Carrying Hind Leg When Running

[veggienut]

I got him from a breeder. I didn't think of asking such questions as "inheirted diseases". Do I have a sick dog~? I was told & did want to see his Mom & Dad, but his Mom was pregnant again. Can breeding too close together cause this~? She was a beautiful Mom too~!

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by veggienut

I got him from a breeder. I didn't think of asking such questions as "inheirted diseases". Do I have a sick dog~? I was told & did want to see his Mom & Dad, but his Mom was pregnant again. Can breeding too close together cause this~? She was a beautiful Mom too~!

Luxating patellas are genetic. Yorkies are ranked #4 in number of cases by the Orthopedic Foundation of America.

They can also be caused by traumatic injury. Since he never had his knees checked, it would be impossible to tell at this point if he inherited it or not. Your vet should have palpitated his knees at his very first check up.

[veggienut]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

Luxating patellas are genetic. Yorkies are ranked #4 in number of cases by the Orthopedic Foundation of America.

They can also be caused by traumatic injury. Since he never had his knees checked, it would be impossible to tell at this point if he inherited it or not. Your vet should have palpitated his knees at his very first check up.

I have never had a dog in my whole life and this one was a mid-life crisis. There is like 3 Vet's at this animal hospital (1 man, 2 women) and I don't recall what they did in the beginning. He asked a lot of questions while checking him out. But out of all of them, there is one woman Vet I do like and I always arrange my schedule for her.

[veggienut]

I went to see the Vet today instead of waiting. The male Vet told me that this is a gene that they carry. He manually put the knee back in his socket and he was fine all day long. Earlier tonight I let him outside to potty and he did the "bunny hop walk". Also the Vet told me that if I would get a large dog, I wouldn't have this problem. And there is no cure to this except surgery and he wouldn't recommend it.

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by veggienut

I went to see the Vet today instead of waiting. The male Vet told me that this is a gene that they carry. He manually put the knee back in his socket and he was fine all day long. Earlier tonight I let him outside to potty and he did the "bunny hop walk". Also the Vet told me that if I would get a large dog, I wouldn't have this problem. And there is no cure to this except surgery and he wouldn't recommend it.

I would get a second opinion from an orthopedic vet.

Did your vet grade the luxation? If it's a Grade 3-4, he will need surgery.

This was written by a vet on another forum I belong to:

Medial patellar luxations are graded to assess severity.

Grade I: The kneecap can be moved out of place manually but will fall back into its natural position once the manipulator lets go.

Grade 2: Same thing except that the kneecap does not move back to its normal position when the manipulator lets go. These dogs are likely to progress to arthritis development and should be considered for surgery to prevent conformational damage. There is some controversy over whether grade 2 dogs should have surgery.

Grade 3: The patella is out of place all the time but can be manipulated back into its normal position manually (though it will not stay there).

Grade 4: The patella is not only out of place all the time but cannot even be manipulated back into place by hand. Such a dog has extreme difficulty extending his knees and walks with his knees bent virtually all the time.

It is not a good thing to have one's knee cap out of place; the entire weight-bearing stress of the rear leg is altered which, in time, leads to changes in the hips, long bones, and ultimately arthritis. How severe the changes are depends on how severe the luxation is (i.e., the grade as described above) and how long that degree of luxation has been going on. In time, the legs will actually turn inward, making the dog "knock-kneed." The luxation is not considered a painful condition but after enough time and conformational change, arthritis sets in, which is indeed painful.

Dogs with Grade I luxations do not require surgical repair.

Grade 2 dogs may benefit from surgery and most often the owner is called upon to judge how big a problem the lameness is.

Dogs with Grade 3 or 4 disease definitely should have surgery.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by veggienut

I went to see the Vet today instead of waiting. The male Vet told me that this is a gene that they carry. He manually put the knee back in his socket and he was fine all day long. Earlier tonight I let him outside to potty and he did the "bunny hop walk". Also the Vet told me that if I would get a large dog, I wouldn't have this problem. And there is no cure to this except surgery and he wouldn't recommend it.

