Patellar Luxation

[YorkieNewbie22]

Do breeders breed dogs with this condition if the grade level is 1?

[TLC]

I would hope not. (IMO) LP is quite serious and expensive to repair.

[MyFairLacy]

A lot of breeders don't check the patellas of their dogs prior to breeding. Your reputable breeders should though - they should have the patellas cleared before breeding and wouldn't breed a dog with LP. A dog with luxating patellas shouldn't be bred, but many are.

[Amber_lv]

Originally Posted by MyFairLacy

A lot of breeders don't check the patellas of their dogs prior to breeding. Your reputable breeders should though - they should have the patellas cleared before breeding and wouldn't breed a dog with LP. A dog with luxating patellas shouldn't be bred, but many are.

I am not trying to start controvesy but....... I have talked to some show breeders and they will breed dogs with a grade1-2 as well as some vets say it is ok as well. Lp isn't alway genetic it can be an injury as well.

[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by Amber_lv

I am not trying to start controvesy but....... I have talked to some show breeders and they will breed dogs with a grade1-2 as well as some vets say it is ok as well. Lp isn't alway genetic it can be an injury as well.

I definitely believe it. Luxating patellas are so common unfortunately. Not all show breeders are reputable breeders either. My first cat came from a show breeder that i now wouldn't consider reputable. It would be great if all breeders checked their dogs for LP prior to breeding but that just doesn't happen. My Lacy has Luxating patellas. Her right one is a grade 3. So far as reputable breeders are concerned - I have a very narrow opinion on what that is - much more so than most YTers and in my opinion a reputable breeder wouldn't breed a dog with any grade of LPs unless they were 100% certain that the LPs were from an injury and not genetic. Most LPs in our little dogs are genetic though - injuries make up a small percentage of LPs

[TLC]

Originally Posted by Amber_lv

I am not trying to start controvesy but....... I have talked to some show breeders and they will breed dogs with a grade1-2 as well as some vets say it is ok as well. Lp isn't alway genetic it can be an injury as well.

Are you serious????
I really hope that this is not most breeders. I have 2 dogs with LP. In NY surgery is extremely expensive. We have spent $4000 on Roxy's LP surgery so far, and TJ will have to have it too at some point. They both have Bi-Lateral Luxating Patella - and it has been confirmed by 2 different Ortho Specialists, that YES it is hereditary. When you have LP in the larger breed dogs, that's when it is from injury.

[YorkieNewbie22]

is there any way to proove that its hereditary or from an injury?

[MyFairLacy]

I'm not an expert or anything but just some thoughts I'm having on it. I would think that if you did x-rays, you'd be able to see if the patellar groove is too shallow or not. If the groove is too shallow, then it's obviously genetic. If your dog's legs are bowed, that's genetic. If the ligaments holding the patella in the groove seem to be damaged, it's probably an injury. I would think by looking at x-rays, you'd be able to tell a lot. But like I said, not an expert on this (yet anyway...I'm really interested in orthopedics so I'm sure I'll be learning a lot more about it over the next few years)

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by YorkieNewbie22

is there any way to proove that its hereditary or from an injury?

How old did you say your puppy is? And how long have you had the puppy? I'm sure you've posted this, but bear with an old lady.


Grade 1 or 2 is not at the point of required surgery. If a vet has pushed surgery, get a second opinion. Some vets are in a hurry $$$$$.

[BamaFan121s]

Originally Posted by MyFairLacy

I'm not an expert or anything but just some thoughts I'm having on it. I would think that if you did x-rays, you'd be able to see if the patellar groove is too shallow or not. If the groove is too shallow, then it's obviously genetic. If your dog's legs are bowed, that's genetic. If the ligaments holding the patella in the groove seem to be damaged, it's probably an injury. I would think by looking at x-rays, you'd be able to tell a lot. But like I said, not an expert on this (yet anyway...I'm really interested in orthopedics so I'm sure I'll be learning a lot more about it over the next few years)

You are absolutely correct. Wow, pretty good advice for a regular old pet owner. We have a male that has Grade 1 LP due to injury. You CAN see it and tell if it was injury induced in an x-ray. I tried once before to figure a way to post it on here as this conversation has come up before, but I couldn't. Yes, LP is hereditary, but minor cases can arise from things like injury and even jumping on and off the couch. So it isn't always something that would be passed on to other generations.
We have not used our male as stud...he isn't quite old enough, but if we decide he is what we want to add to our breeding program, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to do so.

[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by Mardelin

How old did you say your puppy is? And how long have you had the puppy? I'm sure you've posted this, but bear with an old lady.


Grade 1 or 2 is not at the point of required surgery. If a vet has pushed surgery, get a second opinion. Some vets are in a hurry $$$$$.

She said in a previous thread that the puppy is 10months old, and the vet did not say what grade the LPs were

[YorkieNewbie22]

Originally Posted by MyFairLacy

I'm not an expert or anything but just some thoughts I'm having on it. I would think that if you did x-rays, you'd be able to see if the patellar groove is too shallow or not. If the groove is too shallow, then it's obviously genetic. If your dog's legs are bowed, that's genetic. If the ligaments holding the patella in the groove seem to be damaged, it's probably an injury. I would think by looking at x-rays, you'd be able to tell a lot. But like I said, not an expert on this (yet anyway...I'm really interested in orthopedics so I'm sure I'll be learning a lot more about it over the next few years)

thank for the info, thats what I was thinking, xrays, but wasnt sure if they could tell by them or not.

[YorkieNewbie22]

Originally Posted by MyFairLacy

She said in a previous thread that the puppy is 10months old, and the vet did not say what grade the LPs were

yup yup!

[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by BamaFan121s

You are absolutely correct. Wow, pretty good advice for a regular old pet owner. We have a male that has Grade 1 LP due to injury. You CAN see it and tell if it was injury induced in an x-ray. I tried once before to figure a way to post it on here as this conversation has come up before, but I couldn't. Yes, LP is hereditary, but minor cases can arise from things like injury and even jumping on and off the couch. So it isn't always something that would be passed on to other generations.
We have not used our male as stud...he isn't quite old enough, but if we decide he is what we want to add to our breeding program, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to do so.

I've been learning more about LPs over the past year. I'm in my first year of vet school now, and I've learned a lot about Luxating patellas within just the past couple of weeks. It's something I'm interested in since Lacy has LPs so I've been asking a lot of questions about it in Anatomy (especially since we just finished studying that joint) But I am in no way an expert on this...still have a A LOT to learn

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by MyFairLacy

She said in a previous thread that the puppy is 10months old, and the vet did not say what grade the LPs were

Thanks, I couldn't remember.

But, as both you and Bama informed her x-rays would be the best point of reference. If both legs are involved, most like the LP is hereditary.

I too have a Stud with grade level 1 that was caused by trauma. Would never hesitate to use him as he was cleared as a pup as well as his parents.

Another contributing factor to LP is weight.