Luxating Patellas-what should I know?
 

So we found out from the vet last week that Louie has LP :(. She said that since he doesn't seem to have any symptoms yet, there's nothing that we need to do, but if he starts showing signs of pain we can talk about the surgery. Is there anything else that we should be doing to help him? I don't want him to suffer, but he really doesn't seem to be slowing down at all, and shows no signs of pain that I can see. Any advice would be appreciated!

Maggie has grade 3 luxating patella in both back legs. We found out after her and our older yorkie, Ginger, got into a fight one day and Ginger took Maggie down backwards real hard. We took her to the vet and he told us Maggie has grade 3 LP and talked to us about it. He gave her a shot and some pills and told us to keep her calm and restrict activity for awhile. She got better after a couple days and we restricted her activity for a couple weeks. She has been normal since then (about a year). The vet told us that we can either do surgery or we can wait and see if her LP gives her chronic problems. We chose to wait and see. The vet agreed with our decision and said we can discuss it again if she has any continued problems with it. So far she hasn't had any other issues. Maggie is 3 now.

How old is your pup? What grade did the general Vet assess the LP at? Is it in both knees or only one?

Did the vet not offer any suggestions on to care of a pup with LP?

And yes there are many things you can do to help strengthen the muscles that surround the knee joint, and limit activites that aggravate or are dangerous to a pup with LP. I don't know why your vet did not talk to you about this. Surgery is the last option I would consider, and do my best that if this is a mild LP it doens't progress to a more serious state.

First limit jumping off furniture, beds, etc, get ramps for beds furniture, and train your pup to use.

Secondly: look at adding chondrotin and glucosamine supplements into his diet, ask you vet for the appropriate dosage.

Third: Swimming is a key exercise in this and almost all other joint problems. Luckily with Yorkies as they are small, bathtubs, kiddy pools, can all be used effectively.

Fourth: Look at exercise that build up the muscles of the lower and upper leg. A good one is to teach "Beg", where the dog lifts the front paws off the floor for a treat.

Fifth: Learn to stack your dog in an anatomical correct position and train them to hold the stack for at least two minutes.

Sixth: Have your dog walking a lot, through different surfaces. ie Walking on pavement, then walking on grass, then sand, then pebbles. Then walk dog up hill and then down hill. Walk dog through the water.

Seveth" when dog knows how to stand correctly have them stand on three legs' two front, one rear leg.

There is just so much you can do, to help build muscle, and limit dangerous activities, as well as to add supplements to the diet.

I wish you and your pup well.

He is 5 years old, and the vet didn't really tell me anything other than that he has it, and what it is. She didn't say a level or anything we can do to help him. We have only had him for 2 months, and I had just been going to the same vet his previous owner was taking him to, but I am thinking about switching. She clearly isn't giving us enough information.

Did she tell you what grade? I would not let a regular vet do surgery for LP I would have an orthopedic surgeon do it. Also if he is not showing any pain then I would wait until it seems to be bothering him. I would get stairs for everything he jumps to get on because the jumping is not good.

Hopefully surgery will not be necessary. Ruby had the worst LP possible. She was at the point that her kneecaps were out all the time so she had to have the surgery. It is a difficult recovery.
Talk to another vet about glucosamine supplements. offer crate rest, and watch your pup for signs of carrying the leg or being extra gentle with it. Before Ruby's surgery she was given pain meds that I could give on an as-needed basis. I always knew when she was hurting, she would act like she was in trouble.

Good luck, I hope your baby gets to feeling better!!

Keeping weight off of them is very important...and also preventing jumping up on or off of furniture.
I have had pups with LP for years who did not progress and did not need surgery. Hopefully yours will be that way! :)

I agree with everyone above about the Glocosamine Chondrotin supplements and limiting jumping as much as possible. When I found out Georgie had LP in both hind legs I cried and the vet assured there was alternatives to surgery. I did take him to get the right leg repaired as it was grade 4 (that was in 2008) and the left leg hasn't gotten any worse since then. We give him supplements and he is doing great!

My nieces Yorkie had it in both legs as well. He would switch off legs when he ran. He never whined and it didn't slow him down either.

I would ask the vet what grade LP it is but I am sure Louie will be fine:)

Right now don't judge too harshly. Many vets are not musculoskeletal specialists. And btw many vets do not have the expertise to operate safely on LP!. Also many vets "dumb" down the info they give pet owners for what-ever reason. Perhaps just to make explanation simpler.

So surgery in my opinion if necessary should only be done by a board certified orthopaedic surgeon. And please consider the physical exercise I have elaborated above to help strengthen the mm surrounding the knee joint.

We are going to get a ramp for the couch. He spends most of his time there, so it seems like the best idea. We will start working with him on exercises as well. He already stands up and begs for treats, so that won't be hard. I thought about getting a ramp for our bed, but it's way too high for him to get up and he ever jumps down. He's scared of the heights :)

A ramp would be great! I am sure Louie will be just fine:)

One of my dogs had grade IV LP diagnosed as a young dog in both of her legs. She had surgery at age 2 on one of her legs, but the other leg never required it and she is 11.5 years old. I recently (like 3 days ago) started her on Cosequin but have not give her any supplements in all these years. I also did not really restrict her activity all these years. On xray, she shows no signs of arthritis despite the condition. It really depends on the dog.

I agree that I'd only let a boarded veterinarian do LP surgery on my dogs. You can find out if one is a diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons by visiting their website at American College of Veterinary Surgeons

Thanks to everyone for the advice! I think my real issue with the vet is that there are things we can do to avoid it getting worse, but she didn't discuss any of that with me. I want to do everything I can to keep him from having to go through surgery.

Hot Rod had lp surgery on one of his knees and his other knee is showing signs although it is not a point of needing surgery. Thankfully.

My little girl, Maggie May has low grade 2 in both her knees and you can hear them popping. We were totally shocked when the vet told us as Maggie doesn't show any sign of pain at all.

I have been giving them a supplement called Dasuquin. I describe it as Cosequin plus. It helps to build the cartiledge in the knee. There are pills and soft chews, mine love the chews and get it as a treat when we come back in from a walk.

If you should need to go thru surgery, definitely have it done by a board certified surgeon. I would also try and find out if he is knowledgeable about small animals. Good luck with your little one.