Luxating Patella

Justask

We've just found out our dog has this. Never heard of it before.
Reading about it most of the day with varied options and opinions.

Anyone had first hand experience? Would love to hear from some who's dog has/had and what treatment was given.

Going for a second opinion tomorrow morning.

Thanks in advance

eoglyn

That's a coincidence, i've just found out monday my Hugo has it. he let an awful yelp and we didn't know what was wrong, brought him to the vet as he was very off and the vet had it diagnosed in two minutes. Was gutted at first but i'm learning to accept it and we'll just deal with it. I'm taking him tomorrow to get an xray to confirm the diagnosis and see what needs to be done. Any more details of your guy? Hugo is a 7 and a 1/2 month old french bulldog - apparently it is quite common for them but usually at a low level and they just live with it, hugo is already level 2 so it could get worse as he gets older with associated arthritis pain - i couldn't let him go through that.
What i am most worried about is the lay up period afterwards, i think he'll be in the crate for 2 weeks and then lead walk only for another 6 - he's used to one or two outings every day - he'll go mad.

Justask

He's an 18 month old mutt. Medium size.
Not sure what to do hes on Canidryl.
I think if he was older I'd have it operated on but cos he's so young its not uncommon for it to rectify itself but its a longer process and as u said about your guy not getting out he'll go insane. But either way he's on the sub bench
Oh I dunno what to do and his big stupid sad face is not helping!

Knine

Yes had a large dog breed with it. Its more common in smaller dogs.

The dog had several operations to try and rectify the situation. However as the dog was just over 40kg, the outcome was not very successful. The dog went on to live a long life but was unsound.

This was about 10 years ago so surgery is now more advanced. I hope the dog is insured as it can be expensive to sort out.

There is a grading system for Luxating Patella and some of the gradings may not even need surgery. I've seen several Jack Russells with it.

anniehoo

About a year and a half ago my cat had a luxating patella, which is apparently very uncommon in cats. He avoided surgery by the skin of his teeth as the surgeon insisted on crate rest for 6 weeks before he'd even attempt it. He was brought back every 2 weeks and on week 4 it was still luxating and surgery looked likely. By week 6 for whatever reason (even the surgeon didnt know) the patella was back in place and not slipping. He feels by avoiding the normal triggers i.e. jumping & running the patella had time to rest and readjust. It's never happened since but may reoccur when he's older.

This was his Xray. You can see the patella popped out botton right (his back left leg)

Knine wrote: »

Yes had a large dog breed with it. Its more common in smaller dogs.

The dog had several operations to try and rectify the situation. However as the dog was just over 40kg, the outcome was not very successful. The dog went on to live a long life but was unsound.

This was about 10 years ago so surgery is now more advanced. I hope the dog is insured as it can be expensive to sort out.

There is a grading system for Luxating Patella and some of the gradings may not even need surgery. I've seen several Jack Russells with it.

+1 Lots of Jack Russells live perfectly well with this condition. If you ever see these little dogs run about and then do a little "skip", this is basically whats happening. It pops out, then back in really quickly.

As Knine said, there is a grading score in dogs and weight will play a huge factor too.Overweight dogs don't do as well as you can imagine. It's a fairly common condition so most vets will be experienced with dealing with it.

planetX

my cat has them in both back legs - she had surgery on one, but unfortunately it hasn't really helped. She also has hip and now back problems. I believe the surgery is more successful on a dog. It's crucial to stop your dog from jumping - use ramps where you can. And start supplements for arthritis which is inevitable:(

Bullseye1

My dog had this and had a successful operation. But be prepared for a long recovery period (about 8 weeks). As she slept upstairs we had to take turn sleeping downstairs with her as it would be a no no to have her go up and down the stairs during this 8 week period.

You essentially have to keep them from moving about for that period and even letting them out back should be done on the lead. My dog is a large breed if that helps.

eoglyn

Hugo is gone in for his xray today. Fingers crossed that this is what is wrong with him and that it can be fixed relatively easily.

