Rigby has not adjusted well to the move. She’s been skittish, clingy, and seemed really depressed. Mike and I even caught her listening to Radiohead on repeat. We were worried about her. So, a couple nights ago, I dug through some boxes and found Mordecai. When Rigby saw the bird, I swear she grinned. And then she, uh, welcomed Mordecai to the house. Mood problems solved.
Later Annie and Rigby were playing tug of war/fetch with Mordecai. Annie would grab the bird by the foot and pull on it until Rigby let go. Then she’d throw the bird and Rigby would go after it. It was great – they were entertaining each other while I got to sit on the couch. I was daydreaming about all the free time I was going to have when Annie threw Mordecai AT Rigby. Rigby tried to get out of the way, but she wasn’t fast enough. Mordecai hit her on her back right leg. Rigby let out a yelp and started limping.
Annie yelled, “Rigby owie!” which certainly didn’t help things. Mike and I picked Rigby up and checked her out. She let us touch all over her leg, so we didn’t think she’d broken anything. But she didn’t want to walk, and she absolutely refused to go up any steps. Since it was after vet hours (of course) we decided to wait until the morning to see if she was better. We’d seen Rigby limp plenty of times and wake up fine.
Unfortunately, Rigby was not fine in the morning. In fact, she wouldn’t put her leg on the ground at ALL. Suck. I called a local vet, and Mike took Rigby in for an exam. The last time Rigby went to the vet she needed bladder surgery, so I was hoping this was less serious. And less expensive.
Mike called not long after to say that the vet had diagnosed Rigby with a severely dislocated knee. Apparently it’s common for Maltese dogs to have joint problems. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory and a pain medicine, and said that, in order to give Rigby a chance to heal with rest (and to avoid surgery), we would need to seriously limit her activity – no unnecessary walking, no jumping, no rough-housing.
Rigby and Annie both have pretty limited English skills, so simply telling the two of them that they can’t chase each other or play tug of war is not going to work. Looks like I’ll be spending the next week holding Rigby in my arms twenty-fours a day. Think I can park in the handicapped spot?
Lamb says:
Poor little Rigby! I’m sure she’ll be back on her paws in no time with you chauffeuring her around the house
Madi G. says:
Aw, I’m so sorry to hear about Rigby’s accident! Indeed, small dog breeds like the Maltese, Chihuahua, etc. are very prone to knee dislocations, particularly as they age.
They’re so fragile. Unfortunately, this is a prime example of why small dog breeds are not recommended for families with small children. (Of course, I wouldn’t part with Rigby either! I’d **never** give up my animals following the birth of my child. Ever! But you need to be super vigilant when the kiddos are young. Unfortunately, it’s much easier said than done!)
If she has a difficult time healing, you may opt to try a custom-made orthotic brace. It will cost a few hundred dollars, as it will need to be custom-molded to her leg, but it can help you avoid surgery and future dislocations.
When the joint dislocates, the nearby muscles, tendons and ligaments are stretched or even partially torn. This causes pain and it will cause repeated dislocations because these structures hold the knee in place and stabilize it. In short, the dislocation stretches the nearby structures that serve to stabilize the joint. This makes the knee prone to dislocations in the future (especially the immediate future.)
Here is one company that makes these braces:
http://orthopets.com/
I highly recommend this course of action if she has a difficult time healing. It won’t be cheap — it will cost a few hundred dollars — but that’s nothing compared to the cost of major knee surgery. This will help heal her leg, while protecting it from further injury. And, to be honest, this is likely the first of many knee problems, so you’ll want to have a brace on-hand. Things will only get worse as she ages. The only permanent solution is surgery, where they go in and carve out a deeper canal on the leg joint. Small breed dogs have a shallow knee joint canal, so the other part of the joint slides out of the canal fairly easily, resulting in dislocation. By deepening the canal, it makes it more difficult for the other part of the joint to slide out of place.
Also, is her leg wrapped or braced at the moment? If not, it should be. This will keep her leg stabilized and somewhat immobile while the joint heals. Even if she’s not walking on it, the joint will still move slightly unless it’s braced. The healing process will be a lot slower.
Our Chihuahua was having problems with both of his back legs, even after surgery (yeah…many surgeons don’t mention that it’s not guaranteed to prevent future problems.) So we bought a custom-made wheelchair from Eddie’s Wheels. He loves it! No more pain. No more dislocations. And he can run again! Best $500 I’ve spent in a long time! (And really, we saved money in the long term, as the future vet visits, medications, etc. would quickly surpass $500!)
I hope little miss Rigby is feeling better soon!
Madi G
TamaraL says:
Awww, poor puppy dog! I hope Rigby has a speedy recovery!!
Jenn says:
Poor baby!!! Feel better soon Rigby!!! xoxo
Sarah - { rad: renovations are dirty } says:
Aw, poor Rigby. I know how hard it is to keep a dog calm.
