I would like to think that conscientious breeders who are looking to improve upon the breed - not just create as many dogs as they can - are doing what they can to ensure their pups don't have LP. I have had a breeder say to me "99% of all Yorkies have LP - you can't prevent it". What I've learned here is that you might be not able to prevent all cases, but you certainly can reduce the occurrences by good breeding techniques.

This thread has been full of great information!!!! Sissy has a very mild case of LP and once identified, we have been using Missing Link + with her. ML+ has a special glucosomine forumla in it for healthy joints. Sissy is not a jumper other than on/off our low couch, and she doesn't jump up and down just for fun. Angel, on the other hand, is like a jack rabbit. Yet, Angel does not show any signs of LP. I do think that regular exercise can help strengthen the ligaments and bones - just like with humans. And whether we'd like to admit this or not, jumping is a form of exercise.

Hi i have been advised to give my baby Glucosamine tablets or capsules but not sure how much to give him can anyon ehelp me there,
The capsules i have are 500 mg so how much should i give him?

The dosage is 250 mg for a ten pound dog. Remember, though, glucosamine won't cure a luxating patella since it is a structural problem. It will help with the arthritis associated with it, though.

I have just ordered it too xxxx

Here is the thing with exercising, the breeder and vet told me that Jazzie had LP at age 4 months, they both told me that with exercise, walks, she could out grow it. So I put all my faith in that and walked Jazzie 2x a day, that was July 07 by Dec 07, when I took her to an ortho vet, he said yes her legs are stronger but the patella is still to the side of the leg, meanwhile there is wear and tear to her cartiledge, her acl, etc. The xrays pointed it all out, so now I'm told limit the walking, get the surgery. So that is what I'm working on, finding an ortho vet. Hopefully by this week I will have narrowed it down to the 1. Just mentioning this in case it may help someone.

:goodpost:

That's why it's so important to breed to the standard for the proper structure, i.e. the correct angulation, correct rear, etc., to not encourage luxating patellas.

I think there are misconceptions that the standard is just an arbitrary set of rules about appearance, but in reality there are very sound reasons why the YTCA has a specific "blueprint" that should be followed.

:thumbup: It's not all about "looks" but also about proper movement, structure, and health for the breed

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

I was just told that Cali has bilateral Grade 4 LP by an er vet Saturday. I knew when I first took her to the vet she had lp but no grade was ever stated. I have never seen Cali hold up her leg, she is the only one of mine that prefers to walk when I take them in the stroller. I am confused as to how a grade 4 would not be noticable? Is is possible to have a grade 4 and not need surgery?

I would get a second opinion from an orthopedic specialist before I considered surgery. I've heard of dogs with grade 3 being fine without surgery but I'm not so sure about grade 4

Thanks I will definately get a second opinion if she develops symptoms.

What a great thread!!!! So full of information!

Has anyone tried Hyaflex? It is an oral dose of hyaluronic acid. We inject horses with it but now they have an liquid dose for people, dogs and horses. I had my sheppard cross(hip dysplasia) on it....wondering if anyone has used or heard of it used on yorkies??

luxating patellas
 

My little guy has stage one luxating patellasin both back legs... I have read that jumping makes it worse. If you are standing up he will just hop away on his hind legs.... should I not let him do this?

Awww...I just lost my original post that I was typing up and got an error message. The computer must not do that to someone who's starting to have memory issues :D Now I must re-type...

Yesterday, my Bindi (1 1/2 yrs old) was checked out by my vet and he told me Bindi has Grade 1 patella. This really concerned me because when I had Bindi checked out as a pup, he didn't have this and I was told Bindi was very healthy. He got an "excellent" health report yesterday too, except for that.

Bindi is a hyper dog and a jumper. If there was an "Extreme Sport" competition for jumping dogs, my dog will win this. I'm amazed at what he will jump off of. We actually put a huge pillow next to the couch now, cuz he will go from the top of the couch and jump to the carpet from there. I haven't been able to get him to stop. I'll tell him "NO JUMP", then he waits a second when I'm not looking, then "THUMP", and there he goes. He's also an "extreme" runner - he zooms around the house like he's a Greyhound. Now I worry this will make his patella worse.

I spoke to my breeder yesterday and she said both his parents do not have LP and was concerned Bindi has this. I trust her and have no reason to doubt her breeding practices. She's been a friend to me since day 1.

My vet knew I was concerned and he said "remember it's a very low grade patella. Bindi may never need surgery." Has anyone ever started with Grade 1 and it got worse that they had to have surgery?

I'm going to start the glucosamine to help strength his joints - I know it works for me :)