Luxating patella

Hi I have a 10month old Boston Terrier Dexter who has been limping on his back left leg for a few months now. I took him to the vet and he said its very common in small dogs and that it was Luxating Patella. He said they don't generally operate as so many dogs have it. I found this rather strange, he gave me tablets to help the swelling and sent me on our way. I was wondering if there was others with the same problem and if it is ok to leave it? I don't want him to be in pain.

Hi Dexter12

I know of loads of little dogs that have a luxating patella on one leg, and for whom it's an on/off issue needing painkillers intermittently through their lives, but on the flipside of that, I have only known one which had the problem badly enough to warrant major surgery (because it is major surgery) and he had very serious complications resulting in him taking painkillers and antibiotics for months, which probably made his life far more limited than the original problem ever had.

With small dogs the individual stress on the legs is so small, and they manage so well on 3 legs when their sore leg is sore, that many vets hesitate to jump in with surgery that may cause months of pain for the dog. It's very different with much larger dogs, where going from 4 legs to 3 includes a huge increase in stress on the functioning knee which can itself be debilitating.

In addition to this, orthopaedic work on very small dogs can have very different issues because of the fiddly nature and even after surgery many little dogs will still hop (there are loads of little dogs who hop when they have no issues anyway).

It's also possible that the vet would not be prepared to operate on Dexter because he's so very young and his joints and ligaments are still growing and changing. The same vet presented with a 5 year old dog with a luxating patella may make a different decision.

Please give him scruffles off me and Molly

Hi Dexter12,

Rocky has Patella Luxation for a few years now. It is very common in small dogs but also Staffordshire Bull Terrier. As we first noticed Rocky limping we went to our usual vet who tried to push us towards surgery and she said he was in pain (hence the limping). I however wanted to see a specialist first so we went and found a really good one. A surgery is necessary when it is a high grade (there are 4 grades of PL). As Rocky however is only a grade 1/ maybe 2, the specialist said Rocky wouldn't need a surgery just yet (and that he was NOT in pain) as surgery does not necessarily mean that the dog won't limp anymore at all. If you have not seen a specialist yet, I would strongly advice you to see one as they will be able to properly tell you what grade of Patella Luxation your Boston Terrier has and whether it really does need surgery or not.

I also feed Rocky supplements that are specifically for the joints. The best one I came across so far is called DogFit joint small by PreThis Premium (I think it's a German brand). However, "Get Up and Go Glucosamine" by DinDins is also pretty good. Generally supplements with the ingredients Glucosamine, Greenlipped Mussel Extract, Chondroitin and MSM (Methyl-Sulfonyl-Methan) are quite good.