I live in Florida but we got our Yorkie from a Breeder in Tennessee who used to live in Florida and had excellent recommendations. She gave us a contract that stated she would take him back within a year if there were problems and give us another dog or our money. When he was about 6 months old he started hiking up one back leg when he ran. Our vet said he had luxating patella which means the knee joint pops out and does not go back in place. Our last Yorkie had the same thing but his popped back and he never limped. Brady's started getting worse when he was a little over a year old and the breeder recommended a vet in Ft. Lauderdale who was highly recommended and she said he should have surgery. We decided to take him to an orthopedic vet who said the same thing. He said we could wait but we would take the chance of it getting too bad to correct. The breeder offered several times to take him back but I couldn't let my sweetheart go back. She said no one in his ancestry had the problem so it was just an unusual thing. I trust her and she paid $1,100. toward the $1,600. surgery. He had the surgery in July and was in a cast for a few weeks. It was kind of funny to watch him trying to get into his bed etc. but he got good at it after a few days. Well, it is 4 months since the surgery and he is still "hiking" up the leg but not as much and not all the time. When I took him to the vet last week he said to wait until January and then if he wasn't improved he would take the pins out which was a very simple procedure and he wouldn't charge for it. I really like this vet. If the breeder hasn't taken your dog to her vet yet make sure you go with her. Florida had "puppy lemon laws" and I would suggest you check it out on the computer to see if your state has them.. Good luck and let me know what is going on.. Lorraine |