My puppy has stifle laxity. Can future patellar luxation be treated?

It's difficult to say - for some young puppies the patellas can be a little mobile but they never progress and can even become less mobile with age. For other puppies the symptoms worsen. If you have the option to choose another puppy and want to avoid the risk of any orthopedic issues you may want to go that route.

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!

Yes, she will likely grow out of this. A grade one is a very mild patella luxation. Grade 3 or 4 are severe and would benefit from surgical correction when they are adults. As she grows and develops more muscles and her tendons and ligaments get stronger the patella will most likely stay in the groove. This is a common orthopedic problem in many small breed dogs. Running and playing is fine but I recommend limiting the jumping up and down since that could make the condition worse. Also prevent her from becoming overweight as this puts more stress on all of the joints. Many dogs with mild patella luxation never need treatment or have any lameness. I personally am not overly concerned about it and would go ahead and get Chloe. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you get answers to your veterinary questions.

This is a tricky question because there is no way of knowing if Marceline's luxating patella will progress or remain stable as time goes on, regardless of lifestyle. If luxating patellas are going to progress, they are more likely to do so in the first few years of life. To my knowledge, there have been no studies showing that a more active lifestyle causes patellar changes to occur more rapidly. However, Marceline is more likely to develop osteoarthritis in the affected stifle (knee) over time because the articular cartilage in the joint gets more worn by the abnormal movement. Discuss a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement with your vet, such as Dasuquin or Cosequin, as these can be beneficial in slowing the progression of osteoarthritis.

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.

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.

If Stella is having difficulty walking/running, surgery may be indicated. Your vet will be able to grade the luxation by checking to see how far it moves out of the groove. She will then be able to determine whether or not surgery is necessary on this leg. Good luck! I hope Stella is feeling better soon.