My wheaten terrier was diagnosed with bilateral luxating patellas (dislocating kneecaps) back in February. He had a terrible incident where he was in severe pain in May and we decided to get surgery, after getting a second opinion. He had 8 weeks of restricted activity (no jumping, running, playing with other dogs, etc) and it was awful. He got neurotic and so unhappy with the confinement. Of course, he had complications and needed a second surgery 5 weeks post-op to remove the 2 pins, then he got a severe ulcer, and then he needed physiotherapy (hydrotherapy)!
I’m happy to say that he’s excellent now! No more pain or issues with his knees. I made a blog about the whole experience: Fergus and His Bum Knee.
*fingers crossed* you won’t need surgery! It’s not fun. Oh, and there’s a much greater risk of arthritis, btw, so I recommend omega 3s – wild salmon oil – and glucosamine (I realize the research is iffy but I still give Cosequin anyway) daily.
Cinthia says:
My friend’s old dog had rheumatoid arthritis and was all stiff and in pain, so they started giving her (among other things) chondroitin, Omega 3 and glucosamine and a month later she was jumping and playing like a puppy. Supplements can be wonderful.
Missy says:
The same thing happened to our Pixie (half maltese and Yorkie) except it was her front shoulder. The vet had to pop it back into place. The sound of it made me want to vomit.
Kathy says:
Heather,
Please check your website – it loads okay at first (and stays for a few minutes) but then it goes to a herchannel page with an error message that the page I’m looking for cannot be found!
Stacey says:
I have this happen to me every day too. I just hit the back button and it reloads “The Spohrs Are Multiplying”, but yes it does this Her Channel thing every time! Weird stuff?!
Heather says:
ACK! Thanks for letting me know, I will find out what the problem is!
Skye says:
Ouch! I’ve dislocated my knee before and it sucks- and so does the physical therapy. Hopefully she will heal with rest alone. Feel better, Rigby!
susanmig says:
poor rigby! figures this would happen just when she gets her groove back, right? i hope her knee mends on it’s own and that surgery will not be needed. maybe try carrying her around in annie’s old baby carrier? you know, the one you wear on your chest…i can’t remember what it’s called.
sending healing vibes to rigby.
MDF says:
Poor rigby! I hope she heals without surgery
Nicole says:
Aw, poor Rigby!! Hope she feels better soon!! Big hugs from Hazel (our pup)
Lisa says:
Poor Rigby! Hope she’s back to her old self very soon!
Megan says:
Poor puppy! My cat sprained her shoulder a few years ago and earned herself a very expensive emergency vet trip. I was told to make sure she rested, too, so I put her in the bathroom. A little while later, I heard a huge crash. She had jumped up onto the sink and knocked some things over. I think I could’ve held off on the vet trip.
So sorry to hear Rigby isn’t well. Who would’ve thought a stuffed animal could do so much damage? Sounds like Annabel has a pretty tough arm!
Giselle says:
Aww poor Rigby. My shih tzu had a dislocated disc in her back several weeks ago and it was terrifying. We thought she was going to have a $2k CT scan and then who knows how expensive surgery. Luckily, with rest, she healed up in a week or two. yeah!! Rigby will be ok, just put her in a comfortable crate with a big dog pillow in it and she’ll sleep it off..
Hope says:
Poor puppy! Maybe you can carry her around in a sling all day
Also, there’s a product called Dog Appeasing Pheramone or DAP. They have a plug in and a spray. It can help dogs adjust to a new location. I used it when I moved in November. I don’t know for sure if it helped, bu my dog was WAY less anxious than I expected. He was really nervous during the packing, so I should have done it at the old place, I just did it at the new one. I spray the stuff on a bandana and put it on him. I used the plug in for rooms that we spent the most time. It’s odorless and natural. It might help Rigby settle into the new house.
Annie says:
Oh no, poor Rigby! I hope she starts feeling better soon!
Darby says:
The same thing happened to our Blue Heeler/Rat Terrier mix in March. We think he was chasing a cat and tried to climb the fence. I ran outside when I heard him screaming in pain. We thought it was a pulled muscle but when he still wouldn’t put much weight on it we took him to our vet. She said it was a (stage or grade, can’t remember) 4 which it the worst one to have. She thought he would almost definitely need surgery but wanted us to try the medicine and restrict him for a couple of weeks.
Two weeks later it was better but not perfect so she had us try two more weeks of restriction. It continued to get better – it would pop out a few times a day, then once a day, then weekly. He learned quickly how to stretch his leg behind him and pop it back in.
It seems to be completely healed now – nothing has happened since I think late May or early June. The vet was really surprised he didn’t need the surgery, and we were happy that in his case the restrictions worked. But it was not easy to keep him from jumping on the bed and we had to keep him away from my mom’s dog (his buddy – they have “play dates” all the time). He was so sad about that it almost broke my heart!
ldoo says:
Really? Your 1-year-old can throw a stuffed animal hard enough to dislocate a joint?! Time to sign her up for boxing.
