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So I have this lovely, adorable, playful, fun-loving, people-loving, mannerless(other than cat-manners), intelligent, eager-to-please chihuahua/Pomeranian mix. She's 16lbs of muscle and approximately 3-4 years old. She lived with my aunt at first with five other dogs, two cats, and--for a brief time--my two rats. Got along with everyone. She came to live with us after about year, give or take.
She's a wonderful little dog. She's very smart and very loving and behaves with the cats. She loves to chase the ball outside. It's her favorite toy, her favorite game.
Her favorite game has a tendency to bite back.
There had been a couple of times where we were outside playing and she all of a sudden collapsed, yelping. I didn't know what happened. I thought maybe she stepped on something, maybe she got stung. Couldn't find any sign of injuries. She'd get back up and want to keep playing. This happened a few times, but not often. However, it was concerning when it happened while she was playing inside, on hardwood floor rather than in the grass. We could only think maybe she turned weird and hurt herself. It never lasted long. She'd limp for maybe a minute or two and then be totally fine.
Well, she went to the vet and we brought up her issues with her leg. The vet was in the process of cutting her nails when she found out what was wrong: Stella's knee has a tendency to pop out of place.
Now, fortunately, it seems to go back in on it's own just fine. The vet told me how to fix it just in case it doesn't, but I hope that day never comes. You see, I tend to be a bit sensitive when it comes to bones, tendons, organs, etc. Thinking about it is bothering me. And I worry about doing something wrong, about making it worse.
Yesterday, I took her out to play ball. She loves the game and we don't play it often. It didn't take long before she suddenly started yelping and sat down with one leg sticking out. I immediately knew what had happened, but was hoping she'd get up and be fine. That's how it usually is. Even if she limps a little, she goes right back to normal. So I had to run out in the grass. In my socks. I tried feeling her knee, but it seemed to have gone back on it's own. She wouldn't get up though. I didn't want to move her. I had to yell at my eight year old sister to go get my dad which took way too long. The whole time, Stella was whimpering and whining and holding her leg out weird. My dad finally--finally--came out and walked over to where we were. By that time Stella had mostly stopped whining and even got up to see him. After another moment, she was back to normal. She even got her ball and brought it to me. But after rolling the ball across the concrete a couple of times, she was clearly limping and I brought her back inside.
After that, she was pretty much back to normal. She limped once later that night for only a couple of seconds. She took the stairs which I hadn't intended on letting her do. I was going to carry her up, but had to get some stuff up first. She ran ahead of me.
Today my stepmom walked into the house and left the front door open. I wasn't worried about Stella running off, but called her over anyway. There was a little yelp and she came back to me limping. I carried her to the couch. I tried wrapping her leg up, but it wouldn't stay in place. So for now, I'm not playing with her and trying to limit how much she uses her leg.
I feel bad though. She's very good about laying around the house and being calm when there's nothing to excite her. But she's not exactly a low-energy couch potato. She loves to play. She loves to learn new tricks. She loves being active even when she starts panting heavily after five minutes. And she can't play her favorite game without worrying about having her knee pop out of place!
She doesn't deserve this. She really doesn't. Stella can be a handful consider her excitability and lack of training/socializing before coming to us, but she's a wonderful dog. She doesn't deserve the pain.
Anyway, sorry this is so long. I don't really know what to expect from it, but I don't know what to do. If there's anything I can do. The vet never said anything about what could be done to help her, to prevent it from happening. She just showed me where it happens and told me how to put it back in place. It's terrifying when it happens though, for both of us.
She's a wonderful little dog. She's very smart and very loving and behaves with the cats. She loves to chase the ball outside. It's her favorite toy, her favorite game.
Her favorite game has a tendency to bite back.
There had been a couple of times where we were outside playing and she all of a sudden collapsed, yelping. I didn't know what happened. I thought maybe she stepped on something, maybe she got stung. Couldn't find any sign of injuries. She'd get back up and want to keep playing. This happened a few times, but not often. However, it was concerning when it happened while she was playing inside, on hardwood floor rather than in the grass. We could only think maybe she turned weird and hurt herself. It never lasted long. She'd limp for maybe a minute or two and then be totally fine.
Well, she went to the vet and we brought up her issues with her leg. The vet was in the process of cutting her nails when she found out what was wrong: Stella's knee has a tendency to pop out of place.
Now, fortunately, it seems to go back in on it's own just fine. The vet told me how to fix it just in case it doesn't, but I hope that day never comes. You see, I tend to be a bit sensitive when it comes to bones, tendons, organs, etc. Thinking about it is bothering me. And I worry about doing something wrong, about making it worse.
Yesterday, I took her out to play ball. She loves the game and we don't play it often. It didn't take long before she suddenly started yelping and sat down with one leg sticking out. I immediately knew what had happened, but was hoping she'd get up and be fine. That's how it usually is. Even if she limps a little, she goes right back to normal. So I had to run out in the grass. In my socks. I tried feeling her knee, but it seemed to have gone back on it's own. She wouldn't get up though. I didn't want to move her. I had to yell at my eight year old sister to go get my dad which took way too long. The whole time, Stella was whimpering and whining and holding her leg out weird. My dad finally--finally--came out and walked over to where we were. By that time Stella had mostly stopped whining and even got up to see him. After another moment, she was back to normal. She even got her ball and brought it to me. But after rolling the ball across the concrete a couple of times, she was clearly limping and I brought her back inside.
After that, she was pretty much back to normal. She limped once later that night for only a couple of seconds. She took the stairs which I hadn't intended on letting her do. I was going to carry her up, but had to get some stuff up first. She ran ahead of me.
Today my stepmom walked into the house and left the front door open. I wasn't worried about Stella running off, but called her over anyway. There was a little yelp and she came back to me limping. I carried her to the couch. I tried wrapping her leg up, but it wouldn't stay in place. So for now, I'm not playing with her and trying to limit how much she uses her leg.
I feel bad though. She's very good about laying around the house and being calm when there's nothing to excite her. But she's not exactly a low-energy couch potato. She loves to play. She loves to learn new tricks. She loves being active even when she starts panting heavily after five minutes. And she can't play her favorite game without worrying about having her knee pop out of place!
She doesn't deserve this. She really doesn't. Stella can be a handful consider her excitability and lack of training/socializing before coming to us, but she's a wonderful dog. She doesn't deserve the pain.
Anyway, sorry this is so long. I don't really know what to expect from it, but I don't know what to do. If there's anything I can do. The vet never said anything about what could be done to help her, to prevent it from happening. She just showed me where it happens and told me how to put it back in place. It's terrifying when it happens though, for both of us.
