Patellar Luxation
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It's a scenario familiar to many pet owners - your dog is running across the yard chasing a ball or Frisbee, when in mid-stride he yelps in pain and yanks a hind leg off the ground. Moments later he's off again, but sporting a limp which goes away after 10 to 20 minutes.
What your dog likely experienced here is a luxated patella, or in layman's terms, a dislocated kneecap. In a normal knee, the patella fits into a groove at the end of the femur (thigh bone), and slides up and down as the knee joint bends back and forth. It also acts as a protective cover for the knee joint. The joint's movement follows a limited track, guided by the grooves in the femur. [...]
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Highly athletic and in-shape dogs can become injured through a variety of types of activities. Often the very athletic dogs can twist, turn or simply overextend a joint, resulting in swelling and pain. In some dogs certain hereditary factors can also make a particular dog or breeding line more prone to those health problems than other dogs in the same breed of different lines. Many of the common sports or activity related health conditions in dogs can be treated through rest and recovery with rehabilitation of the injured muscle or joint, however without proper treatment and modification of the activity the condition will only get worse. [...]
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Basset Hounds, perhaps because they were originally developed by using dwarf lines found within Bloodhound and other hunting hounds, tend to have slightly more health concerns than most of the other hound breeds. They have also had significant spikes in popularity throughout history, leading to poor breeding practices by many backyard types of breeders only in it for the money. Reputable breeders and kennels have maintained very healthy and genetically sound Basset Hounds that have few of the health issues listed below. [...]
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Patellar Luxation
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