If it is bad enough surgery is definately recommend as is a glucosamine supplement. While LP isn't a major issue in larger breeds, hip dysplasia can be. There are also other breeds prone to caner or heart disease. So any breed you get, there may be problems.

[celstu1]

You know my Dexter does this and I notice it more and more lately. Im going to take him in to be tested for LP. Its his back leg and its usually when he runs. or is outside, sometimes inside the house though too. Its starting to get concerning but he does not seem to be in any pain and he does use his leg alot more than not but a couple times a day I see him favor it for 10 seconds at a time maybe. I did pull, push, squeeze the whole leg/thigh area gently to see if it bothered him and he didn't even flinch so he's not in pain. hhhmmm

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by celstu1

You know my Dexter does this and I notice it more and more lately. Im going to take him in to be tested for LP. Its his back leg and its usually when he runs. or is outside, sometimes inside the house though too. Its starting to get concerning but he does not seem to be in any pain and he does use his leg alot more than not but a couple times a day I see him favor it for 10 seconds at a time maybe. I did pull, push, squeeze the whole leg/thigh area gently to see if it bothered him and he didn't even flinch so he's not in pain. hhhmmm

If you look at the information I posted above, LP itself is not painful. It's the arthritis that sets in over time and the stress it puts on the other joints that causes the crippling pain later on.

Please get him checked for LP. If he does need surgery, it's best to do it asap. Waiting only causes more joint deterioration and eventually there will be too much damage for surgery to be successful.

[RONLYNN]

Originally Posted by veggienut

I went to see the Vet today instead of waiting. The male Vet told me that this is a gene that they carry. He manually put the knee back in his socket and he was fine all day long. Earlier tonight I let him outside to potty and he did the "bunny hop walk". Also the Vet told me that if I would get a large dog, I wouldn't have this problem. And there is no cure to this except surgery and he wouldn't recommend it.

When my Teddi was at UT having surgery for her liver shunt I asked about it and the doctor told me that when they are so small their knee socket is so small that there isn't much to hold it in and it tends to pop out. He said that unless they are in pain or having trouble walking you don't need to be concerned.

[Belindtch]

My Alyssa had her left back knee pop out of the joint. She was running around on 3 legs and holding the one up. When I took her to the vet she simply popped it back in the joint and showed me what to do if it happened again. That was almost 2 years ago. She has never had another episode with the joint. She walks just fine.

[JoeyP]

Unfortunately luxating patellar is one of the bad gentic problems some yorkies get and it goes along a gradient that goes from mild to severe

another even worse problem in Yorkies is tracheal collapse

These are things that need to be watched for by your Vet
When I brought my puppies in that's what my Vet first looked at
after evaluating their weight and vital signs
Just something that has to be monitored

[veggienut]

Thanks all for your replies. Later in the evening, he started to carry his leg again. That doesn't make sense since the Vet put it back in place, I thought. I have another appointment to get a 2nd opinion this week.

[no3yshhc0la]

We had a maltese come into our work one day that had that problem. She was fine when she was walking for the most part, but when she ran, she held her right hind leg in the air. Her parents said she had fallen and injured her hip slightly. You could always take him to the vet to get it checked out just in case or if it seems to be getting worse.

[veggienut]

Thanks all for your replies & concerns. The Vet I go to didn't do Xrays as I thought he would. He watched him with a ball, but he didn't even carry his leg. I even mentioned about taking a joint pill and he told me I could give it to him, but it won't help him. My Yorkie isn't whining or showing any signs of pain, it is just an on and off thing....like skipping. Until I hear what my 2nd opinion is from another Vet, he will be okay since he isn't having troubles to run and play.

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by veggienut

Thanks all for your replies. Later in the evening, he started to carry his leg again. That doesn't make sense since the Vet put it back in place, I thought. I have another appointment to get a 2nd opinion this week.

It does make sense if you read what I posted earlier:

Grade 3: The patella is out of place all the time but can be manipulated back into its normal position manually (though it will not stay there).

Let us know what the other vet says. Is it an orthopedic vet?