mbc1963 Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 So, my little dog Cricket has occasionally "skipped" on her right back leg once in a while. At first it was just when she was going over the raised threshholds in my house. As she's gotten reliable and I let her off leash more - and she plays HARD with other dogs, running fast and hard - it's gotten more frequent. I just googled it, and apparently this is a classic sign of luxating patella (floating kneecap), which is common in small dogs. The Internet, as always, has conflicting advice: "immediate surgery" vs. "it'll be fine; leave it alone." Anyone had any experience with this condition? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cass C Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 My grandma has three poodles with this condition and two have had to have surgery one has now. If you think that it could be a luxating patella you need to go to the vet and have them assess how bad it is. As in does it slide back into place on it's own and cause pain only for a few minutes until it fixes itself or does it cause significant pain and not slide back into place without human intervention? One of the poodles has had it for two years with no serious issues yet, the other two were so bad they had to have surgery to make them able to walk normally. It also may or may not be relevant, but the two that had to have surgery are very overweight and the one that has not is about normal weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 As Cass C said, "It varies." Luxating patellae can be "graded" by a vet or a therapist - anywhere from Grade 1 to Grade 4, with the higher number being more severe. It is due to one or more conditions - either the groove that the patella and its ligaments rest in might be too shallow so they do not stay in place consistently, or the ligaments themselves might be too slack to hold the patella in place under certain conditions. This can be due to genetics or trauma. My Dan has a Grade 1 to 1 1/2 luxating patella on one hind leg. He can go for several months without it popping out of place, or have it happen several times in a week. By observation, we have been able to notice what it is that he does that causes this. For him, it is a sharp turn in one direction with a sidestep, or a slip (like on ice) that results in the same action. It is easy to pop it back into place by putting a hand under his thigh and lifting the stifle joint (knee) upwards, as if he was lying down (think "sphinx" position). It is not considered painful when it's out of place but only when it's moving out of place. For Dan, his condition is not severe enough to cause problems and require surgery. It has never occurred when he has been working, only when he has been playing. If I had a dog for whom this was diagnosed as Grade 1 or maybe even Grade 2, but which did not cause issues other than the occasional need to "reset" the kneecap, I would not go the surgery route. However, you need to speak to your vet or possibly an ortho vet, to see what might be best for your dog and her situation. It sounds as if, since it goes out on her when she is not twisting and turning but just running, that her condition might be more severe but that would be for the vet to determine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denice Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 A vet friend told me once "Treat the Dog not the Disease". Good advise and that is pretty much what I do. If the dog is not hindered, in pain ect then I would tend to let it go. If she was limping more than she was not or if she does not use that leg or does not want to jump on the couch ect then I would go to the next step. Many small dogs do just fine, they even stretch their leg out and 'fix' the knee themselves. larger/heavier dogs have more of a problem usually. Might see if there is anything specific exercises you can do to strengthen that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 It might be wise to have it checked, both to find out for sure that's what it is and how bad (or not) it is before making any final decisions whether or not to do anything about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 An alternative suggestion - strained iliopsoas muscle. Having said that, IMHO the best diagnostician would be a certified rehab vet (AKA an ortho vet, or a physio if you are across the pond). A general vet would be able to diagnose a luxating patella, but in my experience, a GP vet often can not diagnose a strained iliopsoas. It's just not on their radar unless they are used to dealing with dogs heavily involved in sports/working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted January 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Thanks for the info! For clarification, when I say Cricket is "running," what I mean is, "Running in insane circles faster than all the other dogs can run, and quickly dodging and changing directions to throw the other dogs off her path." She is really, REALLY fast, and she takes great joy in being chased, but this means crazy dodging and weaving, too. This is her great thrill in life. I can't even imagine trying to keep her still for weeks or months if someone suggest surgery! She did get "chased down" by a pack of three large dogs a few weeks ago - off-leash forested park, stupid humans! - and ended up slipping and crying at one point before she actually showed teeth snarled to drive the dogs away. That might have been when she pulled or strained something. I'm thinking this is an old injury from her past life that gets aggravated when she overdoes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 If she is sore and holds up that leg, but can put it down and get running herself, it could be a soft tissue injury (illeopsoas, as someone mentioned is one possibility) or something completely different. I would trust a competent vet (particularly one with ortho experience) to check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Luxating patellas are a fairly common issue in smaller breed dogs. I have a friend with a rescue chihuahua who has luxating patellas--fairly severe--but was told by her vet that she doesn't necessarily have to do surgery right away, if ever. I'd get a second opinion and then just go with how Cricket is doing on a regular basis (e.g., how it's affecting his quality of life). J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted January 23, 2016 Report Share Posted January 23, 2016 LPs in medium to large dogs does tend to be more of a problem. They are at much higher risk of injury, especially ruptured CCLs. A good vet should be able to diagnose by palpation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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