<p>Background: Inherited a 10 year old miniature poodle who used to be an apartment dog (Peed on a pad, not to long walks.) He is lovely and fits in great with my gang. Loves his long walks, playing with my other dogs and so on. Last night we took them all for a long walk, let them all off leash, and they were running around chasing a much younger dog. I remember watching the poodle and thinking, I bet he has never run like that. Maybe I should be careful… Anyway, he did fine on the walk home, then he jumped off the couch and went lame in a back leg. It was clearly very painful, so I took him to the emergency vet. She told me he had Patella Luxation, and miniature poodles are prone to it, and the only real cure is surgical. </p>
<p>Anyone have any experience with this? I am really upset about it. She sent us home with pain meds, and I am engaging in this magical thinking that it could just heal itself. She says it is Stage 3</p>
<p>I have several friends who have had the surgery done. It’s expensive, but the results appear to be excellent. I would suggest you have the consultation with the veterinary orthopedist, who will be able to tell you all about it.</p>
<p>It will be ok, I have a standard poodle, she had knee surgery about 5 years ago and is still doing great. I got a second opinion before the surgery, went with the 2nd vet (our ong time vet had recently retired, and I wasn’t too comfortable with his replacement).
Our poodle had a torn ACL, so different surgery, but hope this is helpful…</p>
<p>Our miniature pinscher had this too. The surgery ended up costing almost exactly $1000. So the dog’s name (Nigel) then became shorthand for $1000. So we’d say things like “That car costs 25 Nigels.” The dog recovered okay, though.</p>
<p>The same surgery for our Jackhuahua (that’s right—half Jack Russel half Chihuahua) cost us $1200. We had found him in a cardboard box marked “$25 for dogs” at the local supermarket.
He is the most expensive $25 dollar dog ever.</p>
<p>Just to reassure you – this is a hereditary condition, nothing you did/didn’t do. It’s essentially a “trick knee” – it happened that your dog’s knee went out after a vigorous day of play, but it could have happened in any case. The more significant factor is probably his age - it’s one of those things that tends to get worse in older dogs, because of the effect of aging on bone & cartilage. The vet should have been able to pop the knee back in place (hopefully) – of course it is prone to go out again, but whether the dog needs surgery or not depends on severity. “Grade 3” suggests that the vet could get the knee manipulated back in place, but it is likely to pop out again - but the dog’s activity level prior to the incident seems to suggest otherwise. Maybe its a “Grade 2” situation instead – so you would be wise to get a second opinion before surgery. If the vet did manipulate the knee back into position, if it stays in place for several days or weeks without a recurrence, then I’d think it was more likely a Grade 2 - the grades are just a way of saying how often it happens and how easy it is to get the knee back into place.</p>
<p>Looking for a good vet 1hr drive away from the city can bring the price of the surgery down 2-3 fold (based on our experience with 2 ACL repairs and a tooth extraction spread over 2 different states)</p>
<p>This is common in many breeds, and I believe in small breeds. Our late cavalier king charles spaniel had it too. LOL on the title thread, though!</p>
<p>musica, I can top that. My D and her significant other adopted a rescue dog (free) and six months later, the dog needed spinal surgery to the tune of $2800. Guess who paid for that! Oh, and did I mention that they also discovered that she wasn’t spayed as the rescue organization had claimed? Another $600. But we all love her! :)</p>
<p>Yikes…$600 to have a dog fixed in your area? I don’t think I’ve ever paid more than $150. I think I’ve paid about 100 for males and about 150 for females.</p>
<p>I’m sorry . . . . I’m ROFL because of "I think I broke my poodle . . . " </p>
<p>This is tickling my funny bone like nothing else . . . .</p>
<p>Just sitting in my office laughing outloud . . . and because I’m reading CC while I’m in my office, I don’t want to share this with anyone around me.</p>
<p>"I think I broke my poodle . . " I LOVE it!!</p>
<p>Sometimes with a no jumping, no running regimen, the problem will solve itself. Give your dog the meds and try to not encourage high activity. Small dogs are prone to this. We were able to get our Cocker mix back to normal by giving her the pills and having her stop jumping into the vegetable garden.</p>
<p>Calmom, yes I am on board with the hopeful Grade 2 thing.</p>
<p>Nova- this is my hope and plan exactly. So yesterday, it seemed like it was popping in and out over and over, and I thought I was being fairly careful, but he was too active. Today I am acting like he doesnt know how to walk. Carrying him everywhere. Keeping him on a chair next to me while I work (I work from home). Took him with me when I met a friend for lunch (I inherited a purse along with the poodle, and he loved it.) I have never accessorized with a dog before, but it was like having a living teddy bear you get to carry around all the time. Anyway, compared to yesterday he is much better. Everytime he does walk he walks on all four legs, instead of only three like yesterday. Everyone once in a while he lifts the leg gingerly. I am hoping if I am rigorous in my attention, he will heal.</p>
<p>First of all, I’m sorry your poodle isn’t 100% healthy. Second of all, thank you for the best laugh I’ve had in weeks. Ever since I read this yesterday, the words, “I think I broke my poodle,” enter my brain at odd moments, causing me to snort with laughter. I plan to post these words on my bulletin board so I can read them on my next “terrible, horrible, very bad, no good day.”</p>
<p>Im glad to help in the laughs department. The thing about this poodle is well, Ive never had a poodle before, and he has become kind of a new religion in our house. Who knew poodles were so charming? He came with a kind of difficult to pronounce name, and so we have taken to referring to him as The Poodle. Like we have our regular garden variety dogs, and then there is The Poodle. Also, it is a really good thing he doesnt have thumbs, and is so short, because otherwise he would take over the world. He quickly noticed a leadership void in the power structure of our house, and is alpha to our other two dogs. He regularly tricks the other dogs into giving up toys, and he bosses them around, but in a benevolent dictator sort of way. Also, he humps the cat, who weighs more than him. She really likes it. He also chews on her tail like a corncob. Today I cruised the internet for baby carriers to take him on walks with while he is healing, just so he wouldnt be heartbroken for being left behind. I gave up on that, but decided he could come along in his purse, on my shoulder. I have become that person. When he sits on you and you pet him, he becomes completely boneless. We have taken to calling that Poodle Jello.</p>
<p>At first, I was just going to take him from my friend who couldnt keep him as a foster situation, after my old dog died, because, well, a person with two dogs is a little less crazy than a person with three dogs. I would find him a nice home, and slowly let my dog subscription run out. That lasted about a minute. It has been incredibly joyous to watch a dog transform from being a single dog, apartment dweller, to being a member of the pack. I could go on forever about the amount of joy that he has provided in the short time we have had him. Smartest dog I have ever had, and the other two arent really slouches, with being corgi mixes and terrier mixes.</p>
<p>Sounds great! I also have one dog who is decidedly more clever than the other – if I could rename them both I’d call them George & Gracie because of the dynamic between them. It’s fun to watch. It’s also really cool to own a little dog that just gets things right away. </p>
<p>Did the vet show you how to manipulate the knee back in place on your own? You said it was popping out again a lot yesterday, so I was wondering if now that you know what it is, you are able to give the little guy the help he needs.</p>