Did your Vet recommend supplements?

I have Phoebe on Cosequin as so many others here do and have seen wonderful results in her gait as well as less pain. Limiting her walks to a minimum distance and steps off of beds & couches have been beneficial too. I have actually taught her now to sit stay on my bed in case I have to run out to the kitchen for a midnight fridg raid for cookies & milk...lol!:p

Here is a link to Cosequin and I would ask your Vet about starting Thor on this asap:

Cosequin DS for Dogs & Cats - Cosequin Chewables

I give Tina and Dudley the little bonelets. They are small and for their size I half one. They take 1 aday. Has really helped Tina because she is old. Dudley has LP which is not bad at all, so I just give it to him to maybe help it not to get any worse.

Luxating patella
 

Hi everyone,

Im new to this group but have some questions about luxating patella. I was in the "general" discussion group and there was a post about an 8 week old pup with this. I wanted to ask in a group that was for this specifically.

Now she had taken her pup to the vet just for routine stuff having just got her but how did the vet know her pup had this? Is this something that I should ask my vet about, do they test for it, or do I need to look for signs? Also what is the "grade" scale and what does it mean?

My Charlie likes to jump (he is 4yrs now and 10 lbs) and the breeder I got him from told me that yorkies are known to have knee problems as they get older because of that. I guess this is what she was talking about? Im not sure I can keep him from jumping. is it better to keep him very active so that his bones dont get weak or is it something that you cant do anything about.

Wow sorry didnt mean to go on so long :confused:

Hi CM! I just did a Google search and found a description of grades at this link: LUXATING PATELLA (KNEE CAP). Not sure if it's the authoritative version or not, but it seems right:

Grade I -- The patella can be manually luxated but easily comes back into normal position. Patient may or may not occasionally carry the affected leg.

Grade II -- Patella luxates on flexion of the knee joint and remains out of place until manually replaced or patient extends and rotates joint. Patient intermittently carries the affected limb with the knee joint flexed.

Grade III -- Patella remains luxated most of the time but can be manually reduced (placed back into position). Flexion and extension of the knee joint reluxates the patella. Patient transfers most of the body weight to the front legs, bunny hops or carries the affected legs, and appears bowlegged or knock-kneed.

Grade IV -- Patella is permanently luxated and cannot be manually repositioned. The quadriceps muscle group starts to shorten, making it difficult to extend the leg fully. Patient transfers most of the body weight to the front legs, bunny hops or carries the affected legs, and appears bowlegged or knock-kneed.

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I'm no expert, but my understanding is dogs may not show any sign of it at a young age and only be diagnosed later. That actually happened with my 1 1/2 year old. She sailed through her vet checks up to a year but recently I was told she had between a Grade I and Grade II LP. So either earlier checks missed it, or it developed.

A specialist encouraged me to let her be a dog and run and jump as she sees fit. He says dogs often go through their entire lives with LP and no visible effects. It's a genetic defect, so I don't think exercise can bring it on, but perhaps it could make it worse.

I let Jillie run and jump as she pleases. I don't encourage her to jump over anything especially high, but if she chooses to I don't worry about it. I give her plenty of exercise too. It makes sense that strong leg muscles will take some of the burden off the joint.

So is it only the back legs that are involved?

Yes, that's my understanding. They only have "kneecaps" in the hind legs.

well that is very interesting and i appreciate the information. I will be having the vet to check this out, they may have been doing it all along and he has no issues right now but i want to make sure. you know... you would think the frint legs would suffer that is where they land first when jumping down from things but i guess jumping up is hard on them too allot of energy used for that.

That's totally what I would have thought too.

Fun fact: the elephant is the only animal on earth that has four knees.

I'd be interested in what your vet says. Front legs can certainly suffer injuries, but LP is a genetic disease specific to the hind legs. But what do I know? I didn't even know elephants had four knees.

And to think you've bragged about your fabulous knee caps. Tsk.

Since you've questioned my knee expertise, you've forced my hand. I was hoping to save you the embarrassment. This from answers.com:


No animal has four knees - including elephants! This is a bad myth gone out of control. If you don't believe me, actually have a look at a skeleton of one. Simple really.

The joint on the front legs of any four-legged herbivore, such as horses, cows, elephants, deer, sheep and goats that resemble our own knees (and are often informally labeled as such) is actually called the carpus - the cluster of bones that form the wrist. The real knees on animals are located on the hind legs just like humans, which are often referred to as the stifle joint.

That's incorrect. My source is from a trivial pursuit card from five years back, so you are obviously mistaken. I can only hope you have time to edit your post and save a shred of your dignity.

I rest my case. Clearly, the front is different from the back. There are no kneecaps on front.

I think you should retroactively forfeit that Trivial Pursuit game.

No more questions. That took me quite a while to sketch.

I say this with some reluctance. Technically, we are both right. Elephants' front legs differ in structure from the back. HOWEVER, their front leg joints bend in the same direction as their back ones, and this is unique.

Reflecting on this, I think it's clear that I am more right than you. Let's say 80%/20%.