Luxated Patella

[Zookeepermom247]

Hello, I had to take Sophie to the after hours vet due to total restlessness and would not sleep and settle down last night. She was also raising her back leg as if to scratch the air when ever she would walk at times. I thought she had some stomach discomfort because after a 2 am poop she settle down. The week before Sophie saw her regular vet for her yearly check up and all was good. Except she is now gained back the four lbs she lost. The vet felt her hips, back, legs, so forth. She got her rabies and was heart worm and other worm tested. All fine. This vet today told me when she felt her left knee cap she stated she had arthritis and had a higher risk for bloat and she as has that trick knee called Luxated Patella. She lectured me on the weight in a strong tone, stated she will need surgery if she does not take off 20 lbs at least. I wonder why the vet last week did not pick up on this. Today's vet we used to use but stopped because she was not as proactive as our current vet we saw last week. I am getting a second opinion. A clean bill of health last week and now this. Losing weight was doing well until the holidays. I feel terrible. She came home from the vet with anti inflammatory and the Science Diet ND low calorie. I felt she just pushed that food too much. My husband thinks she is full of sh&&t.Is this genetic??? because my girl has all clearances...
Thanks,
Sophie's mom

[Annette47]

Luxating patella is much more common in toy breeds, but is not unheard of in larger dogs. There may be a genetic component, but as it’s not a common problem in Labs (I have heard of the occasional case though), it isn’t something that is regularly screened for, and it may or may not be hereditary. It’s also something that comes and goes - essentially the kneecap slides out of position and can then pop back in, so if it wasn’t out of position at the original vet visit, I can see why they wouldn’t have caught it. A second opinion certainly wouldn’t hurt in any case.

I don’t know a ton about this condition (other than having friends with toy breeds who have dealt with it), but I would imagine that like most orthopedic injuries/conditions, being overweight would probably exacerbate the problems with it, so if your girl is overweight, then getting the excess weight off would certainly be a good thing for many reasons. There are better ways than using Science Diet though ... starting with just reducing the amount of food (swapping in some canned green beans for bulk) for example. If for some reason that is ineffective, there are higher quality “diet” foods on the market - Chloe is doing very well on Annamaet Lean, but there are others out there - you just have to look around.

[Black Labbies]

Hi there, I'm a past member here but saw your post on a look-see and thought to comment to you. Sorry to read about Sophie stifle problem.

One of our past girls (Lab) had luxating patella, diagnosed at around 5 months old and not overweight. How old is Sophie and what is her current weight, and how much do you exercise her? Also, what kibble and snacks does she currently eat?

An important thing to look at with Sophie (or any dog who might have luxating patellas) is how straight are the stifles. It can or cannot be a result of genetics, depending on the pup's parents. Most Lab breeders don't test their lines for luxating patella, so genetics doesn't really matter.

BTW, Zoe had both knees that luxated, she learned how to "click" her knees back into place herself as a younger girl, never had surgery, and finally grew into her knees as a matured adult. We changed her diet, learned some PT exercises to help strengthen her knees, and at the age of almost 12 yo (when she died of cancer), she had minimal arthritis in her left knee and none felt in her right one. Hers was not caused by genetics (as per her breeder) and none of her litter-mates had luxating patellas. A fluke of nature, possibly?

Too bad that the board crashed a few years ago, because I posted tons on Zoe and her knees and how exactly we helped her live a full and fun life without surgery and traditional pain meds, instead going all natural with her and her treatments.

Anyway, all the best with Sophie!

[Dennis Thomas, DVM]

How old is she and how much does she weigh? Like previously mentioned, luxating patellas in Labs is not very common. If the knee cap was in place during the initial exam, it would be easy to miss. However, with a history of lifting the leg at times, most vets would have looked over the leg pretty thoroughly and hopefully, picked up the loose patella. I don't like vets that make emphatic statements like, "She will need surgery if you don't do this....." It implies that there are no other options. I hear a lot of stories these days about pushy vets that like to use guilt. That is not the profession that I got into some thirty five years ago. Weight issues in Labs is pretty common. If you want to get the weight off the dog, stop feeding starchy carbs in the diet. Starch is responsible for body fat. After many years of recommending commercial diets, I now recommend preparing the dog's food at home. Nothing beats a wholesome, non-processed diet formulated for a carnivore/dog for dropping body fat and converting it to lean muscle. My two cents.

[JenC]

Your dog has her clearances or her parents had their clearances? Just curious. Like others state, patellas aren't really a known issue in lab. Some do clearances on it, but it's not a standard one.

How heavy is your girl? I find diet foods are pretty much useless. We did use one on Hudler years ago, Science Diet Metabolic, and it did work really well. But you can also make sure you are on a food that would have less carbs and less fat. We have to keep Jack and Grace's weight in check, they eat a grain free that's 30/12 and it works well for them.

[Black Labbies]

If you want to get the weight off the dog, stop feeding starchy carbs in the diet. Starch is responsible for body fat. After many years of recommending commercial diets, I now recommend preparing the dog's food at home. Nothing beats a wholesome, non-processed diet formulated for a carnivore/dog for dropping body fat and converting it to lean muscle. My two cents.

I like you Dr. Dennis! That's exactly what we did with Zoe, got her off of kibble and went all natural. As already mentioned, she never had knee surgeries, walked and ran everyday, and lived a full life... also thanks to her wonderful Holistic vet's guidance. And BTW, poster, feeding RAW/Homemade diets keeps their dental health in tip-top shape, Zoe never needed a dental cleaning, and at her death the ER vets couldn't believe that she was almost 12 yo with the pearly white, non-chipped teeth that she had. YAY RAW!!!