Patellar Luxation

Hi there...My three-year-old Yorkie, Jace, has patellar luxation. He did something to his leg this past weekend and has been somewhat hobbling around since. He doesn't seem to be in pain, but he's not as active. The vet said to give it about three to four weeks to see if it heals up. I guess the other option is surgery.

Has anyone else had this issue with their little ones?

Did the vet mention what grade he has? It goes from 1 ro 4, 1 being the lowest.

Also, did you notify the breeder where you bought the puppy. They should be informed if they are good reputable breeders. I would want to know the grade though so find that out before you call them.

It sounds to me like it is a grade 1 if the vet wants him to rest up. A lot of time the puppies can have Luxating patella's (grade 1- 1 1/2) and with normal walks and activity they strengthen. The best thing that owners can learn is not to let puppies jump onto couches and chairs and especially beds, and most of all don't let them jump off these places either until after 1 yr. of age. This will greatly increase the chances of stronger knee joints.

When people train in agility and Obedience we try not to jump the dogs full height except right before a trial. Keep the jumps low - as long as they are doing them without faults then you are okay. Every so often throw in a jump at the height the dog is required to jump - this teaches them to watch their jumping as well.

Pauline

My little Rascal has severe luxation. He's had surgery on both knees and the right one is bad again. Instead of putting through more surgery, I massage his knees, take him for walks (he has a stroller so when he gets tired, he rides) with his "big brother" , and we give him 1/2 baby aspirin up to 2 times a day when it's really bad. The one thing I have to watch is that his nails on his right foot don't wear down like his other foot & will curl under into the pad if I don't keep an eye on it.

Hi, my Tinkerbell had this on both knees really badly, we waited till she was too bad then had both knees opperated on one every 3 months so they could heal, she was only 3 years old. So we had the intention of her running for another 14 years. Both opps went well, but you will have to prepair yourself for a lot of tlc and constant looking after for them to heal well. She needed me all the time to help her, but when both knees were all healed up she was like a brand new dog, charging around like she did as a pup. I had a very good surgeon, a knee specialist, all he did were knees and he was excelent. She had a lot of work done, bone cut out, tendons tied back, pins in perminently, but it was all worth it. So i would find a good specialist knee surgeon and talk to them. Unfortunately my girl died 3 months later of a rare unsepected unrelated sudden case of brain cancer. so she never got to use her new knees as planned, but at that young age i would do it again as it is worth keeping them agile, and my circumstances were just really bad timing and luck. Good luck to you both :)