what exactly is..

[Daiseysmom]

Luxating Paletta (sp?) Im not sure exactly what this is. Can anyone explain what it is, what the signs are etc.. imso paranoid i think! I just worry abou things because i had such a bad experience with my pug and had to put him down because of his seizures ets etc that were from genetic disorders. When he was sick i didnt know exactly what was wrong with him so i let him go for the weekend and then he started to have the seizures and i kinda blame myself a bit for not rushing him into the vet the second i notice he was feeling ill. But... sad and true that was almost two yrs ago, and now i just feel like i need to know EVERYTHING that bostons are prone to! HA. If you all could tell me what they are prone too and what the heck luxating whatever that word is i would sure appreciate it. Thanks again!

[angeleyes3785]

Luxating Patella is basically when the knee slips out of joint. There can be different grades of luxating patella, I believe the grades are from 1 to 5. 5 Being the worse. I don't really know all to much about it, but it can definitely be an inherited disorder, which is why all Bostons being bred should be OFA Patella certified, which means if they pass that their patellas are fine. I'm sure someone else can give more details about it. I know that there are a couple people on the board who have pups that have had or are going to have surgery done to correct the problem. From what I understand the surgery is a very expensive surgery and that there is quite a while before the pup is totally healed from it.

[Barbara S]

This is information from OFA. I hope this helps and answers your question.
http://www.offa.org/patluxinfo.html

[Cheryl]

Barbara, you're way ahead of me, I was just going to post that link. lol

Heidi, you'll get a lot of really good info from that site.

[lauren]

Kudos to you for doing research and being an educated puppy mom :) Bostons ARE prone to luxating patellas. All the information here is great. My sister's BT had a luxating patella, and had to have surgery on it. He was limping on 3 legs beforehand, and the surgery made him a whole new dog - and he was 10 when he got it! I would recommend the surgery for anypup who needs it, but hopefully beautiful Daisey won't have to worry about that :)

[Remington]

Remi had it done this past January. He is wonderful now. The orthopedic surgeon who did Remi's will not operate until it is at least a Grade 3. Most also won't operate until the dog is at least a year old also. It can be, in most instances, inherited. It is, however correctable with surgery. Remi's surgery was around $1400

[Laurie]

Lola is graded a 2 in both knee's and since her growth plates aren't closed yet, they won't do her surgery.

[Daiseysmom]

Wow thanks everyone! I had no clue how to spell it let alond what the heck that was! lol. Thanks a Bunch

[busta-bust]

ok, i read the info on that website, but i just have a question still. now buster has been to the vet a bunch of times, and the vet never says anything but good things, i just dont know if he has thought of anything related to an LP. now, buster walks crooked.....i mean crooked. he walks straight but his whole body is slanted while hes doing it (its kinda cute, but definitely a concern of mine). i dont think it bothers him, he could walk, play, run all day if he wanted to. do u think this is a problem though?

[lauren]

If it doesn't bother him at all, I wouldn't worry. Next time you're in for a checkup or something, just mention the fact that he walks crooked to the vet. Maybe he just has two shorter legs :)

[Luvmybostons]

Lucy's knees started bothering her around 9 mos old. Both back knees were slipping out of joint several times a day. We put her on glucosamine tablets and within 2 weeks the instances of knee slipping had dropped to zero! It was amazing! Now she runs around like crazy and seems to have no trouble at all - it's been 7 months since I've had to adjust her knees. I would highly recommend it to anyone - of course seeing the vet is also a good thing...:)

[andie]

Molly has LP's and they are at least a grade 3. Her's actually are out, more than in. She is on 3 legs most of the time, and at times uses 4 but you can tell she hobbles, skips, or walks just plain old funny. She is almost stiff legged in the back? I was waiting for her to reach a year, and we will be getting a referal soon to see what we need to do for the princess :)