# Luxating patella tests



## cavmad (Jan 27, 2009)

My friend breeds chihuahuas and i have convinced her to get her breeding stock checked for luxating patella as it seems to be rife in the chis.The only thing is i dont know how, where she can get this done. Can she go to her normal vet or does she have to go to a specialist, does she get a certificate or anything. Sorry this must sound really stupid not to know i tried to google but i'm useless and couldnt find anything. Also can any chihuahua breeders tell me if there are any other tests that she should have done i am trying very hard to get her to be an ethical breeder instead of a hobby breeder and i think its working


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## Colette (Jan 2, 2010)

I could be wrong but last I heard there wasn't a formal test for patellas - just a thorough vet check.

Apparently chi's are also prone to SM; but there is the risk that virtually all of them have it to some degree. I heard one ethical chi breeder decided to test his stock and found it was rife - not symptomatic afaik, but present to some degree. Again, not something I know much about though - and certainly doesn't seem to be a common test for chis.


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## Devil-Dogz (Oct 4, 2009)

I believe vets can check, although not totally sure and I dont believe that a certificate as such is given either. - but could be wrong on both.

All that happens is the vet will check the degree of luxation of the dog and score it out of four. - theres not need for the dog to be put under anaesthetic.

*There are four grades of severity of patellar luxation, and they usually progress

Grade 1: The patella is nearly normal and can be only dislocated if the stifle (knee joint) is expanded and digital pressure is applied.

Grade 2: The patella can be dislocated in extension and remains out of place when the stifle is flexed (Cavaliers with this condition may suffer from joint cartilage and secondary osteoarthritis due to the patella constantly dislocating). Luxation occurs when there is occasional spontaneous lameness, but the patella returns to normal positioning easily, and the dog usually does not indicate pain. This dog typically occasionally carries a rear leg for two or three steps but then puts it back down as if nothing was wrong.

Grade 3: The patella is dislocated most of the time; it can be manually repositioned, but it slips out easily again (Cavaliers with this degree can also be a high risk for rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee joint). Luxation is to the extent that the dog begins to have a loss of function. It has more frequent "skipping" episodes and may not want to jump up; it may have pain, and the patella does not always return to normal positioning when it is pushed out of its groove during a physical exam.

Grade 4: The patella is dislocated all of the time. The dog's legs are painful enough that it tries not to use them, when the leg can not be fully straightened manually, and the dog shows evidence of chronic pain or disability, including poor or no ability to jump up.*


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## Sleeping_Lion (Mar 19, 2009)

Glad this has been posted, was just asking about this at the vets for Rhuna earlier!


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## Nataliee (Jul 25, 2011)

I had 1 of mine x-rayed. The vets couldn't move the kneecap easily so x-rayed just incase.
The only tests I know 'some' people do are the patellas, heart & eyes


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## Malmum (Aug 1, 2010)

Just found out this week that Britches has LP in both hind knee caps. The vet discovered it by manipulation alone and said he's pretty sure she's had it since birth. It's never caused her any problems until playing ball recently where she became lame in one rear leg. He said its a possible 'pull' on her cruciate ligament which isn't helped by her Cushings disease which causes muscle and ligament laxity. A few days taking it easy and the limp is less obvious, so at nine she hasn't done badly with LP all her life, probably a low grade. She's a Yorkie x Chi and LP is common in both so I've read.


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## love our big babies (Jan 3, 2012)

Yes the Vets test for LP. All mine have been done and all are grade 0/0. X-rays would only really be able to show is the knee was out of place permanently and you need to manipulate it to assess if it's luxating or not and at what grade. 
I took my dogs to an orthopaedic vet who had preformed many surgeries to correct the patella in my breed. Very helpful vet and even explained the how knee joint to us with a model of the knee.
Thermal imaging can also show up any damage or trauma the knee has too.

Well done OP for getting your friend to check this out  :thumbup1:


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## cavmad (Jan 27, 2009)

Thank you for the replies i will pass this on i was trying to get her to scan for SM as i know how horrid it is but so far she has refused saying that nobody does in the chi world but she bought in apup that has a luxating pattella and is not happy(she has been spayed now so thats when i started on about the checks she says she wont buy unless the parents are done so i told her she would have to start doing the as well


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2013)

It's a well known problem in Miniature Pinschers.

Breed Health


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## Luz (Jul 28, 2012)

I had Abi tested for luxating patella. 
The vets at my local practice had never heard of it and were convinced that it wasn't done in this country. I wish I hadn't bothered! 
She was caused considerable discomfort as the vet seemed to be trying to dislocate the joint just to see if it would go back again. 
I then found this: * 'Excessive force should not be used when manipulating the patella. Ideally only dogs with the lowest score 0-2 would be used for breeding unless the luxation was due to injury. *
Patella Scoring - The Griffon Bruxellois Club 1897

Abi got a 1 and a 2, so within the score for breeding but I don't really feel it was accurate, she is from parents with scores of 0/1 and 0/0 and her sister has just got 0/0 in the Czech Republic. If I have her retested I will phone around and find a vet who has actual experience of the test.


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## muse08 (Dec 21, 2008)

my vets did my pugs patella scoring ,i just took the scoring for in for him to fill in.
View attachment Patella Luxation Testing Form-5.pdf


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

cavmad said:


> My friend breeds chihuahuas and i have convinced her to get her breeding stock checked for luxating patella as it seems to be rife in the chis.The only thing is i dont know how, where she can get this done. Can she go to her normal vet or does she have to go to a specialist, does she get a certificate or anything. Sorry this must sound really stupid not to know i tried to google but i'm useless and couldnt find anything. Also can any chihuahua breeders tell me if there are any other tests that she should have done i am trying very hard to get her to be an ethical breeder instead of a hobby breeder and i think its working


There doesnt seem to be any official bva/kc schemes for luxating patellas although there are other BVA/KC tests for other problems in the breed as well as DNA tests so those she will need to consider too, so Ill link you to the other tests available that should be carried out.

Usually the vet can get a fair idea on physical examination of the knees. There are 4 grades 1 to 4, one being the least, 4 being the worst. with a grade 1 they will be able to manipulate the knee out but when they let go it will pop back in. Grade 4 is out of place all the time and cant even be put back in again with manipulation. The other grades fall between the two.
So that would give a good idea, although there is no BVA/KC test for chihuahuas the vet I suppose could do xrays to make sure they are totally 100%

Other BVA/KC tests and DNA can be found on link below for chis.

Chihuahua (Long and Short Coat) - Dog Breed Health


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