The vet nurse thought it was hilarious that he didn't even look back when she led him away from me into the room - loyalty is not a trait he is known for. :rolleyes:

Yeah the big thing is the lay up period after, luckily he is very attached to his crate already. Hopefully because he is a small dog and fairly fit and lean for a frenchie his recovery will be quick enough

eoglyn

luxating patella confirmed, i wasn't talking directly to vet but i'll ring her tomorrow. We can schedule the operation for next week if we wish - i kind of want to get it done sooner as he is still has a little bit of growing to do, at least he has some bone density to grow and i've read somewhere that can help, i've read a lot of anecdotal stuff about this on the internet though, hard to find good info on it for such a supposedly common ailment.

he's flat out here in front of me - still sleeping off the sedative from the xray, feeling very sorry for him

StompToWork

Our 8 mth LabX has this in both knees. Had the X_rays about 2 weeks ago, and we just got the pre-auth through for the insurance today, so we are scheduling the surgery for next week if we can.

We are not so much worried about Deefor's surgery, as we are about the recovery. It's gonna be tough, I'd imagine. We have been holding back a little on his exercise since the diagnosis, in order to get him some bit used to laziness and the inactivity he is going to have during the recovery.

Sounds like a lot of people here are going through this. OP, how would you feel about us following this thread and exchanging our experiences over the next few weeks?

anniehoo

StompToWork wrote: »

OP, how would you feel about us following this thread and exchanging our experiences over the next few weeks?

StomptoWork & Justask, please do keep us updated on how you get on and best of luck Crate rest can be a long hard slog...after about week 3 you WILL feel ridiculously guilty for your pet, but DON'T give in. You will be feeling much worse than they are remember that.

The midpoint of crate rest killed me, i don't know about anyone else.

planetX

anniehoo wrote: »

StomptoWork & Justask, please do keep us updated on how you get on and best of luck Crate rest can be a long hard slog...after about week 3 you WILL feel ridiculously guilty for your pet, but DON'T give in. You will be feeling much worse than they are remember that.

The midpoint of crate rest killed me, i don't know about anyone else.

Yes, my cat was on crate rest for a month recently and it was hard - it's the last weeks that are the worst, as you reduce the medication and your pet begins to feel better and want out.
Good luck to all the doggies having surgery!

liquoriceall

My basset has this with 2 legs but have never done anything with it hes almost 6 now and it still happens sometimes but doesnt really bother him

StompToWork

Just got a date of 26th March for the first surgery. Up until now, we had been dealing with making sure Deefor is not over-exerting himself and dealing with the insurance pre-auth. Now that Deefor is kinda okay, and insurance has given the go ahead, I'm starting to feel a little nervous.

eoglyn

Hugo is going in for his surgery this morning. Only needs the one knee done - i was almost going to back out as he's fine now but the knee popped out agin last night, not as painful or dramatic as last week, but he did a skid on the floor running after a toy and he went from mad playful form to hobbling to snoring within about two minutes - usually it takes him ages to calm down so it was obvious something was wrong with him, i know now its the right thing to do long term

eoglyn

collected hugo from the vet, he has a big gash on his leg from the surgery, i wasn't prepared for that, i thought it would be a tiny opening. He seems fine now, just sleeping off the anaesthetic. the hard bit for us starts tomorrow really with the crate rest for two weeks minimum.

StompToWork

eoglyn wrote: »

collected hugo from the vet, he has a big gash on his leg from the surgery, i wasn't prepared for that, i thought it would be a tiny opening. He seems fine now, just sleeping off the anaesthetic. the hard bit for us starts tomorrow really with the crate rest for two weeks minimum.

Glad you have him home. First hurdle over. You definitely did the right thing in the long term. Keep us posted as things progress.

tk123

eoglyn wrote: »

collected hugo from the vet, he has a big gash on his leg from the surgery, i wasn't prepared for that, i thought it would be a tiny opening. He seems fine now, just sleeping off the anaesthetic. the hard bit for us starts tomorrow really with the crate rest for two weeks minimum.

You'll be ok the first few days - he'll be knocked out from his pain killers! The fact that he's already crate trained is half the work. You just need to keep him settled - kongs, stagbars, nylabones etc. I had a dap/adaptil plugin beside the crate too. I used to do a lot of clicker games with my guy (he had to get his back legs straightened so 2 rounds of crate rest a year apart) - you can do stuff like touching your hand, a target stick/wooden spoon where you move it within easy reach of his head so he doesn't have to move that much, leave it/take it, wave, which hand (is the treat in) etc etc You can even do stay as silly as that sounds because he's already in the crate but you can go to a different room and then treat when you come back and build up the time.
If he's weak on the leg and slipping on the floor when you take him to the loo pennys sell baby socks with little non-slip dots that are perfect! It could be worse - you could have a huge bandage to take care of! My guy used to balance his kong on his bandaged leg - I had to put socks over it to leave it some way respectable when we went back to the vets lol!

