We got our first big snow of the season on Thanksgiving Eve. The dogs sure were excited! When I got home from work that day we had an inch or two on the ground and I got some photos of the dogs enjoying it. We got well over a foot of snow in the end, but since then we’ve had warmer weather and rain, so we’re back to just a few inches on the ground, which is pretty packed down in the yard by now. It’s just as well, because Luke is on the DL at this time (that’s Disabled List for you non-baseball fans); more on that at the end of this post.
I had mentioned in my post-Thanksgiving post that Luke had started holding his leg up off and on when we got home from dinner that night. By Tuesday morning, he still was off and on and we couldn’t really see much of an improvement, so he went to the vet Tuesday afternoon. Our vet immediately suspected an issue with his knee, but without being able to really maneuver the leg he couldn’t know for sure. He felt it was most likely an issue with his kneecap slipping in and out, but an ACL issue was also mentioned as an outside possibility. Thursday Luke went in and got sedated so his leg could be completely examined. X-rays were a possibility as well, but he didn’t end up needing those.
I was of course a worried mess all day. Our vet does farm calls in the morning, so I didn’t know anything until mid-afternoon. The news was pretty good; there is no ACL issue. However, he has “luxating patella” in both of his knees. You can read more about that condition here, but I will also be doing research and write a full post on it soon. Simply, it means that the kneecap is dislocating or moving out of it’s normal position. That’s why it’s so off and on with Luke. He holds his leg up when it’s out, but then when it slips back in he is completely fine.
His right knee, the one he’s been holding up is in Stage 2, and his other knee Stage 1 (it can slip out when maneuvered but doesn’t do so on it’s own). The hope is that with rest his right knee will get back to normal. Surgery could be down the road, but is not required at this time, as long as it does not get worse. We will be adding a joint supplement to his diet, and they also suggested that losing a couple of pounds couldn’t hurt. We will be doing our best to keep him quiet, but it has seemed to be getting better the last couple of days. It’s still happening, but we think less frequently already.
So more on this subject soon, and if anyone has any experience with it, I would love to know!
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Our foster dog had LP in one of his rear legs. A lot of small dogs are prone to it. He was extremely lazy but if I had a more active dog with that condition and it was mild, I’d give them joint supplements, build up rear muscle and watch their jumping.
I think that sounds like perfectly sound advice (we’ve started supplements). I wish Luke was more of a couch potato right now! He is making keeping him resting VERY challenging.
Great pictures of their fun romp in the snow.
My coworker’s Bichon mix needed surgery for luxating patellas. The surgery and recovery went very well and doggy is going up/down stairs and playing without any difficulty. It’s too bad they can’t just wear knee braces! Hopefully Lukes “good” knee won’t get any worse.
Funny you should say that, because last night he yelped in the night, and then was holding the other leg up! Ugh. He had a bad day yesterday and probably used that leg too much. We need to do better at keeping him resting. Thanks for telling me about the Bichon, that makes me worry a bit less if it does end up coming down to surgery.
There used to be two big dogs that lived here (they are at the Bridge now) and they loved to romp in the snow. I’m sure sorry Luke is having that problem and we’ll pray things don’t get worse. We’ve seen quite a few blogs with doggies having that problem and they had surgery but I can’t for the life of me remember who they were.
Thank you, Brian, your prayers are greatly appreciated. I’ll be doing research anyway, so maybe I’ll run across the blogs with dogs that have had this problem.
Good luck with Luke and getting better so that he can play in the snow some more! I love snow we’ve only had a dusting so far but can’t wait! Love Dolly
They love the snow SO much, and it’s been hard to keep Luke quiet, especially when Cricket won’t slow down! Hopefully we’ll get through this soon, so he can be back out there enjoying it. Thank you, Dolly.
We’ve yet to get our first real snow fall this year. Looks like you all had a blast, I am okay with waiting a few more weeks before we get some here in VA. So sorry to read about the knee issues, paws are crossed that everything works out okay. Please keep up posted.
Thank you! Luke had a really good day with the knee yesterday, and then a bad time this morning, so I think it’s going to be up and down for a bit.
I thought there were already some places in VA that had gotten some snow? You sure you don’t want us to send some your way? LOL
More appropriately, Jan, he is on the “pup” list, football talk for physically unable to play. Sure hope it will get better and not need surgery. Hoping for the best. At least you can tell him it’s too cold and slippery to play.
“Pup” list – how did I never hear that one? I’m not sure it applies though, since he still tries to play even when he’s hopping around on 3 legs! LOL
It was a little easier keeping him in today, but it would be much easier if we could get Cricket to slow down!
Gosh, that sounds uncomfortable! I am heading in to the vet next week and need to check in about my leg health as well. My thoughts are with you and look forward to hearing more in your next post!
Thank you! We hope everything goes well for you at your vet appt. too.
Luke actually handles it pretty well….he gets around pretty good on 3 legs, other than the outside stairs. Once it pops back in he wants to go full tilt again…which is what is making this so challenging!
We just don’t understand why woofies like snow so much. It’s cold and wet! We hope Luke’s knees are okay…we know a few cats that have had that condition and have had surgery to correct it.
