Page 115 - K9News_Issue12_July2020

7-8 months old have been sent for surgical
repair of their patellas even though the owner
has not reported any lameness. The loose
patellas are noticed on a routine examination
by a veterinary surgeon and referred to
othopaedic specialists for surgery. The breed
clubs recommend screening after the age of
12 months because in young puppies with
little muscle development the patella can feel
loose but if the puppy is allowed to develop the
muscles will strengthen and hold the patella
in place. A 7 month old puppy with Grade 1
luxation will often grow into an adult dog with
no problems. Surgery should really be deferred
until after 12 months to see if the problem is
genuine. If the puppy is obviously lame then that
is more likely to be needing surgery.
The Putnam scheme is a screening tool to
diagnose whether the patellas are mobile –
it does not require anaesthesia . If luxation
is present and the dog is showing signs of
lameness or discomfort, xrays should be done to
establish how the damage can be rectified.
Grade 0
No movement of the patella
Grade 1
The patella can be pushed out of the
groove by gentle finger pressure but
returns immediately to its place when the
pressure is removed
Grade 2
The patella luxates spontaneously or
under palpation and remains out of the
groove but can be replaced easily by
pressure of by flexing or extending the leg
Grade 3
The patella remains out of the groove
most of the time but can be manually
replaced. However it will re-luxate
spontaneously
Grade 4
The patella is permanently out of the
groove and cannot be replaced.
This screening can be done by a veterinary
surgeon at the time of a routine examination and
we urge all owners to have their dogs screened
and to submit the results to the database so we
K9 NEWS DIGITAL / JULY 2020
have as complete a picture of the state of the
breed as possible.
Apart from patella luxation, a recent breed
survey showed that other common problems
included dental disease, especially retained
deciduous teeth, obesity and reverse sneezing,
which is common in toy dogs in general, and
can look alarming as the dog snorts and snuffles
for a short time, but does not seem in general to
cause problems to the dog. Tracheal collapse
has also been reported, again a problem
in small breeds rather than breed specific.
Other less common diseases reported include
Addison’s disease, phenobarbitone responsive
sialo-adenitis and muco-polysaccaridosis VI all
of which have been reported in a few individuals
but have not been seen recently.
A problem which is becoming increasingly
frequent is colour dilution alopecia, particularly
associated with blue and tan dogs. The rise
in popularity of ‘rare’ colours has meant that
we are seeing more blues and chocolates and
even fawn/tans and blue merles, neither of
the latter two colours are recognised as breed
standard colours and unfortunately are being
bred by volume producers who are catering for
the demand for status dogs. Colour dilution
alopecia does not seem to bother the dog unless
there are secondary problems but owners will
often seek treatment which is ineffective.
The current situation with COVID 19 has given
rise to a huge demand for ‘lockdown puppies’
and the breeders who are filling this demand
are not those who are aware of health problem
in the breed. We wait to see what effect this will
have in the future on our lovely little dogs.
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