Fuid Buildup on Dog Knee

by Brenda Joyce
(Riverwiew NB Canada)

Thursday, the vet did a blood test which was OK, took x-rays and drew fluid out with a needle. He sent the x-rays to a radiologist and still waiting for the results. At that time the sack was smaller but now is larger Sunday October 16,2011. The vet is also checking to see about the fluid that may tell what is wrong.

My sheltie is approximately 10 pounds overweight and she is age 7. Now she is on a diet recommended buy the Vet. She uses the flip flop pet door to go outside the backyard and excitedly jumps up and down to the couch with barks to look at the neighbours walking on the street.

I'm assuming the sack of fluid by her right knee may have been from jumping or hitting the pet door the wrong way.

As a human back in 1988, I slipped on ice and fell to my knee. Everything with the knee is OK but I still have as they say "water on the knee".

With my dog, how and when will fluid sack go away?

Suggestion from our Veterinarian regarding Dog Knee Fluid Buildup

Hi Brenda,

The answer to your question depends on what is causing the fluid to build-up in the first place. If it was a one time event, like hitting the pet door, it should be absorbed by the body and completely disappear over the course of a few weeks to months.

If, however, the body is trying to protect itself against continued trauma, either external, like repeatedly hitting the pet door, or internal, like joint disease, the fluid will probably remain. Another possibility is a cyst that is unrelated to a traumatic incident. Cysts will continue to produce fluid until the tissue that does so is surgically removed.

Hopefully, the results of the x-ray will give you the answers you need. If not, you can consider draining the fluid again and sending a sample to a lab for analysis or simply having the mass removed if it is in a location where that is possible and sending the entire thing to the pathologist for evaluation.

Best of luck,

Jennifer Coates, DVM