps you.

[beeniesmom]

Frankie had the surgery in January 09 and he became a new dog after it. He was a grade 3.

[snakemama]

Jasper has luxating patella in both legs. He's grade 1 on the left and grade 2 on the right. I keep him from doing too much jumping and give him a joint supplement, and so far he's doing really well. Good luck!

[pomtzu]

Both of my pups have this. Myndi (the Pom) first was diagnosed in just one leg when she was around 3 or 4, and she's almost 16 now. Eventually it flared in the other leg too. She has never had surgery and she gets around fairly well, but she does favor the one leg that is pretty bad, and kind of throws it out to the side when she walks, and doesn't bend it. Sparky's had problems with just one leg for about 4 years now, but it doesn't really bother him a lot and he can still run like the wind and he's almost 13. Neither one has had surgery and it's not an option now due to their age and the fact that they both have heart murmurs too.

Hope your pup manages as well as my 2 have. :)