Popping knees

[Elliriyanna]

I was at the vet with my dog yesterday for his annual. And he is healthy, great body weight etc. vets were very happy with him. 

But when they checked his back legs both knees pop, they told me its common in little dogs and if it becomes a problem he will need surgery. 

Does anyone have experience with this? 

he is only 2 years old so I figure now is the perfect time to really focus on my vet fund. 

[LBJ10]

My dog has what the vet called “shallow” knees. They would slide when she stood correctly and pop out of place. So she started walking more straight-legged when she was quite young. The vet decided to leave it alone. She seemed to do fine for the most part. Now she is 16 years old and has horrible arthritis. Not sure if it was caused by her knees or not. She’s a dachshund, by the way.

[Elliriyanna]

I should have mentioned they don’t do it all the time.

i could easily see how walking improperly could cause wear that wouldn’t usually be a problem. But if he lives to be 16 and only has arthritis ( not that thats good but there is worse) I think we will be a happy pair. Sorry you are going through it with your girl though

The vet didn’t seem too concerned, just asked if we had had any issues with it and told us to watch for limping. From watching my dog I would never have guessed he had an issue. 

[Lee]

Luxatting patellas. Very common in small dogs, or dogs who have bad muscular skeletal issues. My 30kg dog had this when she was 10 months old, she had surgery on 1 knee to correct it (as LBJ mentioned it is caused by the knee cap being too shallow so the patella slips out), the second one also had issues but as she got older it self corrected to a point and it no longer happens. I actually wish we didnt do surgery so early on the first knee as it may have self corrected but at the time I didnt know any better. In the end my dogs knee issues were caused by other issues such as hip displasia, the vet missed that fact.

Ell – Many people don’t notice luxatting patellas because it is on and off, if the patella pops out the dog is non weight bearing because it physically can’t put the leg on the ground, once the patella pops back into place the dog continues to walk as if nothing happened, but dont be fooled the patella popping in and out is very painful.
If you can find a canine rehab specialist or osteo/chiro vet in your area I would recommend you make an appointment to see one of them, they will be able to set you up with exercises to specifically strengthen the muscles and ligaments around the knee joint to help stabilise it and reduce the likelihood that in future surgery may be needed and will also help to reduce the onset of arthritis.

[Elliriyanna]

Well the woman I work for her passion is dogs and she has been through a lot with them. So maybe she will know some exercises.

I was trying to watch him walk last night and he may be walking straight legged … But I may just be paranoid. I love my dog he is my best friend so I worry.

[LBJ10]

Lee – Thanks for the technical explanation. I could have done it last night, but I was too tired. LOL

I suppose I should also mention that her arthritis is everywhere, not just the knees on her back legs. So it could be completely unrelated. She still walks more straight-legged than a normal dachshund would, but we believe the muscles and ligaments grew into that position as she walked like that when she was still growing.

[Elliriyanna]

I have heard of luxating patellas I just didn’t connect that that’s what it was. As soon as I had that missing piece of info I looked at what the surgery would be and such.

I do hope he will never have to have the surgery. But if it affects his quality of life I will make sure he gets what he needs.

His legs have never ” locked” in position like they say is a common problem ( which of course makes the leg unusable until it relaxes and goes back into position) so I have high hopes that if he does need the surgery it wont be soon

[Lee]

Sounds like his are pretty mild. I would definitely try to get into doing some exercises with him to build muscle/ligament strength, it will give him a much better chance of it not progressing to the point of surgery. There is a great facebook group run by professionals called Canine Conditioning and Body Awareness Exercises – they have files upon files of great exercises for all sorts of different issues, and can make suggestions on good exercises for your pup.

IF you do need surgery I would highly recommend you get a referral to an Orthopedic vet to have it done. I made the mistake of having a regular vet do it and it is no where near what it should have been. Correction for LP is orthopedic surgery so should be done by a specialist.

[Elliriyanna]

Thanks I will look at that group.

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