Luxated Patella??

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Here at work, I heard Jimmy (age 5; Mini Aussie and Mini Poodle cross) whimper, and saw him standing, but his right rear leg was off the ground and looked like he was "sitting". He hobbled over to me and stood, scared and still holding his leg aloft. Suspecting a luxated patella, I massaged his leg; and after maybe a minute, he slowly relaxed the posture until his toes touched the ground again. Some online reading confirmed that his kneecap probably slipped?

I had this happen ages ago, to a little dog we owned: it happened once, and never again. Hoping that will be the case for Jimmy, but I see that miniature poodles DO have a tendency towards this 😞

Is there anything special for him to do, or NOT do, to help protect his knees? Keeping in mind he's a poodle/aussie mix...LOL! We call him "Air Jimmy" because he spends way too much time jumping - he jumps high into the air just because he's happy, for example. Going outside makes him jump for joy; company makes him jump for joy. He jumps from the ground to the seat of my SUV; and back down again.

Any pointers?? Glucosamine? Cinder block? (to hold him on the ground...LOL!)

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

CA POPPY wrote:
I am reminded of one time at the park when Poquita was walking across the grass and started holding up a hind leg and crying. She had tears running down her face while Bud held her and I tried to "fix" her knee. It was a few before Bud noticed a bee stinger in the pad of her foot. :E Dang, He got the stinger out and then it was straight to the vet for a shot, I think an anti-inflammatory and benadryl. Poor puppy.

I have to admit that the thought crossed my mind that perhaps Jack (who's getting old and cranky) had bitten Jimmy?? But something like a bite would have Jimmy shrieking "YIPE!!" and holding his "mortally-wounded" leg aloft (he's a Drama Queen AND a Tattletale....LOL!). His soft whimpering was more on the order of "why doesn't my leg work?" which made me assume the patella problem.

Regarding staying in shape: Jimmy has a new little brother who will keeping him moving and "trim" 🙂 If I can reduce the pogo-stick side of "Air Jimmy", and make him stop chasing sprinklers - what I would have left is STILL a very energetic little dog 🙂

[xteacher]

My small miniature poodle, Potsie(12.5 lb.), has grade 4 luxating patellas in both hind knees. I give him 1/2 a tablet of Cosequin DS plus MSM, along with a fish oil capsule daily. The directions on the bottle of Cosequin recommend daily for about 3 weeks, then every other day, but due to the severity of Potsie's case, I give it to him daily, with my vet's blessing. Potsie is amazingly not lame, even though his knees are always out of place (even if put back in, they immediately slip back out). He does have the bow-legged appearance in the back (common to this condition), but doesn't skip or limp. My vet is beyond amazed!

It is KEY to keep such dogs on the slim side, as extra weight puts even more stress on the joints. Fortunately, Potsie isn't much on excess jumping, which is good.

[CA_POPPY]

Chasing and running is good exercise for him, that shouldn't be a problem unless the bad foot gets caught somewhere. The ortho vet explained that keeping the tendons and muscles strong was essential to protecting the knee. But yeah, no good on the jumping games, although Poquita persisted as long as she could at trying to launch herself into Bud's arms. There is only so much you can prevent them from doing. Our learning how to put the patella back in place gave Poquita a lot of extra good years. I am reminded of one time at the park when Poquita was walking across the grass and started holding up a hind leg and crying. She had tears running down her face while Bud held her and I tried to "fix" her knee. It was a few before Bud noticed a bee stinger in the pad of her foot. :E Dang, He got the stinger out and then it was straight to the vet for a shot, I think an anti-inflammatory and benadryl. Poor puppy.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I forgot to clarify that once Jimmy could relax the leg - he was fine. Was romping around with Ben shortly afterward.

OK - will work on keeping all 4 feet on the ground - but that's easier said than done...LOL! No more "chase the water spray from the hose" - THAT game gets kind of scary anyway. He's an Aussie - he NEEDS to "chase". Fortunately, we live on a lake and he loves to swim 🙂

Jack gets glucosamine anyway - so giving a chew to Jimmy is easy. Crossing my fingers that was a "once in a lifetime event" like my other dog - but we DO have a good Veterinary Orthopedic Surgeon in Kalamazoo if all else fails....

[CA_POPPY]

After it happens once, it is likely to happen again. Poquita lived with it all her life. Don't let anybody play with him in a way that requires him to jump, ie: frisbie or catching treats, etc. I learned via web how to put her knee back in place (verified w/ ortho vet) and we went on like that for many years. At age 7, we had her evaluated for surgery and the ortho specialist said Poquita's tendons had adapted so well from walking the park every day, that he wouldn't risk surgery. She was a tiny dog, 5-6 lbs. She did develop arthritis as had been predicted but only was really incompacitated the last few months of her 15½ yr life. Rosie, however, had an ACL tear a few years ago and did need surgery. $3K but she did well. I've actually heard of luxated patellas in big dogs, too, so it happens.

[dturm]

Jumping and rapid direction changes while running. The pogo stick behavior and jumping increase the likelihood of other stifle injuries - torn ACL and/or cartilage.

The initial luxation is most painful as it involves tearing/stretching of ligaments, usually lateral collateral with medical luxation - the most common. If these don't heal or tighten up, it becomes a chronic condition.

And yes, poodles (all sizes smaller than standard) seem to be more prone.

Doug, DVM

[Code2High]

Keep him quiet until you are sure he is ok. Learn how it feels when in and out and if it happens again you can usually pop it back in. Tinkerbell seems more prone to this after walking a lot on flat ground. Vet disapproves of the pogo stick behavior but I cannot say I have seen that correlate with episodes. Black current seed oil seems to keep Tink running well most of the time. Glucosamine can't hurt either.

[IDman]

Get him to a vet ASAP or it could get so painful he won't be able to walk. We just went thru that with our Cavalier KC Spaniel and he had surgery. Now he is fine.

[bgum]

NO jumping.