Hind Leg Joint Problem - Luxating Patella
| Pure bred dogs tend to have more genetic health problems than mutts. One of the prevalent problems with Jack Russell Terriers is Luxating Patella. It is recommended that you do not breed your Jack Russell Terrier if your dog has this condition since it is hereditary.
This condition is most common in toy and miniature breeds of Poodles, Yorkshire Terriers, Pomeranians, Pekingese, Chihuahuas, Miniature Pinschers and Boston Terriers. Luxating patella is also know as “trick knee.” I remember my mom saying she had a problem with “trick knee” when she was young. The kneecap slips out of place. |
 luxating patella on left side |
In luxating patella the kneecap (the patella) slips out of the smooth groove in which it normally rotates on. If it slips medially, it slips towards the opposite leg. If it slips laterally, then it slips towards the outside of the leg. When it does this the dog cannot extend his leg properly, so he will hold his affected hind leg up. He will have difficulty bearing weight on the leg until the ligament snaps back into place.
This condition can be temporary where you will see your dog running and notice that he is running with one hind leg up. Then you may see him running as if nothing happened if the knee slips back to where it is supposed to be.
Half of the dogs who are affected by this have a problem with both knees. If your dog only has a minor case of this problem, the biggest problem will be the development of arthritis or a possible torn knee ligament. Severe cases usually require surgery, and the result will be better if the surgery is done before arthritis occurs. If your veterinarian is not well experienced with this type of surgery, ask for a referral to a surgical specialist.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Hi..this sounds exactly what maybe the issue with our female jack who was ok one minute and after a play in the yard with the other two came in the house holding up her back leg!..Does this fix itself in time?…She stills seems like she isok just does not bear weight on it that much.
Gina
February 4th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Hey,
If your jack favors that leg a lot, you might want to get it checked by a vet. There are different grades of luxating patella and some require surgery to prevent a painful arthritic condition in the future.
Susan
February 19th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
I recently saved my jack russell, he was lost and we adopted him. I notice when he walks he is perfectly normal… but when he runs he holds up one hind leg, is this normal or should i be worried?
February 25th, 2009 at 10:00 am
It would be best to have your dog checked by a veterinarian.
March 4th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
I notice that with my 7 month old pure bred jack rusell terrier, male. Petei, that he has been fine but ever since a few days ago, and i am not too sure if its just because he tends to run into walls sometimes (hes really hyper and clumsy)…that he just when standing still will sometimes put more pressure on his left back leg verses his right one. and when he wakes up in the morning he seems to always be limping a little bit but he can run just fine n sometimes after running for a bit, he will pick up his left back leg again n wait a few minutes, but not once have i ever seen him cried or whine, im takin him to the vet on monday i just hope that he doesnt haev a serious case of it, after all i hope he doesnt have it at all..what do u think?
April 2nd, 2009 at 7:05 am
my 13 year old jack russell alfie has all of a sudden started to appear a little vague and showing discomfort on his back legs. The vet said all his vital signs were fine ie its not a stroke and it doesnt appear to be an inner ear infection causing him loss of balance. he is fine one minute and then a bit wonky when walking the next minute and stares a bit into space. he was absolutely fine a few days ago - his heart etc is also in good condition - the vet thinks its a bad lower back and suggested to give it time to heal but alfie’s slightly delayed reactions and head tilt worries me - any suggestions?
April 13th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
I hope you can figure out what is wrong with Alfie. If you don’t get a satisfactory answer from your vet, try a different veterinarian. Could he have been injured? Are you around him all the time to know whether he has had any seizures? The reason I ask is because spacing out can be a sign of epilepsy, but that is usually caused by trauma to the head (at least in people). I’m not a vet, so I certainly cannot give medical advice. Since it could very well be a problem with his back or legs, it seems like an xray would help answer whether it is his back or legs. If you find out, please let us know.
June 15th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
PLEASE RESPOND WITH ANY SUGGUESTIONS.
Problem … “Mickeydog” is now 10 years old and has almost no use of either of his hind legs(no knee-jerk reaction w/the rubber hammer tap). Mickeydog falls,slips and drags his little “ars” around which is heart renching to witness/see, as he was always an avid playful friend and hunter! All the happy playful personality is there … but the backlegs don’t work, he needs a wheelchair … no joke; it breaks my heart!! We have done blood tests and xrays and the vetinary neuro-surgeon just is not financially in the cards.
PLEASE EMAIL ME WITH ANY EXPLANATION OR SUGGESTIONS ASAP WITH A SINCERE ADVANCE THANK-YOU!
July 24th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Have you tried to build wheels for his hind legs? There is a dachshund near my mom’s house that has a cart with wheels for his back legs. If you Google “wheels for dogs back legs” you will find pictures of the ones that are for sale. They actually do call them wheelchairs.
July 26th, 2009 at 12:09 am
Does anyone know if the treats for healthy joints work for this joint problem in JT’s? Also, my JT is limping on the front leg so it looks like his joint problem is located there and not on the hind legs. I’m thinking it’s the same problem, but can’t tell from the literature if it ONLY happens on the hind leg? Any help here would be appreciated…want to try the “joint enhancer chews” if they work, but not sure if this is even his problem and if this is just a attempt to sell more treats. Thanks from one JT fan to another!