Luxating Patella in 11 week old Cocker Pup

[FrankieBlue]

Hi everyone!

This is my first time here. I am from Canada, and Cockers (or as they are called here, English Cockers) are not nearly as common! So, finding the 'Cocker experts' is hard. I thought this might be the place to find them! We need some help.

I searched high and low for a reputable breeder within either the US or Canada and a specific breeder, with a litter of puppies, came very very highly recommended. He is a wonderful breeder, I know the origins of his dogs and they all come from very long lines of healthy beautiful dogs. Hips, eyes and ears certified etc. He noticed the puppy we had picked was walking a little bit funny, so he took her to the vet. Long story short, the vet diagnosed her with a grade 1 luxating patella. He was totally stumped because he said it does not usually happen to Cockers. He believes that as she ages & grows, develops muscle and cartilage, that her knees could actually become normal. I felt fine as the vet explained it all to me then the second we left, I had to run over to Dr. Google which has scared the living crap out of me.

The breeder is totally devastated by this, I am too. I don't want her to have to suffer through life with arthritis and pain medication. Many recommend doing the surgery right away, many don't. Many recommend supplements, many don't. Some say it can heal and get better, some say it will never get better without intervention. Exercise her, no, don't do that. Bed rest instead! I. Am. So. Lost.

Any help or advice would be so immensely appreciated. I love her to bits and I am 10000% committed to doing everything it takes to get her better. Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story. Much love. X

Edit: her little knees are going outwards as she walks, rather than inwards. Not sure if that makes a difference or adds to the problem!

[elaine.e]

Hello and welcome to COL

My first Cocker, a golden show type called Josh, some 30 years ago, had luxating patella in one hind leg when he was a young pup. He moved perfectly normally so there was nothing obvious to see, but very occasionally during his puppyhood the patella would slip out and then right itself within a couple of seconds. He would cry out in pain and then be back to normal.

I don't think they graded them all those years ago, but my vet was fairly confident that it would stop as Josh matured, and it did. It's a long time ago now, but I seem to remember that the last time it happened was when we were at a particular dog show, which enables me to date it to when Josh was about 14 months old. He had no further problems with it and lived until almost 17 years old.

That's my only experience of the condition, but I hope it helps.

[Mari]

No expert, but my cocker was diagnosed with low grade patella luxation in one knee when she was about a year old. So I can share my experience

I did not have surgery on her because the vet did not think it necessary with such a low degree of luxation. She has always had a slight bunnyhop when galloping, but she compensated well for her bad knee so we left it alone. I think you should discuss with your vet if surgery is the right option for your dog. It really depends on degree and on how the individual is affected.

Keeping the dog fit and avoiding overweight is important for obvious reasons. Exercising is good, it will help build the muscles around the joint and help stabilise it. Of course you should wait to exercise her until she is finished growing. But letting her run around on natural surfaces and especially uneven terrain, like in the forrest, is very good for building muscles in a balanced way Swimming is also excellent!

My dog has lived a normal life. People have always commented on how fast and athletic she is. Only I and the vets seemed to be able to see her PL. People would see the bunny hopping if I pointed it out, but it never slowed her down and she never showed signs of discomfort.

As she got older she started getting arthrosis in the knee with PL, this will happen at some point. I noticed she started limping while trotting when she was 8 years old. At that time I started her on a veterinary diet for joint care. This improved her limping a lot, so I would have started her on it sooner had I known how good the effect is. There's really no reason to not give that diet to an adult dog, I'm not sure if it's good for a puppy though.

My girl will be 11 this summer and is still happy and energetic. Loves long walks, jumps around like cockers do. The limping is more noticeable now, and it does affect her some days after a long walk. By that I mean she will limp slightly and trot instead of running full speed which is her default. But she still compensates very well and she has not slowed down much.

I have started her on medication for arthrosis to slow down the deterioration of the joint. It's a new drug that's safer than traditional stuff and it has helped her alot. This is of course something that you will not need to consider yet, but it's good to know that there are options if/when that time comes.
I've also started supplements with glucosamin, chondroitin and omega fatty acids in addition to the vet diet that already contains these ingredients. These supplements can only help, not hurt. But again, not sure if they are suitable for a puppy so discuss with the vet before considering it.

Hope this helps your anxiety Dr. Google is full of information, but his lack of nuance can scare the sense out of anyone! Always better to bring a list of questions to a vet you trust I think.

Sorry about the long post, here is a picture of my 10 year old crazy cocker:

[fionad]

My dog is a Papillon. She had luxating patellas as a young pup. Both operated on and she is absolutely fine ten years on. Yours is a low grade LP. Take your vets advice. They usually know best.

[FrankieBlue]

Thank you both so much for the responses! I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time.

Elaine.e, thank you for sharing your story of Josh. It sounds like he lived a wonderful long life. How beautiful for you both. I'm hoping that Frankie will grow out of it just like Josh did. Shame your poor boy actually cried out when his knee slipped? Frankie's knees slip in and out and she doesn't even notice or make a peep. She couldn't be less bothered by it, it's me who is all out of sorts! Typical dog mom.

Mari, thank you as well for shaking your story! Your girl is absolutely stunning. She's looks incredibly youthful, hard to believe she is 10 years old. I truly appreciate all of your input. I've noticed the little bunny hop too. My vet said her case is so  mild, her joints just slip in and out with no pain or her even noticing. Swimming sounds like the best exercise for her to work those little muscles with no impact! That and some good romps in the forest should help. You couldn't be more correct - Dr. Google has a funny way of preying on your worst nightmares! You have really eased my worries with your story. I mean, look at your girl. If that's what I have to look forward to, how lucky am I?
I hope you don't mind me asking, how long do you guys usually walk for?

