Luxated Patella
Well, it has happened... We are experiencing something new with our Bella. All these years having pets and this is new to me. I took her to the vet yesterday after noticing that she was limping quite...
Forum Discussion
CatandJim wrote:
I am consulting with a surgeon next week and will have many things to consider. Thank you ALL for sharing your experience. Bella is a happy, active dog. We walk up to 2 miles several times a week. Her limp is occasional and doesn't last long so I am not sure what level her LP would be.... She has responded very well to the low dose Rimadyl and hasn't limped at all for a few days. However, I don't want to keep her on that long term. So much to consider.....
It will be interesting to hear what the orthopedist says. As for Rimadyl, we never gave Poquita pain meds for the LP as the limping always stopped as soon as we put her knee back in place. LP Dogs develop some arthritis when they're older, whether or not they have surgery, so we eventually got to that anyhow. When we finally had to use Rimadyl for her back (which was probably let down by her weak knees) we used a minimal dose, even 1/4 or 1/2 of the lowest dose, because she was only 5-6 lbs. Both the vets we had for her were quite comfortable prescribing Rimadyl, although originally there was so much negative press on the web. It's all about quality of life. Our old country vet was concerned that if the dog was "feeling no pain" they would jump off the sofa and/or play in a way to aggravate the condition. While that attitude has changed in post-surgery cases, he held to it in chronic states like this. It's good that we all get to listen to the options, knowing our own dogs, and make the best decisions we can based on all the info. I got to the point that I could see in Poquita's eyes if she needed pain meds. She always "told" me. Good luck with Bella. I'll bet she will be fine with whatever you decide.
