Luxating Patella

lepercann

Hi everyone. Some questions about luxating patella. Triton has Stage 1 and with daily jogging, his knee had not gone out in 6 months. The jogs strengthened the muscles around the kneecap and were holding it in place a lot better. All of a sudden, this evening it went out again. He was in a lot of pain, it went back in as usual, but he is still very hesitant and scared. I am taking him to the vet in the morning if he isn't any better. He is eating, sleeping, pooping, etc. but doesn't want to be picked up as he is afraid of it hurting his leg. Do any of your Shibas have luxating patella, and if so, do you give them glucosamine? I am thinking about putting him on it. Also, have you ever given anything for pain? I read online not to give aspirin, tylenol, ibuprofen, etc. so what is there to give? Again, I am definitely bringing him in tomorrow if he isn't any better, but I would love some input from the Shiba folks. Thanks!

JessicaRabbit

absolutely give him glucosamine. Many if not most of us give glucosamine to our dogs. Some as a preventative measure others to help treat a LP. Also there are a few members who have had their shibas and shikoku receive LP surgery. I am sure they will chime in when they have a chance. Hope that Triton is okay soon.

lindsayt

I don't think the current glucosamine supplements result in much immediate measurable improvement, and there are probably some who will disagree with me. Maybe it's more healpful for LP than it is for bad hips? It could only help, it won't hurt. I think some other effective things for joints are MSM, omegas and for more immediate pain relief, it is safe to give a buffered baby aspirin (in an otherwise healthy dog), until you get an Rx for pain from the vet.

Darwin67

If you opt for aspirin, make sure it's non-enteric coated. The coated aspirin can get stuck to the stomach and intestinal lining.

dlroberts

I'm sorry to hear poor Triton had an episode. Once in six months is not bad at all, though. That is something I would manage with supplements and pain meds as necessary.

Lucy has stage 1 LP in her right rear knee and it doesn't seem to affect her at all. She had stage 3 in her left knee, but we repaired that last summer with surgery. I had been supplementing Lucy with glucosamine for a few months, but due to her IBD problems I had to stop. Within a few weeks, she went from the occasional LP episode to an average of 5 a week, sometimes multiple a day, and sometimes she had trouble getting it to go back in herself.

Every vet and dog owner I've spoken to has a different recommendation for which glucosamine supplement to use. I had Lucy on the human Osteo bi-flex for a while, and then I switched her to a corn-based supplement I could only find at whole foods (it's 100% veggie, I don't recall the name). Often time the human supplements will be cheaper than the dog specific ones, and they will most definitely not have any extra crap like lamb flavor in them (which is good if you have a dog with food sensitivities).

Keep us updated on Triton's progress.

lepercann

Thank you all for your support. This morning T still wasn't doing well so I made an emergency appt with the vet. He was walking fine, eyes bright, ears up, tail up, totally fine until the vet picked him up and he screamed. It was so horrible. I think my heart partially ripped out of my chest. He's my baby. Then the vet tried to touch his back and legs and he just kept screaming every time they touched him. Then they put him down on the floor and he started walking around, tail up, happy as could be. VERY WEIRD. The vet gave him a cortisone shot and wants to keep him until this afternoon and maybe do Xrays if he doesn't improve. I'm sitting here at work, feeling like I could vomit. I wish I could take the pain away but I can't, then I brought him to a place where they hurt him some more.

JessicaRabbit

I have been in your shoes before. It is going to be okay. Also try to remember that shibas are the worlds greatest drama queens. I remember Moto once hurt his paw. We think he may have been stung by a bee. Not sure. We rushed him to the vet. He screamed and screamed the entire drive. He screamed in the waiting room. The vet walked in and he sat and smiled and then began to play.

T will be fine. You are doing the write thing and are likely suffering more than he is.

lepercann

Thanks everyone for all of the support. T is fine, came home last night and is doing perfectly fine. He is a drama queen. Came home, jumped right up on the couch by himself and started playing with a toy. Completely normal. The vet doesn't want him up on our high bed because he could jump down and hurt himself. We've kept him off the bed for the last 2 nights and I think tonight he is coming up. Once he's up, he's done for the night, sleeps with us until we get up. I can't stand to hear him crying forlornly for another night. He has a nice comfy dog bed to sleep in but he has always slept with us on our bed and thinks he is being punished now. No more running for him though, for a while. I'm going to miss my jogging partner!!