Heather says:
I know, we already signed her up for pitching lessons.
The vet thinks that it was mostly Rigby stepping wrong, but the stuffed animal didn’t help things.
ldoo says:
Too bad I can’t sign my 18-month-old up for climbing lessons. She’s awesome at that.
Lissa says:
As a veterinary technician licensed in emergency/critical care…..its very very common for small breeds to have luxating patellas (kneecaps). This is a chronic lifelong issue and I can almost guarantee that this is NOT her first incident with it. It is just the most severe. She has likely had small subluxations (dislocations) throughout her whole life. When a vet does a normal exam, the knees tend to feel ‘poppy’. It is generally not painful on a day to day basis as that is just the normal for the dog and the surrounding tissues have adapted. It does however predispose them to more serious injuries/luxations because there is a looseness to that joint. Usually in a small dog these will heal with rest/anti-inflammatories. If the joint is too damaged and doesn’t heal with rest, surgery will fix it right up. If it goes that way, make sure to get a referral to a specialty center with a boarded surgeon. Any vet should not be performing this surgery. A boarded surgeon does them all the time and will have a very low rate of complication as it is a very simple surgery. Any dog that is getting older and especially any with joint issues will benefit from glucosamine/chondroitin/omega3 supplements. Ask your vet for appropriate doses, especially since she is such a small dog. Good luck!
Kat says:
I just had to say… being a big fan of the Regular Show that I got a great laugh off your dogs name being Rigby and the toy bird being Mordecai! LOVE IT!!! You crack me up, as usual! I am pretty sure you need your own TV show!
Kelly In Seattle says:
I was coming in here to comment on this very thing!
Regular Show is hilarious. Lots of subtle “I can’t believe they worked that in on a kids’ show” stuff that only grown-ups get! Like old Looney Toones stuff, only with less racism.
Heal fast, Rigby.
Courtney says:
I am so sorry to hear about Rigby! I hope she recovers quickly and easily! I hate it when my pets are sick or down so I know how icky it is!
Pattie says:
Poor Rigby! I hope she gets better soon. We had to have our dog on kennel-rest once (years ago), and it’s not easy. Or fun. For anyone.
Jeanie says:
How painful! Feel better soon, Rigby.
Kelly says:
Poor little Rigby. Did she get it on with Mordecai before she hurt herself? My pup prefers humping his doggie bed.
Marta says:
Oh no poor puppy! Hopefully Rigby will feel better soon. Vet bills are unfortunately as outrageous as doctors bills and not covered by insurance. I’d like a workplace that would roll pet insurance in don’t you think? =)
Darcie says:
Heather – have you noticed how everyone remembered that Rigby is a GIRL??? We’re learning!
Jennifer says:
We have a female maltese. I hope your pup is ok!!! This is the most awesome breed of dog. Ours makes us laugh on a daily basis.
Our Maltese has a similar relationship with our Burmese cat (it’s a mutual love affair). I was showing your video to my two adult sons and husband because I thought it was hilarious. Both of my sons (who have done internships for our church) thought I should have “Covenant Eyes” installed on my computer. I could not quit laughing.
I hope Rigby get’$ better $oon!
Jessica says:
Maisy, my female Maltese, constantly dislocates her back knee joint…I think it’s her left, now I can’t remember! She stretches it out behind her to pop it back in place. She looks just like a ballerina when she does it! Haha!
Meyli says:
Ahh the return of Mordecai! Love it
Lots of gently cuddles to Rigby, I hope she feels better soon!
AmazingGreis says:
Mordecai was definitely getting his revenge on poor Rigby, you know, for all the years of unwanted humping!
Michelle in MO says:
Awww, poor Rigby and poor Annie when she gets old enough to hear this story. Amber & Blue (the pampered felines) and Boober (the doofy dog) send Rigby get well wishes.
edenland says:
RADIOHEAD ON REPEAT. You slay me.
I hope Rigby gets better soon.
And, so … Annie’s not yet two, and sends your dog to the vet? Um, good luck X
Kim says:
We have a Maltese/Yorkshire Terrier cross named Thor who similarly forms inappropriate relationships with his stuffed animals. Well, he’s almost 11 so now it’s pillows. I guess the stuffed animals were too threatening. With male dogs though they get physical proof of their feelings and it’s kind of gross. Let’s just say little Thor is the J*hn H*lmes of dogs.
Rigby is adorable though and I love that you keep buying new Mordecais for her. Gotta let her have some fun.
Michele says:
This post made me laugh! Rigby sounds like a person!! I hope he feels better soon and Annie has her partner in crime back.
Christine says:
Get Rigby a crate. We had friends with a sausage dog who began getting the very common calcification of her spine. That is what you get when your legs are too short to support your long body! The vet said that by placing her in a crate, at least when you aren’t home to keep an eye on her, the inflammation in her spine can have time to go away. Give it a try. Rigby probably won’t like it much but it’ll help her in the long run.