Sudden Onset Of Pain In 7 Year Old Cavalier's Leg

[Trisven13]

We live rurally and there isn't a vet open in our area on a weekend unless it is an emergency, which this is not, BUT he will be going tomorrow.

My daughter's Cavalier lives with us and today, out of nowhere, can't walk on his rear right leg at all for times and then can put weight on it, screams in pain when he can't walk on it and is just otherwise not his normal self. He is 7 years old - surely if he had a luxating patella we would have noticed it before this??? Can it just come out of nowhere like this? Obviously another issue is his cruciate and I take it that can just go out of nowhere? He literally was fine until he stood up in his crate this morning when we let him out and started screaming. Nothing at all until that moment, then it settled and we thought he must have slept on it funny or something as he was running around with the other dogs just fine. Then 90 minutes later when he came back inside the same thing, screaming and no weight bearing. This afternoon slight weight bearing but not normal. ETA have left a message to talk to his breeder but she is away.

Edited December 8, 2013 by Trisven13

[ness]

Potentially does sound like a patella luxation rather than a cruciate if it comes and goes. My only experience with a cruciate rupture was the dog was non-weight bearing and things didn't improve with rest but yes it can just happen while the dog is walking around. It is possible for a low grade patella luxation to go undetected and they can deteriorate with age and only be picked up on when the dog is much older. Might also be due to a pinched/trapped nerve issue in the back.

Hopefully you can get answers tomorrow :).

[persephone]

sounds like patella at first thought - can you feel any abnormality in that knee compared with the other? Gently palpate each knee .. have your fingers each side ..with kneecap in teh middle there shouldn't be any/much lateral movement .

it's been a long time, but when Mitchell had the problem .and we were awaiting surgery, during runs , he used to yip, stop, and wait for me to move the patella back in its groove..then off he'd run again .... he was about 4 i think when it was noticed ..and after surgery he was 110 % :)

[Trisven13]

I haven't fiddled with his knee because he is in pain and I feel mean... :laugh: Poor little guy, he is so good natured and easy going and, even though he does my head in and I can't wait until he moves back to my daughter's house, I really hate to see him in pain as he is always so good.

Will see what the vet says tomorrow.

[Salukifan]

Sounds like a traumatic patella luxation to me. A low grade patella issue might go relatively unnoticed and then it fully pops out of the groove and won't go back in.

Hope he has a quiet night before you can get to the vet.

Edited December 8, 2013 by Haredown Whippets

[*kirty*]

Cruciates don't tend to be that painful in my experience. They are sore and non-weight bearing but not screaming or anything. Hope he is ok!

[Trisven13]

So is it easily fixed if it is patella luxation? Never had it in one of my own

[ness]

Depends on the grading but yes its normally relatively straightforward procedure with normally a good success rate however with any surgery things don't always go according to plan.

[persephone]

Mitchell's surgery involved deepening the groove for it to sit back in , and re-directing some ligaments to hold everything ; bandaged and immobile leg .. some weeks of convalescence and being spoilt ..and a build up to full use again . it was perfect for the next 6 or so years :)

I remember it , as I assisted during surgery .... probably not the best idea in retrospect

Hope your boy's issue is easily fixed ..and he doesn't have to endure the pain :)

Edited December 8, 2013 by persephone

[Trisven13]

So we are back from the vet and he is on a week's crate rest with anti-inflammatories to see how he goes. He is acting like it is a slipped patella but his patella is perfectly in place. It might be a tear in his cruciate that is not severe enough to stop him weight bearing all the time, it may be simply a muscle strain. She saw what he is doing, we put him out in the backyard and watched him but he is in her words "a weird little dog" :laugh:

[ness]

Kenz's luxating patella diagnosis took ages to rear its ugly head despite multiple vet/chiro vet/specialist visits. So I wouldn't even necessary be ruling that out. But hopefully its a once off and it improves with rest and anti-inflams.