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Originally Posted by kalina82  did you only decide to investigate his knees because you heard a clicking sound? there are no other signs? Does he ever hold his leg up, or seem to 'skip' a beat while running or walking? Does he have a hunched back or does it seem rounded towards the end? Do you notice a limp? If you were to answer no to all these questions, and your dog only had a grade 1 or 2 then i'd say no, wait it out and supplement him. However since its a grade 3 i'm a little reluctant to say wait it out.
I was fostering a chihuahua and she have severe grade 4 LPs. I knew it because she was very hunched over and she had a rounded back. Also when she walked her legs were splayed outwards. She never complained about it. Never limped or skipped. never held a leg up. however i noticed the other signs and when i asked my boss about it he palpated her knees and said they were grade 4, totally out of the socket. So we did surgery on both legs.
The decision is up to you. personally, i'd probably get it done. However, if the vet said that the other leg was only a grade one or two, i might possibly wait until they were both a little worse and showing signs so that i could get them both done at the same time. others may not agree and say that its wrong because the dog is in pain but that's how i feel. |
I never thought to ask my vet about it since he never showed any signs of pain. However, when I took him there for his first checkup, he was only 6months old, the vet said he has dislocated knee caps but they should heal when he gets older. I asked him if this is a serious problem because since I had just purchased him from the breeder he was under a guarantee of health and if I wanted to I could return him. The vet said it wasn't a major problem. I don't think I would have been able to bring him back anyway because I got attached to him instantly. Now when I brought him last month to check on his stomach because he had been vomiting alot he felt his knees again and said they had gotten worse and he needs surgery. I do hear a clicking sound when I pick him up and his back does seem roudned towards the end. He only limped once and I didn't see it because he was with a friend in the park. Last night I also noticed for the first time that on the inside of his leg I saw a little bone starting to stick out a bit. I had never seen that and so I guess the knee is starting to get worse. I heard from the vet today with the quote of the surgery. It's expensive but if the specialist takes a payment plan then I will go ahead with the surgery. I am really nervous but I will pray for the best.