Luxating patella.

So we got back from the vet yesterday, and charlie has a grade 1 luxating patella. I'm sure everyone knows what that is, but if you don't, it's when the patella (knee cap) slides in and out of place. Charlie's is a grade one, meaning it slides in and out without pain. A grade 4 would mean that his patella is completely out, and will not go back in. The vet didn't seem to worried, in fact she didn't tell us much about it other than the definition. She said he's too young for surgery, and that we'll keep an eye on him as he gets older. I feel like I shouldn't be, but I can't help it, I'm really worried. Every time I think about it, my stomach knots up and I just want to fix him. I spoke with our breeder, and she said luxating patella is a really uncommon problem in corgi's and that it's not genetic. Does anyone else have a corgi with this problem? What has your experience been like? Any advice, stories, or comforting words would be appreciated.

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on December 30, 2011 at 5:44pm

Wynn had a patella injury many years ago. He never had a problem since(took about 3 months or so to heal). I do make sure he gets plenty of exercise to keep him muscular and also keep his weight to a trim 27#'s. Sorry i don't have any real answers.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on December 30, 2011 at 9:29pm

Hi John and Kari, as a former PA who spend a few years in orthopedic surgery, I'll say you have nothing to worry about. Trust your vet, surgery should not be an option at this stage, what you can do right now is hydrotherapy, it'll strengthen his musculoskeletal system. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on December 30, 2011 at 10:02pm

I have a miniature dachshund with this condition. She started showing signs (hopping on 3 legs) around 9 or 10 months, she is now 3 yrs old and is not any worse. She is a trained service dog and is trained to pull, so she is very muscular and gets a lot of on leash exercise. I too was advised not to do surgery, both by the Vet and by Chihuahua and Small Dog Rescue. They see a lot of this in the small dogs and advise surgery only in very bad cases. The only thing that appears to make matters worse for mine is the cold weather. When I worried, she seemed to do worse... so I stopped :-)

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on December 31, 2011 at 1:17am

My chihuahua has this, and as others have said, vet recommended no surgery. She is 3 years old and has had it since she was a puppy and it hasn't gotten any worse. She will just be running and every once in a while she hitches her leg up and you can see that it gets stuck, but then it pops itself into place again. I know its not painful for her because she is the biggest wuss in the world and would scream bloody murder if it was remotely painful! :-) Its normal to worry about your little guy, but luckily this condition is fairly normal in small breed dogs (chis, yorkies, mini poodles, etc) and most will live their whole lives with no medical intervention needed. Even if it was a severe case, it's fixable so that's good news in itself!