Luxating Patellas - YorkieTalk.com Forums

redrider · 02-15-2007, 02:29 PM

I took Duffy to the vet since he has been "reverse sneezing" for a few weeks (after having his inhaled bortadella vaccine) and after telling me he has an upper respiratory infection, he then told me that Duffy has luxating patellas on both back legs. He said they aren't bad right now and may never need surgery, but if he does it will cost from $5,000 to $8,000 for the orthopedic surgery!!

. He was really good about answering my questions and explained everything to me about it. Duffy is 8 months old and may not need surgery for years, if ever. My question (after all that!) is: My husband paid $2,500.00 for Duffy from a breeder here (yes, that is $2,500.00), and while I think he is worth every penny of it, I am a bit ticked that he has the knee problem since my vet said it is genetic. I looked at my "guarantee" from the breeder and it says she guarantees from "life threatening genetic" problems for 1 year. The vet said I should call her so she knows she shouldn't be breeding the parents again. Any ideas on what I should expect her to do about it, if anything?

daisy mae06 · 02-15-2007, 02:45 PM

WOW thats alot of money I would call her and let her now what the vet said. And maybe if she is nice she'll offer some money back. Did the vet say what stage the lp is?

Pipersmommy · 02-15-2007, 03:13 PM

Good luck!, but I doubt she will refund anything. If anything, she'll offer you a discount on another one down the road. Or you can pick another if you give Duffy back. NOT! Your already in love with Duffy & I'm sure she knows that.

kalina82 · 02-15-2007, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redrider

I took Duffy to the vet since he has been "reverse sneezing" for a few weeks (after having his inhaled bortadella vaccine) and after telling me he has an upper respiratory infection, he then told me that Duffy has luxating patellas on both back legs. He said they aren't bad right now and may never need surgery, but if he does it will cost from $5,000 to $8,000 for the orthopedic surgery!!

. He was really good about answering my questions and explained everything to me about it. Duffy is 8 months old and may not need surgery for years, if ever. My question (after all that!) is: My husband paid $2,500.00 for Duffy from a breeder here (yes, that is $2,500.00), and while I think he is worth every penny of it, I am a bit ticked that he has the knee problem since my vet said it is genetic. I looked at my "guarantee" from the breeder and it says she guarantees from "life threatening genetic" problems for 1 year. The vet said I should call her so she knows she shouldn't be breeding the parents again. Any ideas on what I should expect her to do about it, if anything?

I'm sorry about Duffy's knees. your vet is right, he may not ever need surgery, and you can help prevent that by keeping him at a good weight and never letting him get porky. Also don't let him run really rough, this might pop his knee out or tear the cruciate. regular playing is fine and alittle running never hurts but don't let him do the pyscho yorkie run LOL

as for your breeder, i'd let her know about duffy's knees. i'd ask for some money back since you paid so much. i don't know if you'll get it but never hurts to ask

Dina_Nichole · 02-15-2007, 03:24 PM

WOW, 5-$8,000!!! Thats so much money

I hope your baby never needs the surgery. Definately contact the breeder. Good luck with everything

LunasMomma · 02-15-2007, 03:36 PM

Whoa~ That is the most expensive quote I've ever heard for LP surgery

You may want to get another opinion if it comes down to that.

The best preventative would be probably to not ever let him jump up/down from any kind of height (bed, sofa). Hopefully he'll never need the surgery.

Good luck with the breeder, I hope that she offers something fair for both of you AND that she won't be breeding that pair again.

Amber_lv · 02-15-2007, 03:43 PM

i'm so sorry! I would get another quote on surgery though.do you mind if i ask what breeder you got him from?

redrider · 02-15-2007, 03:54 PM

Thanks for all the info. Duffy is at stage 2 right now on his knees, so that is not too bad.. it doesn't hurt him or anything right now and I wouldn't have known had the vet not done a good check on him when I took him in. The breeder is close to me here in southern CA. I would rather not mention her name until I can contact her and see what her response is. If she has an "attitude" about it, I'll definetly let you know so no one else uses her. I had wanted a Yorkie for years and years and my hubby surprised me with him. Other than his knee problem, Duffy is more than I could have asked for in a furbaby and prior to this I would have greatly recommeded the breeder. So... we'll see.