BE TOUGH - i can't stress that enough. I know people who were lax when their dogs were on crate rest and it set them back months - they had to start the recovery all over again. It will fly by and it'll be worth the hard work - that first time you see them run again is terrifying but rewarding

eoglyn

tk123 wrote: »

You'll be ok the first few days - he'll be knocked on from his pain killers! The fact that he's already crate trained is half the work. You just need to keep him settled - kongs, stagbars, nylabones etc. I had a dap/adaptil plugin beside the crate too. I used to do a lot of clicker games with my guy (he had to get his back legs straightened so 2 rounds of crate rest a year apart) - you can do stuff like touching your hand, a target stick/wooden spoon where you move it within easy reach of his head so he doesn't have to move that much, leave it/take it, wave, which hand (is the treat in) etc etc You can even do stay as silly as that sounds because he's already in the crate but you can go to a different room and then treat when you come back and build up the time.
If he's weak on the leg and slipping on the floor when you take him to the loo pennys sell baby socks with little non-slip dots that are perfect! It could be worse - you could have a huge bandage to take care of! My guy used to balance his kong on his bandaged leg - I had to put socks over it to leave it some way respectable when we went back to the vets lol!

BE TOUGH - i can't stress that enough. I know people who were lax when their dogs were on crate rest and it set them back months - they had to start the recovery all over again. It will fly by and it'll be worth the hard work - that first time you see them run again is terrifying but rewarding

This is great stuff, thanks. he's a great chewer of kongs and toys - so he has plenty in that dept. Will definitely work on the games with him. And adaptil, that's a new one on me, will have to source that

tk123

eoglyn wrote: »

This is great stuff, thanks. he's a great chewer of kongs and toys - so he has plenty in that dept. Will definitely work on the games with him. And adaptil, that's a new one on me, will have to source that

You'll get it from the vets no probs but it's cheaper online- most of the pet sites in the UK do free shipping to the uk so you could use parcel motel

StompToWork

Just dropped Deefor off for his surgery this morning. Something that I either never picked up on during our initial consultation, or I was never told, is that he has Grade 4 luxation (the worst). This means that there are actually two surgeries today - one to move the patella back in place and one to move the lower "anchor point" so that it stays in place.

He is going to be one sore puppy this evening!

StompToWork

Just heard from Shane in Gilabbey, and the surgery went well. Like any surgeon, they always stop short of saying things like "total success" or " the job's oxo!", but he did seem encouraged by how it went.

Will be going to pick up Deefor in a few hours to bring him home.

Do poeple have an opinion on whether or not I should present him with food tonight, or should I wait until tomorrow. Whenever, should I give him his normal food or should I go bland and small potions if he might still be a little groggy?

eoglyn

StompToWork wrote: »

Just heard from Shane in Gilabbey, and the surgery went well. Like any surgeon, they always stop short of saying things like "total success" or " the job's oxo!", but he did seem encouraged by how it went.

Will be going to pick up Deefor in a few hours to bring him home.

Do poeple have an opinion on whether or not I should present him with food tonight, or should I wait until tomorrow. Whenever, should I give him his normal food or should I go bland and small potions if he might still be a little groggy?

Great, delighted for you. And so the recovery begins.

Regarding the food - the vet will advise but they usually say a small bit if he's awake and be prepared that he is unlikely to keep it down.

tk123

StompToWork wrote: »

Just heard from Shane in Gilabbey, and the surgery went well. Like any surgeon, they always stop short of saying things like "total success" or " the job's oxo!", but he did seem encouraged by how it went.

Will be going to pick up Deefor in a few hours to bring him home.

Do poeple have an opinion on whether or not I should present him with food tonight, or should I wait until tomorrow. Whenever, should I give him his normal food or should I go bland and small potions if he might still be a little groggy?

