# how to tell if luxating patella is causing pain?



## Onyx (Nov 28, 2011)

So, I went to the vet today and while I was there I had the vet check Onyx's knees (I KNEW she had it) and the vet very easily confirmed she had luxating patella.... in both legs 

What's weird though is the one that is worse, is the one I didn't know she had luxating patella in. She said her left leg is a grade 3-4 and the right isn't as bad. I asked if surgery would be necessary and she said so long as it isn't causing pain all of the time, surgery won't be needed.

How do you know if it is causing pain though? I never see her have problems with the left leg (though it's supposedly the worst out of the two) but every now and then she limps for a minute after jumping off of something. She doesn't usually make any noise but occasionally she'll yipe. I know dogs can be good at hiding pain though.

She recommended stairs for something like the high bed (she sleeps on my bed) and thinks it would be a good idea to get her on a joint supplement, which I planned to do anyway. Do you think if this were causing her pain on a regular I would know about it? I would just hate to think she's not in much pain but is really just hiding it.


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## KayC (May 3, 2005)

Hello, I am sorry to hear about Onyx's diagnosis of LP. I agree to hold off on surgery if there is no pain. As for pain is she holding her leg up while running or running on 3 legs? This could be a sign of pain. I would try to keep her from jumping if you can. My DH built steps for Zoey so she wouldn't have to jump up or down. Did you vet reccomend any supplements? My vet reccomended CosaminDS, it is a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement. It is a big capsule (for humans) but she reccomended giving 1/4 of the powder daily over her food. They sell it at Costco but it is behind the pharmacy counter so you have to ask for. It's about 60$ for 230 capsules but that would last you forever. Please keep us posted. I am sure you will get more suggestions as to what supplements as there are so many out there.


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

When Zarita had her knees done at one time, she was in pain. She just trembled and laid around for a week before surgery. She had grade 2's-3's in both legs. She was 5yrs old when she had surgery!. Sue


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## Onyx (Nov 28, 2011)

Zoey's Mom said:


> Hello, I am sorry to hear about Onyx's diagnosis of LP. I agree to hold off on surgery if there is no pain. As for pain is she holding her leg up while running or running on 3 legs? This could be a sign of pain. I would try to keep her from jumping if you can. My DH built steps for Zoey so she wouldn't have to jump up or down. Did you vet reccomend any supplements? My vet reccomended CosaminDS, it is a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement. It is a big capsule (for humans) but she reccomended giving 1/4 of the powder daily over her food. They sell it at Costco but it is behind the pharmacy counter so you have to ask for. It's about 60$ for 230 capsules but that would last you forever. Please keep us posted. I am sure you will get more suggestions as to what supplements as there are so many out there.


Thanks for the reply.
She doesn't normally lift one of her legs, just occasionally after jumping off the bed. Any other time she runs just fine and uses all four legs. She is overweight though (been working on that) so sometimes she does limp a little or kind of drag one leg after too long of a walk. Hopefully after losing weight and getting stairs she won't have many problems. Other than that, she doesn't really show any signs of pain.

As for supplements, the vet didn't recommend any particular brand. She just said a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement would probably help with the friction when the knee moves and that it may help prevent arthritis (she said the luxating patella can cause arthritis later on). I was thinking of getting the dog brand Cosequin since it's the only brand I know of at the moment that's relatively cheap for the amount of tablets I get. It has a lot of good reviews so I figured it may be worth a try.

It just sucks because I got her from the true definition of a backyard breeder and I know it's a genetic issue


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## LostLakeLua (Sep 6, 2009)

I'm kind of in the same boat with Zoey as far as not really knowing if her issues are genetic or caused by her injury when she was young.

But, this is the product that I ordered for her (check out the reviews!):















I was giving her a tablet form prior but heard that the dogs are not able to break it down to absorb the glucosamine as well in tablet form, whereas most of it would be absorbed if in liquid. Too early to tell if the liquid is making any difference but I look forward to updating on how it helps!


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## KayC (May 3, 2005)

I think getting the extra weight off her would really help. 
Kat, thanks for the link. I like the liquid idea better then trying to divide powder into 4 equal parts.


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