My dog's luxating patella: Does she need surgery on this leg?

Patellar luxation is an unusual sort of problem. Bracing won't help in this situation, as the problem is that the kneecap (the patella) slides back-and-forth across the surface of the knee joint and doesn't sit securely in the groove, as it should. Dogs can be mildly to severely affected by this problem. Those with a low grade (1 or 2) patellar luxation may exhibit intermittent lameness that usually resolves quickly, and may sustain some mild arthritis over time. Higher grade luxations (3 or 4) cause more long-term lameness, and with grade 4 luxations the dog may not be able to use the leg at all. Also, luxations of grade 3 and 4 tend to produce more substantial arthritis, and if your veterinarian has told you that your dog has a luxation of either 3 or 4, you should consider surgery to stabilize the joint and prevent further arthritis from occurring. The surgery is usually highly successfully in resolving the problem.

Whether or not surgery is recommended for this condition depends on how much it is bothering the dog. Many dogs with luxating patellas have very little lameness and are not overly bothered by this problem - so in that case, surgery would not be recommended. If Penny is significantly lame and painful in her knee and your vet believes that it is due to her luxating patella, then surgery would certainly be a reasonable option as long as she is otherwise healthy. Many older dogs have surgery for various conditions with no problems, provided that there are no underlying health issues (heart disease, kidney disease, etc.) that would increase the risk of anesthesia. If your dog does have some chronic health issues, I would recommend discussing the pros and cons of surgery with your vet.

It may be. She may have a soft tissue injury or some slight swelling at the knee which is causing the patella to luxate even though it has not been a problem in the past. Your veterinarian can most likely determine if that is the case by a physical exam. If her patella is loose and moving around, it is usually pretty easy to detect.

Not that severe usually to require a euthanasia. Usually this surgery (especially if Peppi is a small breed) is resolutive,but the most delicate part of it, I would say, is the post-operative period, in which initial strict rest has to be followed by gradually increased and proper exercise. I am sure you vet will give detailed explanations about it, based on specific type of surgery they are going to perform. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

The problems with a patellar luxation is that they tend to get worse over time, and while a grade 1 doesn't require surgery to fix, if the luxation becomes grade 3 or 4 over time, surgery is required to fix it. As long as you aware that this is a possibility and you may need to pay for a surgery in the future, you can still get the puppy. If you don't want to face the potential of paying for surgery in the future, then I would pass. There's no guarantee the puppy will need surgery, but there's no guarantee it will not. I hope this helps!

I'm not sure what you're asking. This is a common surgery and could help prevent ligament tears within the knee joint. It does have up to a 12 week time frame for complete recovery and most dogs do very well. If this didn't address your specific concerns please repost or consider submitting a consult request so more question/answer format can be done.

Typically, grade 1 luxations do not require surgery unless they become a frequent problem, progress or cause pain. Time will tell how your pup does. Yes, dogs can have shellfish allergies but it could also be something else in the supplement just causing her stomach to be upset. The best course of action is to avoid execessive hard exercise (daily jogging and heavy running every day) and to start her on a joint supplement. Try Dasuquin. If she does not tolerate that, try an injectable product like Adequan. An omega 3 fatty acid supplement will also be beneficial. I hope this helps.