Knee dysplacia in terriers - experiences

[LHIS]

I'd like to hear from anyone who's had a terrier (or any dog for that matter) who's had the op for knee dysplacia and how they fared in their later years?
My Patterdale is 7 now, she had the op 3 years ago this summer. She's been great since, though does get sore on long walks and you notice a stiffness in her mobility the day following a long walk. As a result she does no more than 2 hours, with the majority of her walls between 15-40 mins most days.
Our vet said she may develop some arthritis as she ages but gave us no clue about how they get on in general.

 

[Bellasophia]

You probably haven't had any replies as most call this condition slipping patella....
I've not had a dog with this,but seen a fair few in the smaller poodles ( my breed is st poodles).
I would get the dog on a joint supplement,natural antiinflammatories,keep her weight slim ,and maybe cut back on the very long walks which cause her joints to flare.If she's doing well on the regular ,shorter walks I'd continue in this way...she should go into her golden years well following this regime...the problem with your breed is they are so stoic they won't show you when they are overfaced and you have to step in and decide for them.

 

[Snuffles]

Can dogs manage with this condition without an op? Someone I know had this op on her dog and it doesnt seem to have helped at all.

 

[Bellasophia]

Can dogs manage with this condition without an op? Someone I know had this op on her dog and it doesnt seem to have helped at all.

patella luxation..
The patella will slip out of place in a shallow grooved joint...the levels of slip are graded one to four...
Grade one ,the dog has a slight hop to its stride ,this progresses to a skip as the dog jiggles its kneecap back into the joint groove i.e. Pops the kneecap back itself...at grades three and four the knee cap can remain out ( luxated) and the dog is in pain..
If the knee is left without an op ,the joint gets more and more arthritic..
Vets will want to see the dog regularly to monitor which level the joint has got to and then suggest an operation to deepen the groove in the joint to keep the kneecap securely in place.
Sometimes people leave things too late( expensive op,dog seems to be doing ok)..maybe the joint has had too much damage by then so any " repair" is less effective than if performed earlier.
The lighter,smaller dogs seem to recover fast from this op...bigger breeds take longer.

 

[LHIS]

Yes sorry I said knee dysplacia but I probably meant Patella Luxation.

My pooch had the op for this a few years ago, when the vet first diagnosed it it was grade 2, they wouldn't operate then because it wasn't deemed severe enough, so she got worse and they operated when it was grade 3 going on 4.
It's made all the difference to her - she went from being a 3-legged dog to fully motoring about on all 4 legs.

The long fell walks we used to enjoy are a thing of the past unfortunately, and having done some more research I think she might be developing the arthritic changes as I've noticed she does now favour the leg ever so slightly. She's not in pain that I can see though.

We've started her on joint supplements and because I enjoy a bit of mumbo jumbo I've got her one of those collars with a magnet in too.