Just an FYI, I have taken the combo myself & will probably soon be going back on it. In my experience it does not take any time at all to get into the system. I had a great deal of relief in about 3 - 5 days.

So she's definatly still to young to have surgery. Which is good because the doc said she might grow out of it. I felt him pushing her knee cap in and out and she didnt yelp so I guess shes getting better.

My Maltese, Andy, is two years old. Saturday he started hoping around on three legs and wouldn't put on of his hind legs down. I brought him to his vet and he said he has a luxating patella- he says this is very common in small dogs and VERY common in Maltese. He said with Andy only weighing 4 pounds it isn't going to hurt as much as it would if he were bigger. He unfortunately does not do the surgery here in Shreveport, LA. So, until we are able to get up to Litte Rock and have the quite expensive surgery(hopefully in the next month) Andy is on an anti-inflammatory and a pain pill when needed- The anti inflammatory has helped him so much already!

Start doing some independant research and maybe talk to a couple more vets. What grade did they say? Grades can vary from vet to vet sometimes. So do the surgery reccomendations. Some, if you have a small dog with a low grade say no need really (similar to your vet telling you it shouldn't actually bother him too much since he's smaller). Sometimes they can be better off with weight management and limiting things like alot of jumping on and off the furniture and such. As both can cause arthritis and have their downfalls it deserves some looking into. Did your vet tell you you'll have to do the surgery (sounds familiar with LP's)?

My 12 year old Maltese, Missy, tore one ACL in January several years ago. I took her to the vet and he reccommended surgery. I was hesitant because of her age, so checked the web and found two groups on yahoo - Conservation management and another one that was ortho dogs or something like that. I think that either group addresses several issues like ACL's etc. Anyway, I went the conservation management route and she did really great. Of course, being a small dog, it wasn't hard to keep her quiet and carry her up and down stairs and lift her up on and off the bed or couch. Three months later, she torn the other ACL, and we went the same route and she did fine. I did give her the glucosome and I actually was told by my vet to give her a baby aspirin once or twice a day for arthritis and pain, and she did fine. She never did have any pain meds, which was fine with me. Check out those two groups and it can give you an idea of both sides of the coin! Good luck! Aren't Malteses just the greatest little dogs?!? We had to have our Missy put down a year ago April, but got a new one in July and she's just a pistol. I love her to death. She'll never replace Missy, but she was born on the day that we had to have Missy put down, and I'm not sure if it's just my imagination or the breed, but she has a lot of Missy's characteristics and actions! Go figure!

***Edited By: luvmymaltese on 3/13/2009 2:01:47 PM***
Reason: Added information