Your Chihuahua's Health

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Luxation of the Patella

Luxation of the Patella, or dislocation of the knee-cap is a common hereditary problem with the Chihuahua. It is also unfortunate that most of the time the animal is older before it shows. It appears in varying degrees from minimal to debilitating. Very young dogs may compensate, but this can only make the dislocation occur in the other leg.

The dislocation is usually on the inner side, the ligaments become stretched each time it happens until the patella is rarely where it is suppose to be. When the dog is standing with a dislocation of the patella, the hocks on the hind legs will be straight and if severe will cause extreme pain.

Recent studies have shown that immediate treatment is recommended, rather then waiting until the dislocation has practically crippled the dog. Reasoning behind this is that while the knee is dislocated the entire body of the dog is compensating for it, causing deformations of many other skeletal areas.

There is a lot of information available on Luxation of the Patella in Hilary Harmar's "The Complete Chihuahua Encyclopedia".

For more information, concerns and questions contact your veterinarian.