My extremely active dog, Brenna is a terrier mix with long legs and he back knees keep popping out of joint. It is very painful for her when it happens (I know because she yelps and cries when it happens) but she lets me massage them and then she immediately starts running and jumping again. The vet recommends surgery to correct the problem and at first I agreed but now I am starting to worry about the aftermath. I myself am handicapped and have had multiple surgeries and know first hand about how you don't always get what you hope for but once the cutting has been done you can't undo it. Does anyone have previous experience with this type of surgery and recuperation?
I am a vet student and although I do not have first-hand experience of a dog with this problems I know from my education that if it is not operated on it will get progressively worse with time, once the patellar forms a new groove, it keeps popping out until it will permanently stay out. So surgery may not completely abolish all signs of discomfort but it will definately stabilise the situation and make it a lot more functional. A lot of surgical cases make fantastic recoveries and it is a very common problem.
