Luxating patella

[Penny Less]

Does this sound like the above. Dog holding hind leg up really high, doesnt seem to be in pain, doesnt whimper etc. If I rub the leg for a bit she usually puts it back down and walks off normally. Cant hear anything clicking into place. Happened once last year but twice today. Thought she'd done her cruxiate ligament the first time. She will usually cry out if I step on her foot or when Im trying to pull a knot out of her hair so thought she would cry when her leg went if it hurt.

 

[Bellasophia]

If it is the patella slipping the first signs are often a skip,then a kick whilst the dog is walking.( classic hop and skip)
.....in grade one luxation this is often enough self adjust the patella back in place.
if it’s cruciate..
My mastiff ruptured her crucial twice..she would limp,then hold the leg up... the specialist who saw her said they extend to leg to see if there is a classic drawer motion..when they pull the leg straight...my girl,failed this test(plus x rays) and went for surgery.

in early stages rest and anti inflammatory are recommended...but surgery if the conditions progress.Mine had this op twice within three years( same leg)..?

I would get a vet check..if she repeats the behavior..in both cases the longer it’s left the worse it will get.( arthritis ,more tearing etc )

 

[deb_l222]

In my humble experience, and I have experience of both, they can present pretty much the same. What I will say however, is as soon as my vet put his hands on both Willow and Button, he knew exactly what the problem was.

Luxating patellas are immensely painful as are cruciate ruptures. I have a theory that dogs don't really yelp with this type of pain because it's probably been rumbling around for some time and they have become resilient to it.

There are different degrees of luxation (as above) and the patella can rotate either anterior or posterior (think that's the right terminology).

 

[Penny Less]

Deb did the Vet see yours when they were actually in the throes of the problem or could he tell even if they seemed back to normal?

 

[deb_l222]

Deb did the Vet see yours when they were actually in the throes of the problem or could he tell even if they seemed back to normal?

With my two that have had cruciate problems, the first one was an intermittent limp, which turned out to be a cruciate tear. No surgery required, hydrotherapy for a few weeks and she walked perfectly until the end of her days. Button's cruciate was much more dramatic. Fine one day, on three legs the next day, no limping in between and a total rupture. Holding her leg very high up and it was almost floppy. Even my untrained eye knew it was her cruciate. With her, it was surgery, amputation or PTS. Ruptured ligaments don't repair themselves.

Willow and her knees was not immediately obvious to me but then again I don't faff about and try to dislocate them myself!! My vet however has said to me "put your hands here" and popped them out (they were that easy) while we were in the consulting room. Her left knee was easier to move than the right and was very loose so she had surgery on that one. The right one will dislocate but only under high pressure so that's why she's restricted to lead walks now and high impact activities, like ball chasing, are strictly banned.

As my vet said, the pain is immense with both conditions because once a ligament is gone, bone is effectively grinding against bone until it's repaired. If you've ever seen anyone on the TV (or in real life) dislocate their knee, then that's almost the same principle as luxating patellas. The body's inflammatory reaction every time there's a dislocation is HUGE and that in itself is incredibly painful.

I think dogs a stoical creatures and Willow (in particular) appears to have put up with a massive amount of pain, until we got her disabilities under control but she will still yelp if I tread on her but I think that's a reaction to acute (rather than chronic) pain.