What is the Big Deal About Chihuahua Knees?
Knee Problems are a Huge Concern in Chihuahuas
Knee problems are a Genetic Problem
Bad Breeders Do Not Test Knees
Bad Knees Can Cost Between $1,000 and $3,000 Per Knee to Fix
Chihuahuas are very healthy little dogs that can live up to 20 years if you get one that was bred properly and is well taken care of. There are very few health problems in the bloodlines of chihuahuas for breeders to be concerned about. One of them is a serious problem that can be removed from any responsible breeding program. That problem is bad knees. Even bad breeders will weed out genetic problems that cause them to lose a sale of a puppy or to have to reimburse the customer after a few months because of a problem that is detected prior to the puppy reaching a year, the length of time in most health contracts. Bad knees do not cause problems until a dog is about 9 years old or so. At that time, the dog will become seriously crippled, especially if more than one knee is bad. Since the operation to fix each knee is so expensive, a lot of people opt to put their dog down or to just let him/her live with the pain. This is one of the main reasons that I do not sell cheap disposable puppies. If someone invests a little more in a quality puppy that comes from a breeder that does not ignore genetic problems of this nature, that person is more likely to address a problem instead of opting to put a dog down just because he/she needs an expensive operation. That person is also a lot less likely to have to face a decision like that because that person took the proper steps and found the right breeder to purchase their puppy from. It is hard to find breeders that genetically test for knees. Since bad knees are so common, breeders do not want to know if their dogs have bad knees. If they knew, they would have to breed a dog with bad knees or spay/neuter that little money maker. I hate to call them money makers, but that is exactly all they are to a lot of breeders, especially the ones that breed dogs that are not genetically sound. I personally have had to spay/neuter 3 of my dogs so far due to bad knees. It was not an easy thing to do either. If I had not had their knees tested, I would have never known they were bad. I would have continued to breed those dogs and would have most likely kept puppies from those lines to be my future breeders. This is how bad lines get started. Bad lines are a lot easier to have than good ones. That is for sure, but to me, good lines are worth it. By 2010, I am sure that I will have some of the best knee lines in the country for chihuahuas. It takes years of working on good knees to get the best. That is why I am not there yet. I wish I knew about this earlier. If I had, I would be there already, but I am getting there.
You cannot test a puppy for certification until he/she is at least one year old. The vet can tell if a younger puppy has super bad knees, but cannot tell if the knees are good or normal until they get more developed. This means that a breeder that is concerned with producing lines that are free of knee problems has to be overly precautious of which puppy he/she chooses to include in their breeding program. I am still working on my lines as far as good knees goes. I did not find out about knee certification until 2006. My vet examines the knees when the dogs are under anistigia (sp). This means that I have to wait until a dog is getting a procedure done like a dental to get the knees certified. Since dogs can be bred prior to needing a dental, I breed dogs prior to testing their knees. This is why it is very important for me to only choose dogs that come from my own lines. Since I have so many different males here with good knees, I no longer have to go elsewhere for puppies, thank God. I can keep a puppy from dogs that I know the lines from very well rather than having to trust someone else. Since I have only found one breeder that genetically tests their chihuahuas knees, the pool for puppies with the probability of having good knees is slim. Granted, I have not checked with every chihuahua breeder, but from what I have checked, I have only found one other breeder that tests knees. Back to how hard it is to spay/neuter a dog with bad knees. If I test a dog at two years old, and that dog has bad knees, I have to spay/neuter. Now, I have raised a dog that is in the peak breeding years, and I can no longer use that dog in my program. This is a very expensive problem for a responsible breeder, but it is the only moral choice to make.
If you notice, not all of my dogs have the statement good or normal knees under their picture. This is because I am not testing the older dogs that are retiring soon. The reason I am not is because they have never produced dogs with bad knees that I know of and they are just about ready to retire anyhow. Also, I can physically feel their knees and can tell they are not bad. I just do not see spending money on certification if a dog is to retire soon. On the younger ones, I always certify during their first dental. On the ones that I have that only had a few litters prior to me knowing about knee certification, I also get their knees checked during their next dental. I have my dogs teeth cleaned every 2-3 years.
Sometimes a dog with come back with a report of one knee that is normal or good and another one that is a grade one luxation. Since grade 1 or 2 is not that bad and grade 3 and 4 is, if the one knee is good and the other is just OK, I may still decide to keep that dog in my breeding program. It all depends on the history of that dog. If the dog came from parents with good knees or if the dog has produced puppies with good knees, I will keep that dog. I just have to make sure that I only breed him/her to dogs with good knees only. This is what my vet advised me to do, and it is what makes logical sense to me as well.
Good knees run in lines just like bad knees do, and I have the dogs here to prove it. Butch, for instance, has good knees. I have his daughters Sadie, Chloe, Zoie, and Angel here, and all four of them have certified good knees. I also have Vito here who is Butch's grandson. Chloe and Snickers have good knees, and so does Vito, their beautiful son. I anticipate any puppy coming from Vito will have good knees as well as long as I breed him to a good female and not just anything like a lot of breeders do. Anyone that is lucky enough to get a puppy from a dog like Vito, can just about rest assured that their dog is going to have good knees, especially the mother has good knees. If I have not proven how important it is to find a chihuahua that comes from good knee lines, ask your vet. I am sure they have seen their share of chihuahuas with bad knees. In fact, I know they have since bad knees are a very common and very crippling problem.
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