Bad Knee?
 

Okay so I take Leo for his 3rd set of shots yesterday. He is a healthy lil man at 5.6lbs now at 14 weeks... The vet shows me he has a knee that pops in and out of place. So he tells me it will prolly go bad in the right one as well with age and he will need a 1400 operation by the time he is a year. Now I have called several vets and they all tell me that he should not really need it unless it gets worse in a year or so.. but that it could tighten up as he grows up a become strong again.. So I contacted his breeder and she has contacted the other puppies from this litter and none of them have had the issue. She has also said that is he has to have the surgery she will pay the entire thing. I was very happy about this and so forth.. So my question is any advice on if I should worry or not??

What he has is a called a luxated patella. It is very common in Yorkies. Did your vet grade the slippage? If it's only 1-2 he probably won't need surgery, 3-4 he probably will.

Here is some information for you:

OFA: Patellar Luxation

My pupppy is 11 months old and we never knew she had luxating patella. It may not be severe enough to need an operation now, but be very careful. Molly jumped off the couch and now she needs an operation. When they have this problem it can worsen at any time.

Layla has stage 2... has for about 6-8 months but had the vet not told me.. i would have never known.. she is not bothered by it. Unless your pup starts to pull his leg up when he is running... you should be fine. You might want to look into a Glucosamine suppliement to help with his joints and make sure you take him on a lot of walks.. which will also help. Because Layla is close to being stage 3.. we are doing hydrotherapy to help strengthen the leg. If your vet is saying you NEED surgery within a year.. i'd be finding a new vet... you don't want your pup having more operations that he needs.. putting them under is dangerous.

Gracie had grade 2 in one knee and grade 3 in the other. She had both repaired. Holly has grade 1 in both knees. We will hold off on surgery for now for her. The breeder contract excluded LP. It happens in about 14% of toy breeds. You have one awesome breeder willing to reimburse you the cost of the surgery. Just keep this in mind. Dogs with LP might be in pain even though they don't necessarily show it. LP of a more advanced stage that goes untreated can end up causing degenerative joint disease later in life, creating painful golden years for your precious one. The decision to move forward with surgery should not be taken lightly, nor should the decision to not have it given the risks of pain later on.

My little Wiz was also diagnosed with LP and my vet said an operation might be needed by 6 months of age . Being a new yorkie person I am not sure if this is just the mini yorkies ( which he is ) or any yorkie problem . I will do what needs to be done to make him healthy & happy.

all yorkies have this problem and there really isn't such thing as a "mini" yorkie.. a yorkie is a yorkie... even yorkies who are 20+ lbs have knee problems.

Thank you all for your replies... he told me he would need it in a year,but like I said I'm getting 2nd opinion... i was not overly happy with this vet..he is the second one since Leo came home in june. I'm picky about this,as I know i should be. I have a wonderful breeder adn was very pleased to hear she would be paying for the op if needed. I thought it was a wonderful testiment to her character. He has no problem now, he is a very active and playful thing so I"m not too worried but will DEF. keep a close eye on it. Thank you so much...


Mini.. Tea Cup no such thing hon,they are all different sizes.

Good for you.. stick to your guns. and change vets :) I had to make two changes too and we are now on vet #3 and i LOVE her... she is so great with Layla and takes time to say hi to her and ask how we are doing... it was worth all the changing and the 30 min drive to get to her!

I agree 100%. Postponing surgery will only make it more complicated, more expensive and if arthritis starts, less successful. If you wait too long sometimes it's too late to do surgery because the joint has degenerated too much. I'd get a second opinion from an orthopedic specialist.

How lucky you are that your breeder will honor her health guarantee!

Lucy he hade grade 4 in both knees. She was only about 4 months old when she had the surgery. The surgeon wanted it done before her bones hardened.

Thank you ladies for all th advice. I am driving to OKC weds to meet with the vet of a family friend who said they were wonderufl with their pets. I am hoping he will give us some answers and get us taken care of. I do not want anything to happen to my sweet lil man.

I am well aware that a yorkie is a yorkie is a yorkie despite size . What I am not aware of is that "all Yorkies " have this !! According to my vet , it is in the breeding of smaller and smaller puppies that develops this problem . Yes or no? If I have known this before hand , I might have had second thoughts on the purchase of this tiny dog for my friend .

Your vet is wrong. Luxating patellas are genetic in Yorkies of all sizes.

The Orthopedic Foundation of America ranks Yorkies #4 in cases of luxating patellas.

OFA: Patellar Luxation Statistics

Layla isn't teeny tiny and she has LP. if you search LP on here you will see yorkies of all shapes and sizes have it. :(

So .. are any yorkies spared of this ?? Or is it all and every one ? If this is the case , why do breeders guarantee against this if it is all ? The breeder I used said she was shocked he had this ( his sister did too . ) and said I could return him for another puppy . Of course , I said "no thanks " which is what most want to hear I am sure .

oh sure many yorkies go through their lives without it. But it isn't ONLY genetic...some arne't born with it but perhaps have a knee that might slightly less than perfect and then they jump off the couch and voila... LP. It's like anything... Labs and Shepheds are prone to hip issues.... Pugs... eye issues... it just is....

