# Luxating Patellas



## [email protected] (Jan 25, 2019)

Hi my name is Sue, my 18 months old havanese Ruby has been diagnosed with loose patellas, I am wondering what is the best course of action right now. She is #1 stage. I am new to this. Forum and any help you can give I would really appreciate. Thank you


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> Hi my name is Sue, my 18 months old havanese Ruby has been diagnosed with loose patellas, I am wondering what is the best course of action right now. She is #1 stage. I am new to this. Forum and any help you can give I would really appreciate. Thank you


Some dogs never progress past stage one, and they usually do nothing for stage one patellas. certainly discuss it with both your breeder and your vet, though.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

[email protected] said:


> Hi my name is Sue, my 18 months old havanese Ruby has been diagnosed with loose patellas, I am wondering what is the best course of action right now. She is #1 stage. I am new to this. Forum and any help you can give I would really appreciate. Thank you


My yorkie is eleven years old and has lived with a luxating patella his entire life. He is super active and walks at least two miles a day. Other than an occasional hop, especially in cold weather, it never acts up any more. However, I do not allow him to jump off furniture or go up and down stairs. I think this has made a difference because he used to have a bad flare up occasionally. I also think walking him regularly has helped strengthen his legs to keep the patella in place better.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

I would also like to add that keeping a dog from getting overweight is always a good idea to reduce stress on the joints.


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## Wulfin (May 3, 2019)

My wheatie also had this almost his whole life. The rehab specialist suggested having him walk up stairs (on leash to keep him to a walk) or walk uphills a few times a day to help strengthen the muscles around the joints. So talk to your vet and see what they suggest to do (our wheatie was a tall boy and stairs may not be appropriate for bouncy havs) 

But really, other than doing his little bunny hop once in a while, he was extremely active. It just made it so I couldn’t put him in agility as I had hoped.


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## nwhavmom (Feb 2, 2019)

My last Hav had a subluxing patella nearly his whole life. When he was a puppy, the vet thought he might have to have it surgically corrected, but he did fine with it. Occassionally he would do the back-kick to pop it back in while we were on a walk or he seemed a little frightened by it. But then it would pop back in and he was fine. He walked and ran everyday. As he aged, I think a little degenerative change ( arthritis) at the patellofemoral articulation kept the patella in place, so after the age of 9-10, he never had an issue with it again.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Scout had surgery on both legs about 2 1/2 years ago. He was never diagnosed with loose patellas or appeared to have any problem until one day he was unable to stand on one leg. The surgery had to be done. After eight weeks of recovery the other ACL tore. The first tear was complete involving the meniscus. We caught the second one immediately and it didn't involve the meniscus. The second surgery was done about nine weeks after the first. It was a very long 4 months of recovery, but worth the outcome. The orthopedic surgeon was great and he made a complete recovery. The surgeon said that tears are painful.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Heather's said:


> Scout had surgery on both legs about 2 1/2 years ago. He was never diagnosed with loose patellas or appeared to have any problem until one day he was unable to stand on one leg. The surgery had to be done. After eight weeks of recovery the other ACL tore. The first tear was complete involving the meniscus. We caught the second one immediately and it didn't involve the meniscus. The second surgery was done about nine weeks after the first. It was a very long 4 months of recovery, but worth the outcome. The orthopedic surgeon was great and he made a complete recovery. The surgeon said that tears are painful.


But ACL tears don't have anything directly to do with luxating patellas, as far as I know. LP's are a "little dog thing", where ALC and CCL tears can happen to any dog, and are probably actually a little more common in larger breeds.

Luxating Patellas are also related to conformation and often run in families, where ACL and CCL tears are usually injury-related, and it is looking more and more like they are also more common in dogs who are spay/neutered early. I THINK they are more "luck of the draw" than a genetic predisposition.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

The orthopedic surgeon did say luxating patellas are very common in small dogs. I don't want to misquote her, but I do remember she mentioned that the constant stretching of the ligament overtime can cause a rupture. She explained the groove in the femur tends to be shallower in small dogs causing luxation which can cause a tear.


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