Hi Donna, Hot Rod had lp surgery for his lp last year. He went from a grade 1 to a 4 in a matter of months. --not to say that is normal--
lp is when the groove of the knee cap is not deep enough and the knee slips out. some surgeries are to just deepen the groove while others, if needed, have pins put in to keep the knees in place. Hot Rod's ligament was off to the side and as a result of all of his issues, his leg was bowing out.
lp doesn't mean surgery all the time. Maggie May was just diagnosed with low grade 2 lp and if the vet had not found it, we would have never known! She has no issues or shows any pain whatsoever. Thankfully! She recently had a dental done so the vet was able to manipulate the knee and determined that surgery was not necessary. Yay!
I have read on here that there are other dogs that are older and have lp with no issues. did you and your vet discuss supplements? We use Dasuquin. a lot of people use Cosequin. As in humans, it is good or joint health.
Stairs or ramps are good. I would lean towards a ramp as it is the motion of "spinging up" is what you want to control. Hot Rod goes up and down the stairs I have for him perfectly fine but he's had the surgery and actually the vet has told us to have him sit/stand up slowly to building the knee/muscles up.
I would try and restrict Bridget's jumping until the swelling goes down, have her rechecked. Was se exhibiting any signs of this prior to the injury? The injury coud have cause it or the lp could have been an issue which cause her to injure herself, so there is no definitive answer, sorry.
Hope this helps. Best of luck and give Bridget hugs and kisses from me.