Yorkies, like any breed, are prone to certain genetic problems. A reputable Yorkie breeder will take precautions to make sure her puppies don't have luxating patellas. Did your breeder screen the parents by having their knees xrayed? Some Yorkie breeders take it a step further and have the parents CERF tested. Potential Yorkie puppy buyers should always ask to see documentation from the breeder's vet showing that the parents knees have been xrayed.

Even with careful screening, some Yorkies will develop luxating patellas from jumping on and off furniture. A vet should check the patellas on a puppy's first vet visit so it is easy to tell if the puppy was born with the slippage or it occurred later on.

I took the yorkie pup in within 48 hours of purchase and my vet knew then he had LP . The breeder dogs were certified clear ...however , genetics are genetics and back in the bloodlines ..who knows ? All I know the situation is what it is and I will do my utmost to make sure that Wizard gets the best health care possible .

The parents were clear and he was clear when her vet gave him the all good. I had him at another vet for his second set of shots and he did not see anything with is knee,this vet a month later did however. I was very displeased with him on a whole he was rough with Leo and kept popping the knee in and out. I brought Leo home and he would not let me touch him, I called to find out if the shots they gave him would make him cry they said perhaps and he would be better in the next few hours.. that did not happen.. he cried in pain when we picked him up and he would not let me touch him. I called again furious and told them whatever they did they better fix.. well come to find out they had popped his lil knee out and not back in!!!!
The breeder is a good breeder and with out me even asking informed me she would pay up front for his surgery should he need it. So I'm pleased she didn't just tell me I could get another puppy, she knew i was in love with him already. Since purchasing him and waiting on him to come home she and I have emailed at least once a day and still do.

Oh my Leo is not tiny he is 14 weeks and 5.6 ounces of healthy lil man heheh

Sammy has this same problem, but I was referred to a surgeon for an evaluation. I was told and read that it is genetic. I have never heard anyone say that ALL yorkies have it, but it sounds like they are carriers?? I hope everything works out for you. And change that vet, go with your gut. And I was going to say that sometiems after their shots they are in pain, so part of his pain might have been from that.

Hayley
 

My yorkie Hayley is 6 years old she has stage 1 or 2 vet found it at 6 weeks
he said the surgery was no guarentee and might make it worse. She is happy
and healthy. 5 and 1/2 pounds.

my yorkie was diagnosed with a luxating patella when she was 9 months old and she is now 11 months old. we noticed because she was limping for a few days and we took her in as soon as we could get an appt. our vet (who was recommended by our breeder) said that she had a luxating patella and would not be surprised if she needed the surgery before the end of the year. he said he would worry about the surgery when she started having more difficulty. well i didn't want to wait so i took her to the ortho who said she should have it right away and also told us to give her synovi g3 treats which we could get off the internet. we started giving her these right away and the limp went away. we also took her to my husband's vet which he has been using for five years and who also does the surgery and he told us that he absolutely WOULD NOT do the surgery yet and that she may never need it. the ortho told us that her knee is out of place more than it is in and the other vet said that it is not that way at all. also on the xrays the ortho showed us, her knee was in place which i thought was a little strange if her knee is out more than it is in. we are watching her very closely to see how this develops because i really do not want to put her through a surgery if she would be ok without it. we got the synovi g3 treats off line and they really do seem to be working for her.

In a young puppy, you can never really tell it has LP or not. (unless it is bad) You have to wait until they are old. Genetics are the reason some have it. I was told that one of my puppies might have it. Imagine how upset I was. Both mom and dad are my dogs! But when I brought the litter back at 12 weeks they couldn't find any slippage in any of them.
Thank God!

I picked out Lucy when she was a newborn. We knew there was something wrong with her when she was only 4 weeks old, because she didn't walk. It was like she didn't know she had back legs. After I put her up on her legs a few times, she started walking, but she never walked correctly.

The breeder let me take her to the vet before I decided. He said she had grade 4 LP in both legs and would definitely need surgery. I had already fallen in love with her and I wanted her anyway.

The ortho vet in the clinic I go to said he had never dealt with a case that bad, so he sent us to a specialist who said she needed the surgery immediately before her ones hardened. That's why she had it done at 4 months.

It is genetic. The breeder had used a new stud, which she never used again and has never had the problem since.

:( ... the poor thing ... that must be painful for him ... hope the Vet can fix him up ......

dont do anything.. wait it out... really because when princess was a puppy our vet diagnosed it too and said it would require like 3-4K surgery.. we waited it out and she kinda just popped it back into place and shes 3 now.. she hasnt limped since. if i were you id wait to see if it gets better!