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Originally Posted by kalina82  Patellas are knees and they are only found in the back legs. front legs have elbows. the legs will look normal but you may notice a hunched back if the legs are really really bad and the knees will point outward instead of straight ahead. If the LPs are just a low grade you may not notice anything wrong. As the grades get higher you will see more symptoms. sometimes they will be running along and you will see them hike up the leg or kick it out behind them. they are doing this to put the knee back in place because it pops out of the socket. as the progression gets worse you will notice them holding the leg up more and more. you will notice a limp and they will even cry out in pain if they step on it wrong or if you touch it wrong. it does hurt. LPs that are grade 3 or 4 need to be surgically fixed. 1 and 2 can be treated with supplements but keep in mind they will NOT get better. only worse. sometimes they will stay the same if you try to prevent the dog from jumping and running around like a nut (which is hard with yorkies and their "zoomies") |
Thank you for the explanation and also noting it is not always genetic. Stella has always been vet checked for LP and was negative until this week so I feel like it was caused by some of her antics at home. They didn't tell me the grade just said it was minor at this time. Do you think it would be advisable to start her glucosamine?