Luxating Patella

[Guest Anonymous]

My 1 year old Pomeranin has a luxating patella. There is no way right now that i can afford the 1500.00 the vet wants to fix it. I was wondering if anyone knows of anything natural i can give her for the swelling and pain. The vet said to keep her from running and jumping...right; that'll never happen.

Thank you in advance for any help
Robin

[Guest Anonymous]

We didn't get her from a puppy mill we got her from a breeder and sorry to say i didn't even think of this being a problem But we love her very much and i'm glad we have her no matter what. I just want to find something that can help her without having to remortgage my home.

[Cairn6]

Not all luxating patellas are genetic there are some that are a result of trauma. So it depends on the type so you could do research and still end up with a dog that has it.

I have a dog with luxating Patellas. How severe did the doctor say it was? There are different degrees or as they call them grades. Toto's case is very mild he has never yelped in pain or had any lameness and he is 4 1/2. Some dogs will go thier entire life with no problems with it. Some dogs it will function pretty well and just not be able to jump on things as well but others over time it becomes quite severe and they will develop severe arthritis and become lame. It all depends on the severity. Did you doctor tell you what grade your dog is?

[Cairn6]

Yes be careful with Rimadyl. I had a dog Brandy who when she was 12 had to have her cruciate ligament repaired both legs actually. We went through 6 weeks of very time consuming physical therapy and just as one leg was getting better the other ligament needed to be repaired. Well there is a lot of pain trying to recover from that surgery so they put her on Rimadyl and a few months later out of the blue with no warning she is lethargic and won't eat. We take to her vet who immediately tells us to take her to the emergency vet. We find out the next morning after tests that Brandy has liver failure. She had to be euthanized. We couldn't believe it she was a very healthy dog it just came out of nowhere.

We didn't put two and two together until months later when I was doing some reading on this medication for someone else whose dog has sever arthritis. I came upon a site that mentions horror stories about liver failure and kidney failure in dogs on Rimadyl. Well it turns out you have to check their liver levels before you put them on and then check them regularly to make sure nothing goes wrong. They didn't tell the vets this until all the deaths started happening. So if your doctor does prescribe it make sure they know what they are doing and check those levels regularly.

[imported_Kat]

Try speaking to the vet schools in your area. Usually ops like this are much less expensive as it gives the students some hands on practice under the supervision of qualified vet surgeons.

[Papillons]

I have a papillon that was operated on for luxating patellas. He was a grade 2 on one knee and a 3 on the other. The surgery failed and both were still luxating. This time they were worse and were luxating both inward and outward. I had no choice but to go through another surgery because he had no stability in either hind leg.

The next surgery was more painful and more complex. 4 months later we are still dealing with problems and he's still possibly luxating in one of his knees.

Surgery was the worst thing I could have ever done to my little guy. I wish I had tried other alternative methods first.

I highly recommend you get her on some Glucosamine (500-750mg daily), MSM (500mg) and Chondroiten (500mg.) Get the human doses for this, as they are less expensive and much stronger. This will help with the pain and swelling.

You should also try to limit her acitivity, carry her up and down stairs and don't let her jump on the couches or beds. I know this sounds impossible, but it just takes a little more time and it really helps. If things don't change, she will only get worse. :(

Does she like to swim? If so, try to find a place that does therapy on dogs or horses. Hydrotherapy has done wonders for my papillon. If your pom is small enough, you might be able to fill a tub or utility sink and let her swim (supervised and with your help of course.) I use a towel under my pap's belly and pull it up and hold on tight... he's lifted off the tub bottom and supported by the towel, and still able to swim in place. This is great for building up the muscles around the patella and helping it hold the knee in place.

Slow walking on a loose leash up and down a very gentle hill may help too. If you notice she's more sensitive after the walk, stop. The more muscle you can build around her knee, the less likely it will pop out. However, if she can't walk on a loose leash and yanks and pulls on you, it's ONLY going to make it worse. :( I would try NOT to walk her if that's the case. Let her exercise in the home.

These small dogs are tough. They learn to adapt. Soon you'll see her manipulating her own leg to get it back into place.

Good luck with your girl. I hope things go well!
Colleen

[Guest Anonymous]

Thank you so much Colleen...you have given me alot of information. We love her so much. I will purchase what you recommended right away.

[sscully]

My doggie has patellar luxation in his rear right leg, just dxed. He is 13, so I am not having the surgery for him. If he were younger, I would. You do want to make sure to go to a good surgeon, even it costs more. Save up and then you won't deal with problems later.

My pup is on Rimadyl, I'm quite happy with it. He is not in as much pain and it reduces the inflammation around the joint. We will be monitoring his liver functions, of course.

He is also on Cosequin -- which is a glucosamine and chrondriotin supplement. These things take a while to show an effect, though.

It is important to limit jumping and bouncing and running as much as you can. I know it's hard! But it will help it from getting worse.

Make ramps for places like the bed or couch that your doggie tries to jump on to. You can encourage her to use them with treats. And it's best to carry her up and down stairs.

As someone else mentioned, it does help to strengthen the muscles if you walk your doggie on an incline. Do whatever she can manage. My dog's condition isn't very bad yet, so we can go on longer hilly walks. If he starts to get too excited or is straining on the leash to see something, I just pick him up.

The thing you want to remember overall is you want to reduce the number of times that the patella is popping out of the joint. The more it does this, the looser the patellar ligaments will become.

If I were you, I would try these methods and start saving up to have the surgery. In my experience, a successful surgery is definitely worth it for a younger dog. You probably will not find that a vet school is less expensive, however, you should expect your dog to get superior care there. Vet schools run teaching hospitals, not discount hospitals. It is not students "practicing" the surgery, but typically an experienced surgeon and a resident, and the fourth-year students assist and manage the case.

[Cairn6]

I totally forgot about that my dog is on the Glucosamine and Chondroitin also.