Input on a quality commercial dog food and Patella luxation

[Cindy Thoman]

Hi everybody, I am getting ready to switch my 11 month old Pomchi from puppy food to adult food. He has been on Nutro Natural Choice. He is healthy except for Patella luxation, he takes Dasuquin 1/2 tab daily for that.
I am looking for input on a quality commercial food and wondering if he should have surgery for the Patella luxation while young or wait? He is not in pain but he does lift the hind leg throughout the day and sometimes run on three legs. It has not slowed him down at all, he is very active.

Cindy and Bear

[addy]

Hi Cindy,

The Dogaware sit has much information on how to pick a good food. The Whole Dog Journal rates dry, wet, raw, etc every year as well.

I use The Honest Kitchen Embark for my younger male. We have tried many different foods for him and this seems to be the best for him. I really like this company and feel good about it. I am hoping to switch my Cush pup from raw to the Honest Kitchen Zeal or at least cut back the raw and feed more Zeal.

Each dog is different so what may work for mine may not be the best choice for you.

I look for quality ingredients from a company I can trust with minimal or no recalls.

Mary Strauss has really good info on Dogaware . It would be a good place to start.

Hugs,
Addy

[lulusmom]

Hi Cindy,

What food is Alex on? It is always a lot easier to feed the same food to both your babies. I have five babies and they all eat the same thing. As far as the luxated patella, if your baby is not using that leg at times, it's because the knee cap is slipping in and out of the patellar groove. When it slips, it virtually causes the leg to lock up and it will stay locked until the muscle relaxes. I've spent a lot of money on luxating patellas over the years and I've learned that the pain is caused not so much from the knee cap slipping out of place but rather the pain of the knee cap grinding against the shallow groove. My last baby was so tiny, they had to special order pins because the pins they use for cats was way too big. As if it wasn't already expensive enough. :D

In my opinion, young dogs are much more resilient and heal quicker than middle aged or senior dogs so I think the sooner the better....that is if the luxation is severe enough to warrant surgery right now. This condition is graded by vets from 1 to 4 or 5, depending on the vet. The rescue I work with consults with a board certified surgeon who won't even do surgery unless the luxation is grade 4.

Honestly, none of us are vets so nobody here can advise you when surgery would be appropriate for your dog. Your vet, or preferrably, an orthopedic surgeon will have to determine the extent of the luxation in order to tell you when you should consider surgery. S/he will do a complete evaluation, including manual manipulation of your boy's knee as well as information gathering from you as to frequency of observed pain and/or lameness. Good luck and please let us know how things work out.

Glynda

[apollo6]

Dear Cindy and Bear
Welcome. Can't give any input on surgery. There are many good products out there. I have used Halo dog food, Solid Gold( which is produced in San Diego) and just started Honest Kitchen( very expensive). That is a decision you have to make. It depends what your dog can digest.
Hugs Sonja and Apollo

[Bailey's Mom]

Hi Cindy,

Palmer had this surgery.....on both rear legs at the same time.:eek: In his case, we first talked about the possible need for surgery when he was 5. Less than one year later, we had the surgery. For us there was no question....when his would pop in (or was it out?), he had severe pain....and let us know it.:( I don't remember why we did both at the same time....probably just to have one recovery instead of two. It was remarkable how well he did once he got home. :) In short order he taught himself to walk only on his front feet. Putting either paw down on the ground was too painful for him, despite the medication we had. We carried him in and out of the house and kept him off steps for some period of time. He was able to take care of his potty needs by himself right away. :D We had no indoor accidents.:cool: But, then, Palmer was Super Pup!! ;):D:D He also had one of those cones on his head. He didn't like that, but adjusted to it. I can't remember how long it was before he was walking on all fours. My sense is that it was not very long. He certainly had an "easier" time with his knee surgery than I did with my knee replacements.:rolleyes: I guess because he had "been there", he was a super bedside nurse/companion.:):)
Keep us posted on your thinking and/or ask any questions.
-Susan