txshopper73 · 02-15-2007, 04:03 PM

Everything that I have been told about LPs is that the only way to know if it's genetic is if an x-ray has been done and there is scar tissue built up. These dogs can jump off of a couch and injure a knee. This is why many breeders (show breeders included in that statement) are leary to cover LPs in a contract. How can a breeder be guaranteed that an LP was caused by their breeding when a vet hasn't done an x-ray?

my2boyz · 02-15-2007, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by txshopper73

Everything that I have been told about LPs is that the only way to know if it's genetic is if an x-ray has been done and there is scar tissue built up. These dogs can jump off of a couch and injure a knee. This is why many breeders (show breeders included in that statement) are leary to cover LPs in a contract. How can a breeder be guaranteed that an LP was caused by their breeding when a vet hasn't done an x-ray?

I may be wrong here but could that be the reason some guarantees state 'life threatening' genetic problems...so they have an out?

txshopper73 · 02-15-2007, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by my2boyz

I may be wrong here but could that be the reason some guarantees state 'life threatening' genetic problems...so they have an out?

exactly! But, if it is proven to be genetic and not environmental, then some breeders will accept that and cover it.

redrider · 02-15-2007, 04:28 PM

Duffy has NEVER jumped off of or fallen off of a high place

. He is 4 pounds and is, thankfully, too scared to try to jump as of yet. When the vet showed me his knees he had me put my thumb on top of his when he moved the kneecap in and out of the socket area. Kinda freaky

So I don't think that is the problem. I can understand the wanting proof of the problem and I will get that if necessary. As for the life threatening part, the knees may not be but having him under anesthesia for surgery is always risky, especially in a tiny.

rachelsyorkie · 02-15-2007, 04:43 PM

In my opinion it is life threatening because at some point the pain will leave them with the decision to PTS. So I would tell the breeder what happened & ask her what she thinks is fair. A nicely worked email will give her alittle time to think & hopefully she will refund some. If she refuses to do anything I would make a report to AKC reporting those parents to have genetic health issues that are being passed to pups & let them investigate it. Hopefully she will attempt to make it right w/you w/o getting nasty about it. I am so sorry you & your little guy have to go thru this.

yorkiemalt · 02-15-2007, 06:09 PM

That's approximately what I paid per knee in my area....$3000.

Your question was...what do you think the breeder is going to do? I think if your health guarantee states "life threatening" genetic diseases then patellas are not going to be covered.

When my maltese had his knees done last year I too contacted his breeder. He was 4 years old at the time and I didn't expect any money from her...I simply called to let her know about Chandler.

She said both the sire and dam had been OFA cleared for patellas. Fine and dandy but luxating patellas are carried by a recessive gene...it could go back 5, 10 or 20 generations. So basically the testing was useless in this breeding.

Good Luck to you.....just keep in mind, it's a fixable problem and with time your baby will be fine.

lizziepooh_1 · 02-15-2007, 06:50 PM

My husband and I were in a very similar situation when we brought Tia home just a couple of weeks ago. She was bought from a pet store (husband wanted to surprise me and felt safer buying from a place with a guarantee). We brought her to the vet, found out she had LP and that vet estimated surgery to be upwards of $2000 cdn per knee. We were upset with the store for not informing us, made a big stink and they offered us 2 options. Either to refundher completely (but we were already attached and weren't sure what would become of our sweet little Tia) or to let us keep her and refund the money.

I got in touch with a local breeder and spoke to a couple of other vets for their opinion. The bottom line was that LP is common among small/toy breeds. Our dilemma was that if we gave her up, we could just as well buy another yorkie who could develope LP, and then we might as well have kept Tia.

Recommendations were no table scraps, plently of exercise, don't let her bcome obese, suplement her diet with glucosamine sulfate and try to not let her jump to and from high places.

Also learned that it may be unlikely that she will need surgery because she is a light weight dog. If and when hte LP begins to bother her, surgery would not be the first course of action (many dogs with LP learn to cope with it...surgery is reserved for dogs who are in pain). I also found a veterinary hospital here in Ottawa that would perform the surgery for about $500 cdn per leg (plus the cost of medication and other post-op care.

