Thought I would address both health issues in one posts :-) Broken tails are not actually broken...at least not most of the time, although I am sure a chi can break a tail. Those places that you feel are actually genetic imperfections. They are of no danger and are not painful at all to the chi. They would be a fault if you are gonna show, and since breeders should be trying to better the breed, technically they probably should not be bred, but for pet purposes, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the chis tail....it is just "the way it is" :-) I have seen many a chis with tails like this.
Displaced hips, called hip dysplasia or patella luxation (luxating patella's), is extremely common in chis and other small breeds. IT can vary in severity from a minor problem that rarely bothers the chi, to a major and painful problem that must be surgically corrected. This can be a very painful thing and it is genetic and should never be bred. A vet should be able to assign a number to the severity of the problem. IT should be addressed according to how sever it is. Find a good vet who is familiar with this issue. Not all require surgery. But for those sever ones that do, it is pretty much not a choice because the chi will live in sever pain without it. The OFA has a site that explains the grades of LP and it can be found at http://www.offa.org/patluxgrade.html Hope this helps a little :-) Marsha Do not tell God how big your storm is. Tell the storm how big your God is.
