espinay

I am sorry that you have had such a disappointment. I have had a few myself over the years and know how it feels. But (based on what you have said) I wouldn't be too quick to get into a blame game with the breeder here. You were sold a pup that was 'show potential' - that does not guarantee the pup will be show or breeding quality - it just means it has a good chance of being such. there are LOTS of things that can happen as a pup grows that can mean the pup doesn't turn out as you hoped. That is the risk you take with a pup. I don't think there is a breeder alive who hasn't had a 'show potential' pup not live up to its potential at one time or another. You say that you pup showed no signs of patella luxation on palpation until now. Therefore the pup was not showing signs when she was sold to you and not for a good amount of time (over a year?) afterwards. The breeder therefore did not sell you a pup that was known to be 'defective' at the time of sale. From what you have said, the breeders dogs are not showing signs of luxating patella. This may in fact have been the first time the issue has arisen for the breeder? They advise they are keeping an eye on siblings to see if others develop the issue, which IMO is a sensible approach at this point. She may be looking at her breeding program too to see if there are any other indications of an issue (but they may not necessarily be talking about that). Maybe they have not found any other issues at this point? We don't know as we have not heard the breeders side of the story. You are right that there is no formal testing arrangement for luxating patella at this point. Testing is done via palpation by the vet and there is still a grading system set out for them to use. It would be nice if there was more formal testing, but at the moment that is what we have. The difference between formal testing and the current system BTW, is just a piece of paper. They would still use the same method to assess them. I wouldn't use crabbing as a sign of patella problems necessarily. Crabbing is something you may see in growing dogs. Their leg length and body length don't always match up as they are growing. Young dogs can often be 'bum high' for a while off and on as they develop. You need to give them time to develop before you have a 'finished product'. Sometimes with growing dogs you feel like you want to stick them in a cupboard for a few months and not look at them they are so 'fugley' I know a lot of breeders who won't look at their dogs until they are about 2 and have done most of their growing. Crabbing can also be caused by the lead/collar (this is quite common and you can see it quite frequently at shows). Sometimes a dog will 'drag' on a tight lead causing it to lean out at the shoulder and crab. Sometimes a handler does not do their dog any favours ;) . I would be getting an orthopaedic specialist to look at your bitch before I did anything further. Some vets are not that good at diagnosis and some vets over diagnose. It sounds like this pup has had its patellas pushed and pulled around by vets a few time, and it is only this last vet that has found anything. What grade did he say they were?

Not too big - too small ;) . For a Lab puppy larger pieces like chicken frames or thighs with the meat on etc are going to be a better size.