# Bad knee?



## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

Sounds like a luxating patella. Do a search on the forum and on google and you'll find plenty of info. Our mini, Beau, has this in both his knees. For now he's asymptomatic, and I pray that will always be the case. (And for Gracie, too.) It's a congenital defect, though I've read that it can (rarely) be caused by trauma. Sadly it's quite common in minis and toys. Surgery is required if it gets bad enough. Oh, and our first vet didn't catch it, either. This site has alot of good info. You might want to limit lots of jumping up and down from cars, beds, couches, etc. We bought a set of doggie stairs so Beau -- who has never been much of jumper, anyway -- can climb up and down off our rather high bed without jumping.


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## SamanthaJo (Oct 30, 2011)

Thanks so much for the info! Gracie is definitely a jumper. She's fearless when it comes to jumping off of things lol. Hopefully with some steps she'll use those more than leaping off of the bed when she gets excited.


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

I would put the baby on a joint supplement.. Did the vet grade the knee? It goes from grade I to grade IV which should be surgically corrected. I knew Eve had lux patellas but they werent graded till she was almost 3yrs. That is when I put her on Nupro (not Nutro) joint supplement and had her on it for like 4-5 yrs. When she was graded she had a Grade II and Grade III knees but after 4yrs on Nupro I decided to have her regraded and she was a Grade I and Grade II knees!!! When I had to take off it for some months after finding out she had some food allergies and is alleric it now I could tell she slowed down. If it wasnt too important she wasnt going to get up or go up the stairs. SO now I have her on Cosequin and is back to her old self lol. That is the biggest advice is to get her started on a supp now to slow down the disease and keep her comfortable. Keeping her a fit trim weight will keep her comfortable as well.


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## SamanthaJo (Oct 30, 2011)

The vet didn't grade it. The only thing he said was that if it isn't bothering her, then it isn't bothering him, and that's it. Thanks for the advice, I didn't even think about a supplement. I will definitely be looking into all of these tips...I want to do whatever I can to keep her healthy and happy.


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

That's very disappointing, how else will you know how serious it is. Just because she is not symptomatic does not mean she wont be. Once they develop arthritis it is not reversable. I read that grade II - IV one should consider having surgery done. The higher the grade the more pressing surgery should be. I think grade I and II should be ok for Eve as long as she is on a supplement. Perhaps your vet didnt know how to grade or perhaps didnt feel it was important. Eve's first vet said she had luxating patellas, but didnt grade them either. I wish he had, Id like to think she would be better off . Anywho I hope you get the baby on a supp and that it helps her in the long runn !


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## lunamarz_31 (Nov 15, 2010)

My mini has luxating patella as well. The first time I noticed this was when she was only 6 mo. old (not long after we got her), and the vet could feel her knees pop in and out. She is 10 years old now, never had any surgery since it has never caused her any problems or interferes with every day activities. She is still active and runs like normal. She does like to run up and down the stairs though with no problem. Hopefully it will never progress to worse than this. 

I didn't know that it is required she is on supplements. The vet never mentioned such a thing...I give her glucosamine anyway but will look into Cosequin. Thank you for the info!

Edited: I give her food that contains green lipped mussel. It is known to contain glucosamine and chrondroitin, in a natural form as opposed to the chemical form.


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

Well I wouldnt say its required, I would say highly rec'd. It took a few vets before anyone mentioned supplements., and they really do help. Eve gets the Cosequin bonelets and it has green lipped mussel as well. 100 bonelets in a bottle. You dont really know how well it works on the less severe cases until you stop using it lol. Sounds like your baby is doing great on the supps!


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