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My Min Pin Bruiser will be one year old on Jan 31st 2007.
Since he was approximately 7 months old he has been occasionally favouring his back left leg. It is a reoccurring problem that comes and goes, i have noticed it perhaps 5 to 6 times in the last 5 months.
I have had x-rays done on the leg and there is no noticable bone issues, other then a slightly loose kneecap my vet says she can feel, which could be popping in and out on his own and causing inflammation, which in turns causes him pain. he sometimes whines a little when hes favouring his leg but it is rare, usually he just holds it up for awhile.
Has anybody else experienced this? My fiancee thinks it maybe a tissue or ligiment issue as he is extremely active and loves to jump from the beg, couch, etc.
If anybody has any idea what could be casuing this do you also have an idea of what i can do to make it better for him?

Min pins Can have Knee problems so I would have him checked again. I havent' had any knee problems with my guy. Definatlly would get him back to the vet.
Sara

>>My Min Pin Bruiser will be one year old on Jan 31st 2007.
>>Since he was approximately 7 months old he has been occasionally favouring his back left leg. It is a reoccurring problem that comes and goes, i have noticed it perhaps 5 to 6 times in the last 5 months.
>>I have had x-rays done on the leg and there is no noticable bone issues, other then a slightly loose kneecap my vet says she can feel, which could be popping in and out on his own and causing inflammation, which in turns causes him pain. he sometimes whines a little when hes favouring his leg but it is rare, usually he just holds it up for awhile.
>>Has anybody else experienced this? My fiancee thinks it maybe a tissue or ligiment issue as he is extremely active and loves to jump from the beg, couch, etc.
>>If anybody has any idea what could be casuing this do you also have an idea of what i can do to make it better for him?

>>>>>>>>>

The knee problem--luxating patella--IS a connective tissue problem. Favoring one side can cause injury to the other side. Certainly a dog can be injured from jumping off furniture, injury that is highly common in small dogs. The solution to that is to get the dog a ramp and teach him to use it at all times for getting up and down from furniture.

When a dog actually takes weight off a leg, it likely needs treatment. Another thing that doesn't show on x-ray is knee ligament injury, and this is epidemic in American dogs because of all the extreme activities people are doing with their dogs. It requires surgery for the best chance of avoiding the otherwise-inevitable arthritis developing in it later.

Dogs don't show pain much, so his not putting weight on the leg is a huge sign. I would restrict his activity at least during these times--that means NO running and NO jumping.

It is very important with any dog in any condition to handle retrieving and similar games in such a way that the dog never jumps up and lands on just the hind legs. People love to watch this athletic-looking behavior, but it can horribly cripple a dog. They are not built to land that way. When anyone throws a toy for a dog, it needs to to in such a way that the dog doesn't jump up so high and also doesn't twist the body. One way to avoid such moves is to restrain the dog from going out for the fetch until the object has landed. But for the limping dog, no running.

Surgical specialists are usually the best vets to do these surgeries. I'd suggest you ask your vet to refer you to a specialist now for evaluation, before the dog does further damage to the joint.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

luxating patella is one of the health issues in Min Pins. This is a very common problem where the knee cap floats or detaches. This will need to be addressed promptly. I am surprised when your vet checked the dog and found a knee cap problem, did not tell you about this at the time. You need to get him in to get this addressed promptly.

It sounds like he might have a problem with that leg but of course too (not saying he is) but my oldest min pin will "dramatize" any injury or just make it up period. As soon as she realized I ran to her aid when she limped her leg she soon began faking it(rather funny really) and recently I accidently shut her foot in the door(im a bad mommy I know) and even after it was healed she'd "whine and limp" often using the wrong foot haha. But it could really be as simple as someone said some knee inflimation and he may just need a doggy asprin daily to keep swelling down.

Hi, I'm new to this blog! I own two Min Pin's and my Coco age 3 this April developed the same problem at age 7 month. Our Vet diagnosed Coco with Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease. It is a spontaneous degeneration of the femoral head and neck leading to collapse of the coxofemoral joint and osteoarthritis. The cause is unknown.
It is common amount Miniature, Toy group. Most "patients" are 5-8 months of age. I would suggest you get it checked out or referred to a Vet who is experienced in this disease so you don't let time go by.
Our Coco had the surgery right away, and he is just fine, he healed up great. He does however favour his hind left leg when he is out in the cold, even with a warm coat.
Coco is given a raw diet and Sasha's Bend for his other joints, Pre-biotics and Pro-biotics as well as "The Missing Link". Your dog is young so I would prevent and make sure you ask your Vet many questions.
Kindest regards,
Dr. Kirsten B. Skafte.
Homeopath, Ph.D. Human Biochemistry

Hi there

Bruiser was diagnosed with patella luxation, grade II in his left leg ( the one he favors) and a mild degree in his right. 19 days ago he had surgery on his left leg to correct the problem. He is now putting his leg down, but not walking on it yet. The surgeon says it will come with time.
He is trying to jump on it, though of course this is the one thing he shouldn't be doing. Its very difficult to keep a one yr old min pin quiet, but we are pretty successful at it so far.

Thanks for the tips, i am going to start looking into muscle/ ligiment / joint supplements for him shortly.

Hello:
Good luck with your "little Man"... I know it is difficult to keep them from over-doing it. But it is more important he is getting physio so he doesn't favour the leg in the future. So, make sure you do it and stick with it.
I also recommend the raw diet for him so he can heal up and get his ligaments in order once and for all. I would give him Glucosamine Sulphate and Condroitin as well, 1/2 tsp twice daily; perhaps you can then avoid the anti-inflammatories that are prescribed so often in older dogs later on.

Kindest regards,
Dr. Kirsten