Darla has LP

[Chloe]

sorry to hear this, cant really add anything to whats already been said but Twig was fine for a long time at grade 2 with supplements

[Lucy]

Aw sorry to hear this, as the others said, its not the end of the world and can be managed but still, not pleasant to hear and obviously will always be at the back of your mind as a worry.

[lilanddot]

Oh i'm sorry for little Darla,i'll email you

[The3DChis]

Thanks so much ladies.
I do think it is just one of those things eh for us chi mums sadly.
Nice to have you all for the support though.

Yeah i do give half a Glucosamine tablet every other day anyhow.
Do you think i should up hers to a full tablet and if so how often?
My old vet worried me about giving too many cause he said something about diabetes?
Have run out of the fish oil though so will need to get that again.

The vet we just saw was checking Darla over and moving her legs as part of the checkup before the vacination and that was when she mentioned it so i dont think the knee is out all the time, i had just noticed when we were out walking that she was lifting the leg.

Michele i emailed you back hon, ta. x

[Kristi]

If it was out all the time she wouldn't do the lifting thing, the leg would be kinda 'bowed'. I think you'd know for the most part if it were severe, but Ivy, the white girl I petted out, she had grade 3 in both legs and you'd have never known it. She didn't skip at all because hers were jut out...the skipping is indicative that at that time the kneecap has been dislocated and they are trying to get it back in. I would bet Darla's is in most, if not all the time. Gentle walks and swimming are great ways to strengthen the muscle groups around the kneecap.

I would do 500 mg per day of glucosamine, 250 in the am, 250 in the pm...that's the theraputic dose for a dog with a diagnosed condition. Once you see improvement, e.g. less skipping, you can half those doses, btu you want to give it 2x a day because it doesn't stay in their system and needs to be continually reintroduced to be 'effective'.

[The3DChis]

Thanks Kristi, that is good to know and will defo up the dosage of the tabs. x

[Kristi]

You should start to see them helping -- adding in Ester-C should really help, too. Once you have her stableized and skipping is minimalized, you will want to cut the dose back on the glucosamine, because it is true that VERY HIGH dosages in humans have been shown to interfere with glucose somehow...although it doesn't seem documented or of concern in dogs so who knows. I base my dosage off of the dosage of a vet-strength glucosamine supplement, Glycoflex III, for dogs 2-10 lbs. So the dosage should be okay.

Also I am sure you know but be sure to try to keep her from jumping on and off of stuff, that tends to make the issue worse.