Chihuahua Crossing Forum Closed

happycropper · Senior Chi

need some help

chideb · Senior Chi

All I know is there are 2 kinds.. one caused by an injury which would not be passed on and the other is the medical one which is present from birth..

Medially Luxating Patellas

In media] patella luxation, the patella (knee-cap) dislocates to the inside of the knee. This is the most common form of patella luxation and it is often congenital and affects both knees. one knee may be more severely affected than the other. MLP generally affects smaller breeds of dogs and cats. Something that is congenital may or may not be genetic (inherited).

Laterally Luxating Patellas

Lateral patellar luxation can be congenital or the result of trauma to the knee. This condition often affects larger breeds of dogs and can cause problems similar to MLP. In some cases the patella can luxate both medially and laterally. Grading and recommendations for surgery follow the same guidelines as for MLP.

-- Edited by chideb at 01:27, 2007-10-15

Island_Girl · Senior Chi

There are also stages, i believe 3 stages, but don't quote me on that, it might be four. And in the first stage, you can still show the dog in the ring as far as I remember.

WeeKidsMom · Senior Chi

Here is a link. http://www.pawfectchihuahuas.com/LuxatingPatella.html
Luxating patellas are very genetics related in this breed. I wouldn't breed a dog with bad patellas, and in fact placed one pup I bought into a pet home as she was already holding up a rear leg occasionally at 6 months.
If you are looking for something specific, let me know and I will try and find the information for you.

lil luvs · Senior Chi

There are actually 4 grades of luxating patella - from mild (knee slips just once in a while - not a lot of pain - dog may hop a few steps and then be fine) to severe (where limb can be deformed and surgery is required). It usually shows by 6 months - but not always. Mild can still cause pain as pup grows older - more from osteoarthritis than actual luxating patella.

It is an inhertiable gene - meaning, it can be passed down - but they're not sure exactly how it's inherited (some think it's what's called "polygenic trait" meaning there's more factors besides genes but also including gender, nutrition, amount of exercise, etc.) Orthopedic Foundation's recommendation is no breeding - but not only of dog who has condition but of parents and all siblings.

The problem with this disease is the only diagnosis is palpitation - xrays can be taken but these will only show if other joint problems are there. You can actually have your dog palpitated and "cleared" of luxating patella by your vet - to only have it "show up" later - mild cases can not show up til later - which may be where you've gotten information that it can be caused by trauma. It may present itself as that when the dog isn't being diagnosed til 2-3.

Hope this helps :)

Jess · Senior Chi

Just letting you guys know I'm moving this post to 'Health', k?

x