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Ask the Veterinarian/Female Chihuahua dog strugles with steps

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Expert: - 11/12/2011


Question
Hi Jana:

I have an 8 years old female Chihuahua that lately has been strugling with stairs.

My backyard and several of the rooms from my house have small steps and she can almost never climb them.

We took her to the veterinary several years ago and he immediately wanted to perform surgery but we were advised by other people that she would suffer a lot and it was not probably going to take her problem away.

Lately I have been reading about pet supplements for this condition and was wondering if you have any experience with them (like glucosamine).

In the meantime I plan to build some kind of a ramp and place it on the stairs so she can go up and down with no problems.

Thanks and your help is greatly appreciated,
Roberto

Answer
First of all Roberto, it depends on what this "condition" is. You don't say in your question what the vet said she has.

It sounds to me like she has either luxating patellas (her knees) or a spinal problem. Glucosamine can help some with the spinal issue but it doesn't help quite as much for a knee issue, mostly because a knee cap that pops out is a mechanical problem. The groove in the cartilage in the knee is too shallow and the patella 'rides' along that groove. When the dog is active or flexes the joint too much the knee cap tends to pop out of that groove.

There are vets who claim to have success treating this condition with supplements but I don't know of any personally.

You can do a search in here (Allexperts.com) on treating patella dislocation with supplements. I read years ago some old answers on that in here. The term for it is a luxated or subluxated patella.

Hills has a food out now called J/D that can help a great deal with mobility problems. You should contact your vet and ask about it. It's a prescription diet which means you have to buy it at the vets.

I hope that she does well on one of these.  

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

Expertise

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

Organizations
Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

Education/Credentials
Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

Awards and Honors
Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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