I'd give him something bland if he wants it. Shane is the one who straightened my guys legs so I can vouch for his work lol!

eoglyn how is Hugo getting on?

eoglyn

tk123 wrote: »

I'd give him something bland if he wants it. Shane is the one who straightened my guys legs so I can vouch for his work lol!

eoglyn how is Hugo getting on?

Hugo is doing great, thanks for asking, in his crate most of the time but just lazing about when out of it, he's taken to this convalescent lifestyle quite easily, I think we are lucky to have such a lazy dog

StompToWork

Update : So, Deefor is doing pretty well overall. He had a bad night on Tuesday after the surgery. Didn't sleep and cried all night long. The OH stayed up with all night, and by 5am was a wreck, because she couldn't handle the crying anymore, (understandable), so I took over, and just tried to make him as comfortable as possible.

He didn't eat or drink anything all day Tuesday, and only lapped a small bit of water yesterday. He was obviously in a lot of pain, because he wasn't even moving to relieve himself, which happened 3 times, each time requiring him to be pulled out of crate, washed down as best we could, clean out crate and lay down new bedding (the washing machine has been going non-stop!!)

I was a little concerned, so I rang Gilabbey and let them know what was going on. They suggested some stronger pain meds, so I got those and he seems to be a lot more comfortable on them. He hasn't had an accident in the crate since yesterday morning, so that's progress. He HATES the cone. HATES IT. Unfortunately, as soon as we take it off, he makes a bee-line for the stitches, so sorry, Deefor, but it's gotta stay on. The person who invents a way to deter a dog from licking a wound without a cone will become a very rich individual.

On the occassions where we take him outside to do his business, I just noticed this morning that he is starting to tentatively test out his leg. Puts a little bit of weight on it, but you instantly know when he has overdone it, as he just stops and drops. At that point, I get a towel underneath his belly, and lift his hind legs off the floor and "wheelbarrow" him into the house. Better than lifting outright, I think, because at least he is still getting there under his own steam, and he doesn't expect to be lifted back in everytime he feels like it!!

Key pionts from our experiences over the past few days : It is never too early to start crate training. Start the day you find out he will need surgery and crate rest afterwards. We might have left it a little too late, but to be fair to our ever-resourceful poochie, he has adapted pretty well, no thanks to me!!

This morning, he seemed a lot more comfortable, and he ate his breakfast happily, and drank a nice bit. It was so good to see.

The crying has all but stopped, and now the only vocalisations are along the lines "GET ME OUTTA THIS EFFIN CAGE, HOOMON"!!

Sorry, I don't mean to turn this into a blog, but I thought people might be interested.

andreac

Can i suggest something with the cone, as i do it with my rottie when she has to wear it. They are huge, so i cut mine back a little, so its not as big but it still stops them from getting at the wound. Once they cant get at it then cut it back as much as you need to and its not as bad then for them.

StompToWork

andreac wrote: »

Can i suggest something with the cone, as i do it with my rottie when she has to wear it. They are huge, so i cut mine back a little, so its not as big but it still stops them from getting at the wound. Once they cant get at it then cut it back as much as you need to and its not as bad then for them.

I was actually examining it last night with a view to doing just that. You're suggestion was all I needed to actually going ahead and cutting it. Thanks.

andreac

StompToWork wrote: »

I was actually examining it last night with a view to doing just that. You're suggestion was all I needed to actually going ahead and cutting it. Thanks.

Yeah just make sure theres enough there that stops him getting at it. You can always buy another if needs be at any vets, they are about 8 euro for the big ones so not expensive.

StompToWork

OMG, crate rest sux. Deefor has got past the point of "I don't feel so good" right through to "I'm bored, and need outta this cage now".

Despite the short crate training, however, I am so proud of how Deef's has taken to it so well.

There is no dog better than Deefor. You may attempt to argue, but you will lose! ;-)

StompToWork

Need some advice please. Deefor had his surgery on Tuesday. He is obviously on crate rest for 4 weeks, with 3 x 5-10 minute excursions in the first two weeks to do his business. I have noticed, however, that 5 days after the surgery, he is putting a good amount of weight on the effected leg, and is walking pretty well on it.

Should I be delighted that he is making miraculous progress in his recovery, or is he going too fast too soon? With Deefor being a lab, I know that the potential for re-luxation is increased with the larger breed. Do folks think I should decrease the amount of "out" time to make sure he doesn't over-exert himself?