I did read that cats can have the condition as well, but we’ve never had one with it, thank goodness. I sure hope we can avoid the surgery with Luke, but I am preparing myself that we might have to do it.
Samantha occasionally will think she’s smart sneaking outside into the snow….but she always comes back in pretty quickly! MOL
It looks like everyone had a great time in the snow! I’ll keep my fingers crossed that Luke’s back to normal in no time–hopefully the cold weather will be an extra good excuse for some “lazy” days to give him time to heal!
Today it was sleeting, raining, snowing…so it was a good day to stay indoors. I did take the girls outside for a bit, but we gave Luke a kong with kibble and peanut butter and he was pretty OK with staying in then. I’m going to have to dig out some games for him though! And it will be a good time to work on some training too.
My dogs and I have trouble getting why anyone likes snow. We keep ours up in the mountains and never visit it any more.
The dogs love the snow, but I could take it or leave it. I’d be happy with just visiting it occasionally, or yeah, not at all! LOL
Looks like you got tons of snow!
We did, but we promptly lost a lot of it due to warmer temps and rain. Today it alternated snow and rain so we did get a couple inches back again. Winter can be so crazy here! We just want to keep some white for Christmas!
OMD! We would go crazy over the initial two inches of snow! Here is a funny JibJab of what we’d do if we ever had snow. http://youtu.be/a4QMkUOxAnY
Love the video….now that looks like fun!!
The first snow of the season is always the best! Bummer with Luke, but glad it isn’t the ACL at least. We hold our legs up too, but it is when we get what Mom calls “paw freeze” when it is super cold and the snow burns on our paws. Thankfully, nothing serious.
Cricket does that a lot too….she also gets the paw freeze! Since Luke had just gone outside when it happened, I knew we weren’t going to be that lucky this time!
At least he got to enjoy the first snow of the season, and hopefully he’ll be back to playing in it soon.
Luke I cross my paws that the joint supplement helps for your knees. I never saw so much snow… we only got a little bit once, but even that 3 snowflakes were enough to set our whole area under “emergency state”, we have no winter tires nor can we maneuvre a car through the snow :o)
Thank you, Easy! It’s so funny for us to see places that are shut down by just a few snowflakes….we’re so tough to it here! BOL
Uh oh! poor Luke!!!! I sure hope it gets better so you can avoid surgery, at least for a while! I have never heard of this before! I suppose it could have been a lot worse though so that’s the up side!
I just love the photos of your pack playing in the snow! So much fun!!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
They just love the snow so much! It definitely could have been worse with Luke, but we really, really hope no surgery is needed. I can’t imagine having to keep him quiet for very long, it’s been hard enough the last week. Maybe when he’s older it wouldn’t be so bad, but not now!
Roxy has that exact same condition, and has had practically her whole life. It really doesn’t seem bothersome to her. She just occasionally picks up that leg when we are walking. Looks like they had fun in the snow.
They have such a blast in the snow, so I hope Luke can be back to it soon! I’m glad to hear Roxy has this and it has not been too bad for her….that gives me hope!
Oh Luke, I was afraid it might be one of those things but was hoping for just a muscle injury. LP usually are seen in small breed dogs but it can happen in any dog. Hopefully this is a one time deal and with rest and strengthening the leg again he can forgo surgery. We give our cases a non steroidal anti inflammatory and rest for 2 weeks. If gets better wonderful if not and still limping then surgery might have to be a option unless you give it some more rest. Surgery is to deepen the groove where the knee cap sits, it usually is shallow and that is why the knee cap slips out of place. They deepen the groove and put the knee cap back into place and wire it in place. The recovery is 2 weeks until sutures are taken out and 2 months of complete rest. Here is a link to the surgeon we use and her handout. http://www.orchardroadvetsurgery.com/pdf/patellar_luxation_brochure.pdf
Paws crossed that he heals up without surgery.
Yes, please keep all paws crossed!! We’re having a hard enough time resting him now….I dread the thought of 2+ months of it! Our vet did not prescribe an Nsaid but he did mention it in the first appointment so we might check back with him on that. The only good thing is that our own vet does do this surgery, and for less money than many, plus he has had very good success with it. We’ll still hope it doesn’t come to that though! Thanks so much for all the information.
Poor Luke. no experience with that issue, but interested in reading what you find. The guys look like they had a blast in the snow!
They sure did! I feel so bad that Luke is missing out on that playing right now, so I hope he can get back to normal soon.
It looks like the dogs had a blast. Oh no about Luke’s knee. I was so hoping it was just something simple like a nail. I know some breeders do health screening for patellar luxation in dogs. I may get around to it in my series but it is not something Chessies are prone to so I skipped over it. I really hope that the rest solves Luke’s issue without the need for surgery.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed. It’s so difficult to keep him quiet though, especially when his knee doesn’t hurt unless it’s out of place! Even then he gets around on 3 legs pretty well, except for doing stairs. It seems like it’s definitely something breeders should screen for, in the appropriate breeds. Of course, where Luke came from no one is screening for anything!!
Wow that is pretty and just in time to set the mood for Xmas. We are in the 70’s here and our huskies would love to see a little snow right now.
We’re barely hanging onto our snow though, we keep getting warm spells with rain. Today it’s rain, sleet, snow….it can’t make up it’s mind!