HELP!!!Question on why breeders.....
 

My 10 month old puppy yorkie was diagnosed with Patellar Luxation in both knees. She gets around good and doesnt act in pain, yet. But I can definity feel the knees come out of place when i move her leg. I had a suspicsion when I would sometimes hear her leg making a cracking sound (just as if you were cracking your knuckles). So I brought her to the vet today to get a health exam and to have him check her knees out. Right away he told me she had it :( I am very sad for MiMi for her condition, because even if it doesnt hurt now, it will eventually right? I am still doing research on it.

Okay, so heres the question...the breeder does health guaruntee her pups for one year. But I am suppose to ship her back in order to get a new puppy. I am very attached to MiMi and so is my husband, I love her personality and I would rather just turn in her AKC papers over to her and spay her and deal with the possible surgery later. I really dont understand why anyone would want to take her back in replacement? I am going to call her first thing tomorrow, but I am curious of why a breeder would want her back. What would they do with her? Also, would it be a bad idea to get a replacement puppy? Thanks for any inputs! :confused: :( :mad:

Marie

so sorry for what you are going though. did the dr say what grade lp she has? I would think it is up to you if you want to keep her or send her back.

Sorry you have to go through this:( :( If you feel you can send her back i would be certain of what the breeder will do with her. I say this because some breeders will just put them to sleep:( :( Lp is managble and if it gets to bad there is a surgery to fix it and then there will be no more problems:D :thumbup: . I wish you well it's not an easy desion:( What grade is the LP? If it is 1-2 it is very minor and she will probably live a heathly normal life with no problems if it's a 3-4 them she might need surgery. Maybe ask the breeder for a partial refund because she will need surgery (if she needs it)

At the time of the vet visit, i didnt even know there were different grades/levels, so I didnt ask. She doesnt SEEM to be in any pain when she plays or does daily activities. I would prefer the breeder refund me half so it will compensate for the condition. Does xrays determine the severity of it, or does the vet know just by palpation/manipulation the leg?

The vet should be able to tell just by feeling it. I have heard that an x-ray can determine if it is a genetic LP or if it was an Injury but i'm not sure how true that is. I would call your vet and ask what grade it was. Did your vet mention surgery or did he think it was ok?

luxating patellas
 

Depending on what grade they are determines what problems you will most likely have. My first 2 yorkies both had them. I didnt know this until they were 8 or 9 years old. They never had any problems. They went swimming, surfing, hiking and played with a blue hand ball 24/7. I never even knew that condition existed and never had it checked. Samantha never had a problem her whole life and Amy only started to have problems like stiff legged walking when she was about 11 years old. Both girls lived to be 15. There were no health guarantees back then and I would never have given them back. They were the absolute loves of my life. Lynn

also, is this a sign of bad breeding?

The Yorkie Breed has problems with LP just like other breeds have certain problems like boxers can have eye problems (cherry eye)etc If it is a genetic flaw then they should not be breeding the dogs but if it was caused from an injury then it wasn't a genetic issue.

he wrote on the paperwork "medial" he did mention surgery, but he had an accent so he was hard to understand. i doubt its injury related because she never gets up on the furniture, since she isnt fully house trained she gets crated when i am not around.

thanks for the replies. if she needs the surgery then she will have the surgery.

medial patellar lux is what he wrote on the receipt. so i am thinking that maybe it means the location of the leg..anyways, ill call the vet on monday and ask.

With luxating patellas, you'll either get lateral or medial luxation. Medial is the most common. Medial means that the patellas move toward the inside of the leg. So the patella on the right leg moves to the left of where it should be, and the patella on the left leg moves to the right of where it should be. Lateral luxation would be the opposite - moving toward the outside of the leg. Medial is the most common because the ridge on the lateral side of the patellar groove is thicker and more prominant, and also dogs with luxating patellas tend to have slightly bowed legs so the patella luxates medially.


My Lacy has luxating patellas and they haven't caused her any problems at all so far. Her vet said there is a possiblity of her needing surgery one day but she doubted it. She said the most important thing is to keep her at a healthy weight (because being overweight puts more strain on their joints) and I give Lacy a glucosamine & chondroitin supplement daily

very informative, Thank you for the info! makes sense now what the vet means now. Besdies the glucosamine & chondroitin supplement , what else is good to do or give for this condition?

glucosamine and chondroiton helps to strengthen the ligaments in the joints. I don't know of any other supplements. Other than supplements, keep her at a healthy weight and you might try to limit jumping and running (although I haven't stopped Lacy from any of that - it would be too hard)

knees
 

The breeder does not want her back...the breeder knows only 1 in a 100 people will ever take them up on that contract guarantee, so they are home free.
Ethically, a breeder would allow the puppy to be kept and return your money..BUT that would be for a life threatening problem or life altering..liver shunt, LCP, etc IMO
Not all knee problems are the breeders fault..so it is hard to fault the breeder 100%...this is why most breeders do not guarantee the bite or structure faults, unless stated in the contract for a show pup etc...JMO

I am not making light of your Yorkies problem..but few breeders guarantee perfect knees...

I'd atleast ask for half the money back, so that you can pay for the vet bills. All she can say is no. I don't know what the breeder would do if you brought her back.