My Dogs' Knees

[killer_carlson]

We have two pugs who are part of the family. In fact our 18 month old's first word was "puppy".

In any event, they are still quite young but both have now been diagnosed with knee problems. We suspected the one has had it since birth, but the second was a surprise. Officially it is called a "luxating patella", which means that the groove where the patella sits is not deep enough and causes the patella to slip out.

They are both currently of good weight so that will not compound the issue, and being pugs, high impact ball chasing exercise is not in their makeup (and I probably wouldn't do it anyways).

In any event, I'm open to any advice regarding their knees and what we can do to lengthen the time they have a high quality of life before we have to go for surgery.

They struggled with the stairs in the backyard over the winter so I am thinking of building a ramp off the side of the stairs this summer for them. They have no problem with the stairs in the house though.

[socalwingfan]

I have a 14 year old lab/collie cross who has hip issues, and we started giving her liquid glucosamine (about a cap full) with her meals and the difference has been night and day. I used to have to help her jump into my Jeep, now she does it with no problem, I highly recommend it.

[metallicat]

My maltese terrier has knee/hip issues. He used to be a little bit fat, and that is when he started to have his knees and hips pop out of place. He would then be sore for a few days, and sometimes would have to go on glucosamine. He's better now that his weight is managed.

[Kipper is King]

^^^ I also agree that glucosamine could be helpful. It is really good for dogs' joints.

[Stumptown]

I have a cat with luxating patella, and glucosamine has helped him a lot. He has other issues that rule out surgery, so I'm hoping the "home remedy" will keep it from getting much worse as he gets older. There are still good days and bad days, though.

[killer_carlson]

what specifically does the glucosamine do for the condition in animals?

I used glucosamine when I trained really hard back about 10 years ago, but it wasn't for any joint issues.

[metallicat]

I personally don't know, but don't you need a prescription for it anyways? At least I think you do, so your vet would know if it would even help your pugs.

[socalwingfan]

This article explains it pretty well - and I buy it at GNC - no need to buy special "dog" glucosamine.

http://www.peteducation.com/article....2+1448&aid=670

[GrrlGoalie33]

One of our dogs was hit by a car a few years ago and broke all of the bones in one of her paws. The vet recommended Glucosamine Chondroitin, that you can buy pretty much anywhere. She recommended a 1000mg dose once a day for a 19kg dog.

[schteve_d]

Make sure you get Clucosamine WITH Chondroitin. It did wonders for my two, sadly now one, older dog.

They were stiff to get up and such, but after about three weeks of daily doses, there was a marked improvement. It was in both, so I have to believe it was due to this.

I guess it depends what is wrong with their knees if this will help, but I have been told by a couple of vets that ALL older dogs should get this. It certainly can't hurt, even if your dogs are a little younger.