[Mari]

I hope you don't mind me asking, how long do you guys usually walk for?

Don't mind at all, don't know how much help my answer will be as I'm terribly inconsistent even though I know that regular exercise is best for her leg  When she was a puppy we only went out to explore the world, mostly we went to parks and I let her play and explore. But when she was old enough to go for proper walks I was trying hard to be the perfect dog owner so I would make sure at least one of the walks every day was more than 1 hour. So we'd maybe walk for 2-3 hours every day, more on the weekends. I would jog with her too occasionally.

But once I realized that she didn't really need long walks as much as interesting walks I stopped timing them and just went out with a tug-toy, a clicker and a pocket full of treats  It's great training to have the dog balance on fallen treetrunks, jump over small bushes , crawl under low branches, slalom between trees etc. Even in the city there are always small walls to balance on or fences to crawl under or decorative stones to jump up on

To be honest I have gotten so lazy  the last years she has not gotten as much exercise as she deserves. Some days I'll go for a two hour walk in the woods, others a short walk around the neighbourhood, and some day we just play in the garden.

I've never had to limit the walks for her, never had to restrict her exercise in any way, the only thing I've tried is to avoid long walks on hard, flat surfaces. But since we've lived in the center of Budapest for most of her life she's had quite a few long walks on asphalt I'm afraid. Not for daily walks, we lived close to a large park, but still.

Hope your girl grows out out of it or is ok like mine. My girl never actually luxated her patella without the vet manipulating her knee as far as I know. I think it may have happend once. She disappeared from me for a few minutes in the forrest and when she came back she was limping badly. That's when I had her checked and she was diagnosed with PL. After that she always had a funny gait and I think maybe that was to compensate so it did not slide out.
When she was 8 years old she luxated it for the first time that I witnessed. She screamed and hopped on three legs, it was very hard to watch. It happened several times in one week so I put her on vet diet and soon after startet medication for arthrosis. It hasn't happened since

[bizzylizzy]

Hi and welcome to COL, glad you found us as you'll get lots if support here with everything pertaining to English Cockers - I don't live in UK either and the breed isn't that common here these days so aren't really understood, - this forum has been a life saver for me.
My dog started with the occasional bunny hop when he was a few months old, - some days it happens every minute or so on a walk, sometimes not at all. Our vet couldn't determine anything on examination but suggested it is LP which corrects itself. We were told it would most likely improve as the muscle developed but, if it did continue or got worse, surgery would be an option later. He's just under 2 now and it happens very very rarely but doesn't seem to cause him any discomfort. As for exercise,  we  followed the 5 minutes per month of age rule for walking during the first 6 months or so and now he gets between 1 -2 hours  per day, sometimes more, sometimes less. As Mari has said, natural surfaces are better than hard, we avoided steps for the first couple of months and we were also advised against throwing balls etc too much as running and then stopping abruptley for the ball wasn't good for the joints.
Sorry not to be able to be of much more help but, as far as I understand it, I don't think its anything to worry about hugely at this stage. Best of luck, hope to hear more from you and see some photos of your little one!

[chrisp]

Mollie had a luxating Patella when she was very young.  She would wake up and start hobbling on the leg and then all of a sudden it was ok (it had gone back into place).  The vet said the same as yours... leave until she was fully grown and then they would see how she was as bones etc still growing.  If still bad then it would mean surgery.   We did leave it and she has been fine - she didn't need surgery. 

[FrankieBlue]

FionaD thank you for your reply! Papillons are such lovely little dogs. I am glad to hear the surgery went well and you've had no problems since. What a blessing! I hope you are enjoying your time together

Mari, I am so happy to hear how well your girl is doing. It must have been so scary to see her hurt like that, but she sounds like a strong little lady (I'm sure from you!) Great idea about walks. One of my dogs I could walk all day and when we get home all he wants to do is play/bounce  off the walls. Walks usually don't cut it for him, but making his walks more of a natural agility course would very likely do the trick! It's so nice to hear how active your girl is. That picture says it all. She looks like a snow bunny! So divine.

[FrankieBlue]

BizzyLizzy, thank you so much for the warm welcome and advice! I am so happy to have found this forum. The lack of knowledge on cockers here is a tad frustrating. All people seem to say is watch out for eyes and ears! Funny that my last cocker never had neither an eye nor ear infection. It's so wonderful to hear that your boy is doing great. Your advice is very helpful, we will certainly avoid steps & concrete. It makes perfect sense that the abrupt halt in playing fetch would be rough on the joints. Were you concerned with him playing rough with other dogs? I would love to see photos of your boy! Here's a pic of the little girl in question http://m.imgur.com/a/Xh5ab

Chrisp, your story gives me hope for our girl, thank you very much for sharing. It is so wonderful to hear that she was able to pull through this without surgery. I hope she is running and bouncing around as all cockers do! Our girl seems to be a bit stiff when she gets up from a nap in the crate, it takes her 1-2 mins to get back to her usual self but that's usually the only time we notice a problem.

[bizzylizzy]

  she's beauuuuuuutiful!!!!
 

[FrankieBlue]

Thank you!!! She's a lovely little cockerdile. Your boy is absolutely stunning [emoji173] so so so cute.


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[moneypenny]

One of our 8 year old cats has a luxating patella. It's a total nonevent in our house except when the vet draws attention to it at her annual checkups. She still runs like the wind when she sees a mouse!

[Mari]

Here's a pic of the little girl in question http://m.imgur.com/a/Xh5ab

So cute 

[FrankieBlue]

Thank you Mari! [emoji173] She's cute as anything but those teeth [emoji24] I think her favourite toy is my flesh


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