I refuse to pay high dollars for a dog from a breeder that does not health screen. I don't mind paying $1000-$3000 for a pet if it comes from a reputable breeder, is a good representation of the breed, is healthy, and parents & others in pedigree have been health screened. I would definitely be willing to pay more if the parents have been OFA cleared. I wish more breeders would OFA their dogs.

Shame on that vet for dismissing it...people need to stop being so accepting of luxating patellas being so common. IT WOULD NOT BE SO COMMON IF PEOPLE WOULDN'T BREED DOGS WITH LP! Yes, some are due to injury but it is mostly genetic.

If anyone is interested, you can do a search of the OFA records by breed and see which Yorkie breeders are certifying their dogs.

http://www.offa.org/index.html

Thats very interesting!!! Doesnt look like many Yorkie breeders are OFAing for hips or patellas.I have my vet check the patellas and hips on my dogs but I dont have them certified by OFA. I trust and value his opinion on this.

To Bakers Dozen
 

Thanks for clarifying the name OFA is Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. I'll certify my breeding Yorkies immediately if it only requires a vet exam and no complex ex-rays with general enesthesia, etc. Obviously there's conflicting info out there about the certification requirements, including my own possible misinterpretation of what I read when I checked their web site a couple of months back. FYI, my breeding animals get all reasonable and customary health screens, as do my puppies, and my health guarantee is pretty liberal. Puppies stay here at least 12 weeks, one reason being to let them mature enough for a meaningful knee exam. A word of caution: one puppy customer came to me very upset that her vet was recommending surgical consult for a 4 month old puppy with LP. She's a friendly, cooperative type and agreed to let me take the puppy to my own vet for his opinion. Whereas I was hoping he would maybe find a grade 1 or 2 LP and recommend monitoring for a while, he knocked me speechless by declaring the puppy had absolutely no sign of LP. Maybe the knees tightened up in the two weeks between the vet visits??? Whatever, we were all horrified that any vet would recommend surgery on a puppy that young, for a condition that often comes and goes during growth. BE CAREFUL!!!.

You're welcome....and after re-reading my post, I want to apologize if it came off like I was correcting you personally--my intention was just to clarify for others as well. :) The information I got was from the website, and from the downloadable form that you take to your vet to fill out. I think maybe many people are thinking of the hip certification, which does require x-rays sent in to OFA. To me, the OFA certification on LP is not really certification at all, it is just registration of what your vet says. I think it's a good thing to do, as it creates a database of animals without LP, but I don't know why so many place so much emphasis on it, because health-wise it's no different than getting your vet exam.

That's a good reminder, that LP often comes and goes during growth....it's easy to forget that when you hear the dx on a puppy, it might change as it grows. Also, I have found that, unfortunately, many vets simply do not know how to properly grade it.

I'm really worried Teddy or Sophie can get it. What does it feel like? I usually check their knees quite often, Teddy is not overweight, well none of them are but he does jump A LOT on and off beds, couches, etc. As soon as he learned how to jump that high he wouldn't stop. I stretch him everyday anad massage him and when i feel their knees it feels like a pop. Is this normal? None of them seem to hurt or anything.. My knees kinda pop, and that's normal...:confused:

Popping is usually a sign, but your vet can easily tell for sure.

I was playing with my little one, one morning and he seemed to favor one leg and sat down instead of fetching. By the time I got off the phone making the appt with vet, he was running and chasing as though nothing was wrong. He did need his glands expressed (they were almost impacted) but the vet did find signs of lp. She didn't grade and she said that she didn't think it was the reason for him not fetching.

Am I reading correctly that exercise may strengthen stretch the ligaments and muscle? or should exercising be limited? My boy enjoys runs and jumps quite a bit and he has not ever shown any sign other than morning (it may not have even been his lp acting up according to exam). I don't like that he jumps up and down on the couch but he does. I try to have pillows for him to jump down but sometimes he doesn't use them. We walk just about everyday, even trot or run most of it...I follow his lead. Should I not be doing this with him? He also jumps up at people when he first sees them (hopefully puppy school with correct that). Boy, I am learning a lot of what I need to ask the vet about lp from this post and I will do on his next visit next week.

What is the earliest age a puppy can show signs of lux Pat.? Can a vet tell if they have it at 10 weeks of age?

LP, exercise, and supplement
 

Connie,
I believe I read about the supplement you gave to your yorkies in another thread. I have ordered the flexicose in the hope it would help my 2-year-old baby, Sugar. The doctor hasn't given her a final diagnosis yet, but from all the information I have been reading and vet's preliminary check-up, I believe Sugar has LP just like many other yorkies I have read about here. She showed some signs of LP for a few days (trying to get up but dragging her back legs after naps), got better, then her right back leg started to hurt after a fight with my other yorkie, who likes to attack Sugar's back leg. Then, Sugar started limping while using four legs, raised the injured leg while standing, avoiding to put her body weight on that leg. .... She is on pain medicine right now for 5 days ... I am hoping to get the flexicose ASAP and see if it will do some magic work on Sugar. I am worried that she will not be able to keep other legs healthy if she can't keep the balance, so I have been limiting her jumpings up and off the couch, up and down the stairs. She can still run quite well, even though she is not really using that leg that much. Do you think walking her is okay when she is still limping? I know she needs to lose weight because she is 10.7 lbs. Losing weight will help her for sure, but can she really go out and take the walk when she is still limping? I am hoping she can recover the right back leg on her own, it's been 8 days since she got injured and the 5th day since she started her pain medicine. When you walk Libby, do you only walk her when she walks normal on all fours? What you said makes sense, but I don't know if she will strain her other legs more and lead to more injuries if the leg with LP is still not functioning as normal as can be....Thanks a lot for reading my entry. Anyone who likes to help provide the feedback would be much appreciated!!!