hello gents, I just found out that my 10 month old black lab has a luxating patella. I was wanting to know if it would still be ok to hunt him for the upcoming season, or just turn him into a house dog. when he is out training in the field he doesn't show any signs of having any issues, but when he's in the house on the wood floors chasing his ball he'll pick his leg up and put it back down within a few seconds. I was wanting to y'alls opinion on if I should keep training him or not. I'm heading to the vet clinic in Ponder to see what they will tell me this afternoon. I appreciate all of the help.

someone just recently posted about this on RTF. (maybe it was you??) Anyway, not a lot of answers on the thread but maybe you can contact the person that was willing to offer advice?

http://www.retrievertraining.net/forums/showthread.php?167130-Patellar-Luxation

Hmmm, never seen one on a lab, seen SEVERAL on little dogs. Did vet recomend surgery? They can go in and deepen they "pocket" that the patella sits in.

My bet is with surgery he is out for this year. But doesnt have to just be a pet afterwards.

With no surgery... not sure what damage will be like. Not good for ligaments, but if you arnt gona fix then its a matter of how it effects the dog. And only hunting him and knowing him will tell you that

Did the vet put give you a grade? We grade them 1-4. I'm not sure I've ever seen it in a labrador. Its usually a small breed issue.

There are surgeries out there that can fix it. The earlier its fixed, the better off the dog is long term in terms or arthritis.

It is considered a heritable trait. I would encourage you to consider neuther him or at least not breed him if he's badly affected.

Here's a good, quick run down on the pathogenesis, diagnosis, repair, prognosis, etc. written by a veterinary surgeon at Cornell. http://www.cuvs.org/pdf/pdflinks/Patellar%20Luxation.pdf

I took him Monday to the vet in Ponder, and they suggested that they wait until at least December or January to do the surgery. They want to make sure that his bones have fully developed. He is in between a Grade 2-3 is what they said. They did say that I can still train, but if he starts pulling his leg up then stop the training. So I'm still up in the air as to what to do about him. I appreciate all of the help with this. I don't want to risk him getting hurt even further with training. Just so that I can have a dog to hunt with.