luxating Patella
 

i was curious if anyone else on the board has a yorkie with a luxating patella. Mia is 3 and we took her to the vet, and we thought she was as healthy as can be. We were getting her yearly shots, with our golden retriever, and the vet held her and said "oh she has a luxating patella". we were shocked. we had never heard of this. and as i researched it can be seen at 8 weeks?! even if we had seen it when she was a pup we would have kept her, but i hate to see a dog go through the pain and a $ 2,500 surgery because of breeding! our vet told us if the mother has it or father a couple of its puppies will. is this something that is common in just toy breeds or yorkies?
our biggest problem is keeping her still we have a tri-level and the vet said to keep her from jumping and going up stairs and the darn terrier in her won't calm down! she will not calm down she just keeps jumping on furniture and things to worsen her healing. i was just curious if anyone had the surgery done on their yorkie, because we did and im afraid with her yorkie ways she'll hurt herself again!

A luxating patella is a common problem with Yorkies and many other breeds.

A lot of people here have had that surgery with their pets.

A luxating patella is something that is graded - as to its severity.
A dog can get by with a mild luxating patella indefinitely without surgery. Often it progresses and eventually requires surgery, and other cases are severe and require surgery even at a young age.

Sorry you have had to experience this problem. Check with the breeders, but I believe that a Yorkie with this problem should not be bred.

My vet said that this problem is a lot more prevelant with puppy mill pups and uneducated breeders. It's the first thing he checked on my new little 8-week old pup, and thankfully his knees were problem free.

---- Tell me about trying to keep a puppy (or dog) down and quiet. My Bichon had two torn cruciate ligaments - and I couldn't keep him down and quiet either time. His painful, weak, little knees did help keep him a little quieter than usual for a while --but not as quiet as he should have been.

Good luck!

PS -- Run a search on "luxating patellas" here on YT - there have been some very detailed and informative posts - that you will learn a lot from.

Carol Jean

We had the surgery done our our oldest when she was 2 yrs old, she's now 8 and doing fine. Yes, we remember we couldn't keep her down either, even with her pretty pink cast on. If they're not in pain they will want to move around, don't worry, she'll go at her own pace and be fine. Best of luck with her healing process. :aimeeyork :aimeeyork

Her biological sister, 2 yrs younger didn't have any signs of this problem and is fine.

Cali has both LP's but mild and the vet told me when I got her. We taught her to only use steps or stools to get up and down on anything to limit the stress on her legs. I did have one Yorkie years ago who had the surgey and he was fine after. I would just really try and limit the jumping.

Loki has a luxating patella on his right knee, it's grade 2. Yes it is genetic and you are correct that it's unnecessary. His was not diagnosed until he was about a year old. The breeder told me that it's normal in toy breeds, and I strongly disagree with that. I have found out that there is a test and a registry (OFA) that Yorkie breeders can use to make sure their dogs do not pass this trait along. A responsible breeder will AT THE LEAST not breed any dog known to have LP of any grade. Even better if they test them. (By the way, I would pay $500 more for a pup from OFA'd parents. It's that important.) Loki's is grade 2. Also, my vet said that restricting Loki's activity won't have much impact on the LP. She knows how hard it is to keep him quiet - impossible! So he still does stairs, but he has a step to get onto the bed. We also lowered our bed so he doesn't have to jump too far to get off.

My vet who's taking care of N'Stein refered me to an orthopedist vet because she diagnosed a luxating patella. The diagnose was confirmed. He didn't recommed the operation because the anesthisia his risky. As long as N'Stein doesn't feel any pain we aren't gone do nothing. And if he got some pain then he will go on medication.

The vet also recommended that N'Stein not to jump on coach or bed.

I was wishing we could do some agility ( the steeplechase) even the jumps are 6 inches high it is to risky to hurt my sweetypoopoo.

Luxating patella
 

Sorry about the diagnosis. My shih tzu Hobbs was diagnosed with a luxating ulna when I had him for about three weeks. Anyhow I was in the same situation but he did need the surgery. We had the surgery and afterwards the ortho recommended some glocausamine (sp?) to be added to his diet afterwards. They give that to strenghten them up. It's also given to animals with arthritis. Ask if they recommend it for him. I used to buy it at www.JeffersPets.com for much cheaper than the pet stores or speciality stores. It's just a powder that is sprinkled on their food.

Good luck!

