# Four-year-old with knee problem



## sharlin (Feb 26, 2007)

You nailed a lot of it yourself - make him a lean, kean, GoldenMachine!! Weight makes such a difference in their overall health and longevity. As far as a suppliment I'm sure you'll get loads of answers. I use TripleFlex ($30 at Costco for the bottle) and is gluco/chon/msn all together and helped both my beloved Skyler and now Rusty.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Any chance he injured himself and has an ACL tear? A big dog would be especially prone to an ACL injury, and sometimes it doesn't take much.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?articleid=474

http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/cruciates.html


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Could also be a luxating patella (bad knee). A Golden client of mine just had to have both knees operated on for that problem. Will take and x-ray to determine.


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## Charliemaggie (May 25, 2005)

Now, that I think of it. I remember he injured himself in a hole not too long ago. But it seems like he's been very slightly lame in the right leg for quite a while (it manifests itself by his missing a step).

Anyway, he'll be on glucosamine chondritin, and I'll get the excess weight off.

My main point in posting was to see if anyone else had a young Golden with knee problems. I've heard of hip problems in young Goldens, even cancer.


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## sharlin (Feb 26, 2007)

If they're overweight age won't make a big difference - the frame just isn't built for the weight and stress factors that go along with it.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

MY GOLDEN GIRL KAYCEE HAD TO HAVE BOTH OF HER KNEES OPERATED ON FOR LUSATING PATELLA. sHE HAD TURNED 1 YEAR OLD ON aUG. 19 (20000 AMD KIST BEFPRE HRISTMAS HE CAME UP L;IMPING ON HER RIGHT RAR LEG AND I WENT INTO A PANIC. IN JULU '97 I HAD LOST MY 12 1/2 YEAR OLD IRISH SETTER TO BONE CANCER IN HIS REAR LEG ANDIT STARTED OUT WITH HIM LIMPING. 

I JUST CHECKED MY RECORDS AND I TOOK KAYCEE IN DEC. 23 AND GOT THE DIAGNOSIS AND ON JAN. 4 SHE HAD THE SURGERY--WAS 16 MONTHS OLD. THEN IN APRIL OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR, SAME THING, LEFT LEG. SHE HAD THAT KNEED OPERATED ON AND SHE WAS 2 1/2. I KEPT HER ON JOINT SUPS THE REST OF HER LIFE--I LOST HER TO CANCER MAY 25 OF THIS YEAR AT 8 YRS. 9 MONS. AND SHE HAD NEVER HAD ANOTHER PROBLEM WITH HER KNEES. 

I THINK HAVING HIS KNEE CHECKED WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA. OFTEN TIMES WHEN ONE IS BD AND THEY FAVOR IT, IT PUTS TO MUCH STRESS ON THEIR OTHER KNEE AND ENDS UP MESSING IT ALSO.


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## Charliemaggie (May 25, 2005)

I love your photo. How precious. 

Thunder is not obese but could lose about 10-15 lbs. But I know that will help a lot, especially a Golden.

I'll have the vet check his knees. Darn, I just had him in last week. He had a heartworm test, which tested negative--thank God. We're dealing with a hotspot and whipworms, too. Oh, my.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Charliemaggie said:


> Thunder is not obese but could lose about 10-15 lbs. But I know that will help a lot, especially a Golden.


Losing 10-15 lbs can make a HUGE difference! For every 8 lbs a Golden is overweight, it's equilivalent to about 14 lbs overweight for a human, so being 15 pounds overweight for the dog is like 30 lbs overweight for us. That's a big deal!

Keep us posted on the knees!


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## genejockey (Jul 3, 2008)

Rhyo had an ACL tear diagnosed when he was 18 months, though he may have had it for much longer. He'd always been a good walker (a couple miles with hills every night), and never showed any discomfort. Then he started limping sometimes after just getting up, or just getting up slowly and obviously favoring one side.

Of course, the first thought the vet had was Hip Dysplasia. We were referred to a Veterinary Orthopedic Surgeon, who checked the films, looked at Rhyo's gait, and was puzzled that hs symptoms were so severe and one sided. Then he thought "Knee", and found Rhyo's right knee was really "loose".

One TPLO later, and he was all better - after he got beyond the "leg wrapped up like a Smithfield Ham" that Kaycee is demonstrating above!


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

I'd encourage you to have it radiographed, to determine whether it is an ACL rupture or an injury to the patella itself. Weight loss will be a good thing overall, but either of the above should be treated accordingly.


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

Well, we're on our second ACL injury now. Daisy's left ACL blew at 6 years, her right one 7-1/2 years. She's going to have another surgery soon. But her first ACL injury, that went on for over a year before it finally tore completely. We're very familiar with knee problems in this household  

What you describe sounds very much like an ACL injury. Either a tear or a complete rupture. Tripping in a hole can definitely cause this type of injury. You need to see a vet and get a diagnosis. Find a vet with orthopedic experience. 

I can talk to you more about ACL stuff if you want. I know more than I want to. Don't panic...it's all manageable. But it's hard stuff, you learn as you go.

Regardless of what the problem is, his weight is critical right now. You need to take as much stress off his knee joints as possible -- not just his bad knee but his good one too. He's comnpensating with his good knee and this could cause problems further on down the road. The less weight, the better. Talk to your vet about a temporary diet food. Get the weight off first, that's priority #1. Then you can go back to a high-quality food. Diet foods work and sometimes you just really need to do what works.

I really want to stress that you figure this out as quickly as you can. Knee injuries tend to come in pairs, because they compensate with the other leg. You'll go a long ways towards protecting his other leg by taking care of the bad one quickly.


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

When you say "brief lameness," what exactly does that mean?


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