Today I’m thankful for my mom being so patient with me and for my rehab vet and such a wonderful clinic to go to. About two years ago, I started randomly limping, holding up my back right leg a bit. Usually it was when I got up from laying down so Mom figured my leg fell asleep. Unfortunately, it started to happen more often. I was not at all bothered by it and after a couple steps I was fine. Mom was worried that perhaps I had injured my leg somehow.
She made an appointment for me at TC Rehab but they are always so busy it would be months until I could get in to see a doctor. In the meantime, she thought maybe a chiropractor would be the solution so I went to one and it helped a bit but then it all happened again. All we could do was to wait for my rehab appointment.
The place is super busy and they have a jar of liver treats up on the shelf which anyone with a nose knows about. I wanted to get my paws on that jar! As luck would have it, Mom got to feed me liver treats during my exam to keep me busy. Gotta love a place that thinks that way!
It didn’t take long for my vet to find out I have a luxating patella, actually two, one in each of my back knees. Turns out it is a common orthopedic condition where the kneecap (patella) slides out of its normal groove (medial or lateral), causing a “skipping” or hopping gait. They said it is more normal in small dogs but can happen to any dog. So far the left knee hasn’t had any issues but the right one is the naughty one.
All this was diagnosed in December 2024. Surgery can be an option but is often not very helpful and is best in severe cases. Since My knee seems to be fine most of the time, I received an exercise and stretching plan along with some medications and supplements. Thankfully my mom is not afraid of a challenge and since that day in December I do stretching exercises every morning shortly after getting up for about ten minutes and then before breakfast we have about twenty minutes of other exercises Mom helps me with. Even when we travel, we bring my equipment with us and I do all my stretching and exercises just like at home. So far my knee is stable and I haven’t had any major issues come up. I do have to be careful sometimes but I’m a pretty good boy about following my instructions.
Hopefully I will be able to keep my knee in check and will never need to go the surgery route. I get my Dasuquin every morning, an adequan shot once a month and see my rehab vet every six months. We know other dogs with this issue, some have it worse than I do, some not as bad. Mom is lucky I’m willing to do all the exercises and stretching every single morning and I’m lucky she is willing to spend half an hour each morning to help me with my knees. The really good news is my nose is in good shape so I can keep on sniffing and my knees let me keep sniffing too!
My GBGV Life is joining Brian’s Home Blog in the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
You and your mom are a wonderful team, Nelson, and we hope your knees stay in place with the exercises and supplements.
Only the one gives me problems. The exercises and stretching have helped a lot and hopefully it won’t ever get too bad.
We know about those annoying patellas since I am a tiny dog with a naughty one! So glad you have all the goodies and exercises to keep you active.
Hopefully it will never become a big issue. No idea why it happened to me as it isn’t something common for my breed.
Nelson and Mom ~ so glad you have each other medical support for your patella ~exercise is good for all of us ~ keep up the good work ~ we love you sweet doggie ~ hugs, carol and ziggy,
an artist reflects
Mom is happy I’m really good about doing all my exercises to keep the muscles strong.
I know those stretchy exercises very well….My left patella was (and still is) very bad after surgery but the right one isn’t so bad anymore. We think you made a good decision not to have the surgery.
xoxo,
Sunny
When they said patella to us Mom immediately thought of you and panicked. Mine is a grade 1 maybe 1 1/2 on the right one. She said surgery is a last option as it often doesn’t do much. We are lucky it isn’t that bad but it still makes Mom sad that I have it. I do most things I always did but Mom is more careful with me. Sorry your one knee is still so bad. It really is a bummer.
You have the best mother in the world.
She loves us and wants the best for us all the time.
You and mom make a great team, Nelson!💗🌺
She is a good mom and she is kind of a hound personality herself so she understands us pretty well.
You are really loved and that’s so special. Sniff on!
Oh yes, we all love our mom and she does so much for us because she loves us so much.
What an awesome mom you have. Do the exercises hurt? You are a good boy to listen to your mom and do your exercises! your friend Chester
I don’t have any pain. The exercises are to build my leg muscles and my back end awareness so I use those muscles more. Sometimes I get super bored but most days I just do them. I get snacks while I work out so that makes it all worthwhile in my book 🙂
I’m sure glad the rehab Vet figured out what the problem is and that you and Mom and working together to keep everything in place! Thanks for joining Angel Brian’s Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
We are happy we have a good vet to help keep me in the best shape possible.
I’m thankful your mom is so on top of things!
She does her best to take care as best as she can.
Your Mom is amaszing and takes such care of all of you. We’ve got our paws crossed all your PT rehab keeps your knee in good shape.
So far the doc says things are stable. She measures all my muscles and stretching abilities and they have improved since my first visit and are still good. Paws crossed!
Oh Golly, Nelson! You are a good boy to do your exercises religiously. AND… you are one Lucky Chap to have such a loving devoted mom!
She wants my leg to stay strong and me to be able to do things I love so we work on my exercises together.