Maggie has a mild case of LP in her right back leg.The vet however didn't say anything about surgery inless it gets worst.We try to lift her on and off the bed but you know yorkies they'll do whatever they want to do when their ready to do it.She still acts like a big old puppy fighting, playing,& jumping.

I'm sorry to hear your little one has LP. LP is common in most toy breeds and unfortunately most breeders don't test for it. My sister's Maltese had a grade 3 LP that he had to have surgery on. It's been over a year ago since the surgery and he came through like a champ. His knee is now totally perfect and he can do all the things like dancing around, running up and down the stairs and jumping off furniture without any problems or pain.

My Kipper just had his 2nd surgery 4 days ago. He was only 9 mos old when it happened to his right knee in May 2005 and he had his 1st surgery then. Then last week his left knee went out on him. He's just too hyper sometimes and likes to run up and down the stairs too fast or jump up and down off the couch!! After the first surgery it took about 2 months until he finally started walking normally again. I was so worried about him but he healed perfectly, my vet is awesome. Now I just hope all goes as well with his 2nd surgery. He seems to be doing fine so far. He even dragged his toy over to play today but it's kind of hard for him to run and play fetch just yet, he's not used to the cast yet. But he sure is trying!! :D

I just posted a question today regarding this in the yorkie health section. I will post it here also ..

Mellie has luxating Patella in both of her back knees. The vet can cause them to slip everytime he manipulates her legs. He said although they slip all the time she doesn't appear to be in any pain and said we should just leave them alone and watch them. She doesn't cry or appear to be in any pain, has no problem running or playing. I have noticed lately (last couple of weeks) actuall since her last vet check, that everytime she get up from laying down she will limp. My question is should I take her to the orthopedic vet for a specialists opion? When is surgery warrented? What is involved with the surgery? How long is recovery? What are the complications if she does not have the surgery by waiting unitl she is in pain and it is a bigger problem? I do not want her to go under any uneccessary surgery. I am worried that the ortho vet will just decide that she needs surgery since she does have LP and does limp. Any suggestions/Advice is appreciated.

Mellie is 1 1/2 and this is the first time it was diagnosed during her routine checkup.

One of my males had surgery on both back legs in Jan. my vet here wanted 3600 bucks to do his surgery which I couldn't afford. so I shipped him to TX to a vet and he did it for 375.00 both knees. he's doing well, but when he runs around too much or lays on it he limps a little on it. the vet said they are as good as new now. and the little rat still jumps up and down on the couch they just love to jump should have named him jumper LOL

For those of you with LP experience- would Glucosamine tablets/vitamins help at all? Has anyone's vet ever recommend them? One of my babies has luxating patellas and I have often wondered if that would be of any help...

Yes. Glucosamine works. Loki is on it twice a day. He has a grade 2 LP on one side. The vet recommended this as the only treatment. She suggested Loki not to agility or jump off of high beds, but he's fine on stairs and the couch - basically anything he can jump ONTO is ok to jump off of. We are not restricting his activity, since he's a Yorkie and that's impossible! :D

Anyway, I have not noticed many problems with his leg since starting him on it. I believe it also helps long term - so that they do not develop arthritis.

That's good to hear- I think I will give it another try.
How much do you give Loki? Do you get it from your vet or from the pet store?
I had used it before (got it from Petco), but I wasn't sure I really notice a difference. At that time we lived in a two story house and although I would try to keep her from running up and down the stairs- that was next to impossible! (I swear if she saw me reaching for her when she was getting ready to go up or down the stairs she would run so I couldn't catch her. Little Miss Independant... :rolleyes: )
We moved a few months ago to a single story ranch and I have noticed an improvement in her just because she isn't climbing the stairs anymore. I hope adding this back to her diet will help even more.

I don't know the dosage but I got it from the vet. It says "small dog" on it and it's a small capsule about the size of a tylenol capsule. I pop open the capsule and dump the powder on his food. It was about $40 and half the bottle has lasted about 2 months.

Hi, I saw your note about your Yorkie with Luxating Patella's and I wanted to respond. I too have a 3 year old, female Yorkie that has been diagnosed with Luxating Patella in both hind legs. They recommend surgery on both legs for her, either one at a time or both at one time. I'm not sure what to do, I hate to put her through such a big surgery, I wish she didn't have to have the surgery at all. This past week she was limping for about 4 hours and then her knee popped back into place and she hasn't limped since. Have you decided if you are going to do the surgery?

