Seeking Holistic Treatment for Knee Subluxation in Dog
Hi, has anyone dealt holistically with knee subluxation in their dog? My dog was diagnosed with it in both knees and the vet wanted me to send her to an ortho vet for surgery. But when I took her and found out that yes, they can fix the subluxation but she would get arthritis from the trauma I opted out and am going the natural route with her. She's 10 now and has been doing great with the supplements and raw food diet. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this with their pet and how they treated it.
Mpls., Mn
08/21/2015
Hey Ginny!
I have not had to deal with luxating patallae however I have friends who did. The treatment depended on why the patella luxated in the first place. In the case of genetics - the knee cap slides out of position due to shallow grooves in the bone that are supposed to keep the patella in position - nutritional support [glucosamine/chrondroitin] and keeping the dog in trim weight helps, along with avoiding activities that would stress the knees such as jumping off the bed or up onto the couch. I have also known about cases where a puppy was crated excessively and the knees popped; when the puppy was returned to the breeder due to defective knees and the breeder fed the pup a top diet and allowed it normal exercise, the tendons tightened up and the patellae stopped luxating.
Can you tell us what supplements you used to keep your girl healthy and sound for the last 10 years?
Southaven, Ms
08/27/2015
Hi Theresa,
Gracie gets a grain-free, predominantly raw diet. I got the excess weight off of her first thing. Next I started supplementing her diet with Glucosamine, She gets the pulp from my juice sometimes (mainly greens) too. If I see that she shows signs of really having some pain, I will give her a 1/2 pain pill but that's a rare occasion.
She's a rescue and I do believe her subluxation is genetic.