With all this info and more...plus with the advice of YT (this situation is how I found out about this forum!)...and by following our heart, we decided to keep her and the money we paid for her. We're going to use the money refunded to us to pay for her surgery if and when she needs it.

Oh yeah, and the breeder I spoke to stressed that we needed to decide whether or not to keep her based on whether or not we would be able to care for her pre and post-op (expenses, seeing her leg shaved with sticthes, monitoring her progress and rehab/physio). Some people can deal with it, others can't. My husband and I decided that we would be able to care for her...and we love her to bits! We wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing she was with another family!

02-15-2007, 02:29 PM	#1
redrider Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: california Posts: 41	Luxating Patellas I took Duffy to the vet since he has been "reverse sneezing" for a few weeks (after having his inhaled bortadella vaccine) and after telling me he has an upper respiratory infection, he then told me that Duffy has luxating patellas on both back legs. He said they aren't bad right now and may never need surgery, but if he does it will cost from $5,000 to $8,000 for the orthopedic surgery!! . He was really good about answering my questions and explained everything to me about it. Duffy is 8 months old and may not need surgery for years, if ever. My question (after all that!) is: My husband paid $2,500.00 for Duffy from a breeder here (yes, that is $2,500.00), and while I think he is worth every penny of it, I am a bit ticked that he has the knee problem since my vet said it is genetic. I looked at my "guarantee" from the breeder and it says she guarantees from "life threatening genetic" problems for 1 year. The vet said I should call her so she knows she shouldn't be breeding the parents again. Any ideas on what I should expect her to do about it, if anything? __________________ I was Duffy's Mommy

02-15-2007, 02:45 PM	#2
daisy mae06 Kodi & Pixie 2 Donating Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: NEBRASKA Posts: 14,766	WOW thats alot of money I would call her and let her now what the vet said. And maybe if she is nice she'll offer some money back. Did the vet say what stage the lp is? __________________ OK Yorkie Rescue - http://okyorkierescue.org LorisCritterSitter.com

02-15-2007, 03:13 PM	#3
Pipersmommy Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: SW Fl Posts: 1,808	Good luck!, but I doubt she will refund anything. If anything, she'll offer you a discount on another one down the road. Or you can pick another if you give Duffy back. NOT! Your already in love with Duffy & I'm sure she knows that. __________________ Debbie (mommy to) Misha, Piper & Maximillion

02-15-2007, 03:24 PM	#5
Dina_Nichole I Love My Munchkins! Donating Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: My Babies ♥'s! Posts: 8,765	WOW, 5-$8,000!!! Thats so much money I hope your baby never needs the surgery. Definately contact the breeder. Good luck with everything __________________ I My Lil Furballs!! Pia Mojo ~ Trixie Murphy ~ Paisley Max

02-15-2007, 03:36 PM	#6
LunasMomma Izzy's Momma Too! Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Stuart, Florida Posts: 8,799	Whoa~ That is the most expensive quote I've ever heard for LP surgery You may want to get another opinion if it comes down to that. The best preventative would be probably to not ever let him jump up/down from any kind of height (bed, sofa). Hopefully he'll never need the surgery. Good luck with the breeder, I hope that she offers something fair for both of you AND that she won't be breeding that pair again. __________________ Tracy, Mom to Izzy and Luna

02-15-2007, 03:43 PM	#7
Amber_lv Peeka Boo I See You! Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Salt Lake Posts: 7,161 Blog Entries: 3	i'm so sorry! I would get another quote on surgery though.do you mind if i ask what breeder you got him from? __________________ Peeka-Boo-Daisy-Designs <---Click Here Peeka's MyspaceDaisy's Myspace Peeka's Dogster

02-15-2007, 03:54 PM	#8
redrider Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: california Posts: 41	Thanks for all the info. Duffy is at stage 2 right now on his knees, so that is not too bad.. it doesn't hurt him or anything right now and I wouldn't have known had the vet not done a good check on him when I took him in. The breeder is close to me here in southern CA. I would rather not mention her name until I can contact her and see what her response is. If she has an "attitude" about it, I'll definetly let you know so no one else uses her. I had wanted a Yorkie for years and years and my hubby surprised me with him. Other than his knee problem, Duffy is more than I could have asked for in a furbaby and prior to this I would have greatly recommeded the breeder. So... we'll see. __________________ I was Duffy's Mommy