Does your vet suggest surgery for Loki? I'm also from the Chicago area but I live in Arizona now.

MaryJoC
yes I had the vet do back legs, he does well, but he still favors his legs runs great then once in a while he will lift his legs but so far he is doing well. i'm glad i had the surgery... good luck any other questions you would like to ask just email me :)

Just Diagnosed :(
 

I went to the vet yesterday and the doctor just touched her back legs and said she has Medial Luxating Patella...I was shocked b/c I have always brought her to this same vet and they happen to tell me yesterday. The vet said my yorkie might have had it when she was born (genes)....She didn't even get X-rayed.

She plays a lot..jumps on the bed/couch/chairs, goes up and down the stairs, plays with kids...she looks like she has no problem at all...so i was quite shocked and sad by what she told me.

She is a grade 3....when she walks, she walks bowlegged...the doctor said she's not in pain, so she doesn't need surgery but it is recommended because of the grade 3 severity.

What should I do??. I want to get a 2nd opinion....im really scared!

Can anyone tell me how I should proceed with this.:animal-pa:aimeeyork

thank you

1LilMuffy
 

I still have not had surgery on my 4 year old Yorkie's back legs. I am undecided what to do and so I am not rushing into anything. I've talked with people that said wonderful things about the surgery on Luxating Patella's and I've talked with people that said their dogs were more lame after the surgery. My little girl is also bowlegged but shows no signs of discomfort, she going up stairs, takes walks everyday and runs around the pool without missing a beat.

I'm not sure it's worth ripping up their legs but then I worry as she gets older the problem will only get worse and then surgery will be harder on her. I'm with you in that it's hard to determine the right decision at this time.

Keep me posted on what decision you make. At this time I'm following my gut instinct to wait it out.

Lily had surgery done in Feb. for stage 2 lp in both legs, she is a whole new dog now.

I agree. Sam is way better off than she was before the surgery and she is barely 6 weeks out! She was 100% (in my opinion) by week 5. As of this week I gave up containing her. She runs twice as fast as she did before (and she was fast before!) It was expensive but we are so glad we did it!

My Isabelle was diagnosed with LP last spring and we went to UT Knoxville Vet hospital and they did both of her knees in one surgery. It was very hard to leave her for 2 1/2 days but she did great! The Vet hospital did a wonderful job of keeping me informed. After the surgery, it was a challenge to keep her still and calm and we had to take her out on a leash for 8 weeks (no running or jumping) but in the end it was all worth it. It was expensive ($2,200) but she is perfect now!

Mo~
Mommy of Isabelle and Zoey:aimeeyork:aimeeyork

Mine has it, the surgery is sooo expensive and i was told by one of the vets i use that it could have to be redone afterwards. and it is an iffy surgery..can be alot of problems with it. so i have said i am not going to deal with it right now. she has meds she is on...she isn't that active anyway. she is 4 now and is very healthy. if it did get worse i would of course consider it, hers is like one of the worst catagories to but we will see..if it becomes to bad i will of course get it done. i just hate to put her through all that and something happen or she has to go through it again. no way...anti inflammatory meds are on hand and she doesn't need them all the time so i am ok at this point. time will tell...

shelby, i am in the same boat. i have taken penny to 4 different vets and have had all different reactions. i am just watching her she isn't that active so i dont' make her do alot of walking but i have anti inflammatories that the vet gave to her. pennys is a 3 also. one of the vets said that there are so many issues with the surgery that it could have to be redone later especially when it is that bad. i was thinking if i pay 2500 bucks by george it better be 100 percent.. that is alot of money. so since she isn't that active and loves to just be with me on the couch most of the time i am just giving her meds if i think she might be in any kind of pain and she is fine... she is only 4 so i guess time will tell.. i am just riding mine out for now. i would get another opinion too..

I took Kiki to the vet this morning due to pain in her back leg and they said she has intermediate lp they gave her a shot of rimadyl and 2 weeks worth of pills of.the same thing. I can't tell.that is has helped it has been 2 hours! But I'm trying to give it time. I need all the advice I can get! What are the different grades

Same here...but Buffy is 11 in January 2014....Too risky for surgery...Using anti inflammatory meds and keep them on hand.....She needs them every once in awhile...not always...When she is in pain I carry her down steps and up as well..No jumping allowed...We moved to a one floor home so it is better for her, but she is stubborn adn will jump up on a lounge chair ocassionally...So sad to see her in pain and know what you are all going through......