Darby just turned 1 year old, and I think she may be developing a patella in her rear left leg. She will hold it up for no reason for 30 seconds or so and then put it back down like nothing happened. I have tried to research the condition and realize that there is conflicting opinions on treatment and whether or not surgery is warranted. I am leaing towards a hip x ray before doing anything to make sure the patella is not being caused by undue pressure from a hip problem. Any thoughts or others with experience concerning a patella?

I would get it checked out further as you dont see it as common in bigger dogs. Their may be an underlying hip issue that is causing the patella to slip. Surgery is dependant on how bad the patella moves. Basically they create a better groove for it to go into. But either way, get an xray and go from there. Good luck!

__________________
Alison and 2 Furry Kids and 2 non furry kids

Lilly- Golden DOB 1/28/11
AKC name: Goldridge Lights Action Lilly RN CCA
http://k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=433352
Sanford- JRT DOB-9/5/06

Bridge dogs
Toby-Boxer 10 yrs. old (rescue) 9/17/2002-11/1/12
Charlie- Boxer (1st "child" together)2/19/02-3/18/12
Julie- golden retriever ( my heart dog) 5/6/96-3/3/07
Ruby- terrier/chow mix (my 1st dog) 8/1/90-1/15/05
Rusty-shih tzu (million dollar dog) 2/5/99-1/20/04

luxating patellas usually issues in small dogs however... in a large dog what you see is a dog who is being active... and then will suddenly yelp pull up the leg and stretch it back behind them... what happens is the patella luxates... moves off the knee then by stretching the leg backwards the dog is able to luxate hte patella back into place the pain disappears immediately as the knee cap is back where it should be and the dog moves on... There are larger breeds who do have patella issues... Flat coats are one of them... the issue with diagnosis is that an xray is not a diagnostic tool... you have to go to a vet with experience and see if they can manually luxate the patella... then if they can they will grade it from a 1 to a 4 ... a one moves when manually luxatd a 4 luxates on its own and does not stay in place... surgery is the repair ... the problem that we see is in dogs that get very stressed at the vets... these dogs can become so tense that the musculature will hold the patella in place during examination but then when they are home and relaxed the patella will luxate...

Some dogs due to growth will have stages where the patella luxates but then at full growth when mature and adult angulation is in place the patella will no longer luxate...my Cuinn was one of these at 6 months his patella was able to be manually luxated by the vet... at 18 mos. the patella was firmly in place and would no longer luxate and he did get a patella clearance (required for flat coats)

Patellas are typically not a problem in goldens

hope this helps

__________________
Shalva and the Milbrose Retrievers and Irish Wolfhound
Milbrose Retrievers and Irish Wolfhounds

Thank you so much for the replies. I think I may need to travel to find someone well versed in diagnosing this. There are no orthopedics around the Augusta GA area. Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

I would be more inclined to say that it is a hip rather than patella issue. I don't think I've ever seen a large dog with a patella issue but it is so so common in small dogs (we've never seen a flat coated retriever at my work, either). Good luck with you pup!

__________________

The FCRSA requires a patella clearance for flat coats in the COE due to the increasing number of flats with luxating patellas and serious luxating patellas that require surgery.... My Cuinns littermate required surgery at 8 mos of age due a patella that was freely luxating on its own... (the reason we had cuinns checked) and then in a subsequent litter had 4 puppies that needed splinting until surgery could be performed due to luxating patellas... as with all things once it starts it is a slippery slope if folks aren't paying attention to it. I have NOT seen a luxating patella in a golden and honestly the symptoms described here do not seem like a patella issue as the leg stretching back is a big piece of it.

__________________
Shalva and the Milbrose Retrievers and Irish Wolfhound
Milbrose Retrievers and Irish Wolfhounds

My Sally was given to me due to her laterally luxated patella. Her patella had likely been out and remained out for quite some time when I got her at six months. Her patella had made its' own new lateral groove on her femur. I was told by the specialist that this condition usually goes hand in hand with hip dysplasia. Her hips were fine. It is also usually bilateral... My Sally's other knee never needed surgery, but on occasion when she jumped on my bed, you could see it pop out ever so slightly. She remained sound until she died at 12.5 years and in fact got her CDX when dogs her size had to jump thirty inches...

__________________
Janice and The Celebration Gang -
"Samantha, George, Tiki, Emily, Mick and Basil" Gone but not forgotten, Sally(Windjammer's Ima Country Girl CDX CGC), Laney(Mandell Marlenes Celebration UD RA CGC), and Cookie(Starseeker's Kissmas Cookie CDX RE CGC).

I have seen labs, pit bulls, and Great Pyrenees with the condition as far as the big dogs go.

__________________
Janice and The Celebration Gang -
"Samantha, George, Tiki, Emily, Mick and Basil" Gone but not forgotten, Sally(Windjammer's Ima Country Girl CDX CGC), Laney(Mandell Marlenes Celebration UD RA CGC), and Cookie(Starseeker's Kissmas Cookie CDX RE CGC).

Consider a ruptured cruciate ligament.

__________________

Home of
BISS Ch Birnam Wood's Expedia.com
Ch Nitelite's Who's on Deck?
BISS GrCh Nitelite's Tommy Sneakers
Ch Suncreek's Day Off
Ch Penpoint Win Chill Factor
Ch Solivia's Delectable
Ch Penpoint Something Blue JH
Ch Montague's Jaguar XJ

"Bad dog. Want a cookie?" - Grandma
"You aren't a bad doggie, you just make bad choices." Amy's friend

Time for a vet visit to find out what exactly is going on!

__________________
Carolyn (A.K.A. Aunt Care) and

Creekwood Tanglefoot Selchie CD, RN, AX, AXJ, CGC, CCA, (A.K.A. Selli-Belle) Golden

Valentine Byrd McDuff (A.K.A. Duffy) Golden/Sheltie

Tanglefoot Autumn Dexter CGC (My Heart Dog at the Bridge) Golden