02-15-2007, 04:03 PM	#9
txshopper73 Donating YT 14K Club Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 14,226 Blog Entries: 1	Everything that I have been told about LPs is that the only way to know if it's genetic is if an x-ray has been done and there is scar tissue built up. These dogs can jump off of a couch and injure a knee. This is why many breeders (show breeders included in that statement) are leary to cover LPs in a contract. How can a breeder be guaranteed that an LP was caused by their breeding when a vet hasn't done an x-ray? __________________ As always...JMO (Just My Opinion) Kimberley

02-15-2007, 04:28 PM	#12
redrider Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: california Posts: 41	Duffy has NEVER jumped off of or fallen off of a high place . He is 4 pounds and is, thankfully, too scared to try to jump as of yet. When the vet showed me his knees he had me put my thumb on top of his when he moved the kneecap in and out of the socket area. Kinda freaky So I don't think that is the problem. I can understand the wanting proof of the problem and I will get that if necessary. As for the life threatening part, the knees may not be but having him under anesthesia for surgery is always risky, especially in a tiny. __________________ I was Duffy's Mommy

02-15-2007, 04:43 PM	#13
rachelsyorkie Rachel & Tilula Belle Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Southern Ohio Posts: 1,162	In my opinion it is life threatening because at some point the pain will leave them with the decision to PTS. So I would tell the breeder what happened & ask her what she thinks is fair. A nicely worked email will give her alittle time to think & hopefully she will refund some. If she refuses to do anything I would make a report to AKC reporting those parents to have genetic health issues that are being passed to pups & let them investigate it. Hopefully she will attempt to make it right w/you w/o getting nasty about it. I am so sorry you & your little guy have to go thru this.

02-15-2007, 06:09 PM	#14
yorkiemalt Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 3,468	That's approximately what I paid per knee in my area....$3000. Your question was...what do you think the breeder is going to do? I think if your health guarantee states "life threatening" genetic diseases then patellas are not going to be covered. When my maltese had his knees done last year I too contacted his breeder. He was 4 years old at the time and I didn't expect any money from her...I simply called to let her know about Chandler. She said both the sire and dam had been OFA cleared for patellas. Fine and dandy but luxating patellas are carried by a recessive gene...it could go back 5, 10 or 20 generations. So basically the testing was useless in this breeding. Good Luck to you.....just keep in mind, it's a fixable problem and with time your baby will be fine.

02-15-2007, 06:50 PM	#15
lizziepooh_1 YT Addict Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Ottawa Posts: 361	My husband and I were in a very similar situation when we brought Tia home just a couple of weeks ago. She was bought from a pet store (husband wanted to surprise me and felt safer buying from a place with a guarantee). We brought her to the vet, found out she had LP and that vet estimated surgery to be upwards of $2000 cdn per knee. We were upset with the store for not informing us, made a big stink and they offered us 2 options. Either to refundher completely (but we were already attached and weren't sure what would become of our sweet little Tia) or to let us keep her and refund the money. I got in touch with a local breeder and spoke to a couple of other vets for their opinion. The bottom line was that LP is common among small/toy breeds. Our dilemma was that if we gave her up, we could just as well buy another yorkie who could develope LP, and then we might as well have kept Tia. Recommendations were no table scraps, plently of exercise, don't let her bcome obese, suplement her diet with glucosamine sulfate and try to not let her jump to and from high places. Also learned that it may be unlikely that she will need surgery because she is a light weight dog. If and when hte LP begins to bother her, surgery would not be the first course of action (many dogs with LP learn to cope with it...surgery is reserved for dogs who are in pain). I also found a veterinary hospital here in Ottawa that would perform the surgery for about $500 cdn per leg (plus the cost of medication and other post-op care. With all this info and more...plus with the advice of YT (this situation is how I found out about this forum!)...and by following our heart, we decided to keep her and the money we paid for her. We're going to use the money refunded to us to pay for her surgery if and when she needs it. Oh yeah, and the breeder I spoke to stressed that we needed to decide whether or not to keep her based on whether or not we would be able to care for her pre and post-op (expenses, seeing her leg shaved with sticthes, monitoring her progress and rehab/physio). Some people can deal with it, others can't. My husband and I decided that we would be able to care for her...and we love her to bits! We wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing she was with another family!