Papillons are a healthy pup that typically keeps active well into its later years. Some health concerns owners should be aware of:

• Patellar luxation: Luxating simply means out of place or dislocated. Patella is a kneecap. A Luxating patella is a kneecap that chronically moves out of its normal position.
• Collapsing trachea: This condition occurs when the cartilage rings on the trachea weaken, which causes the windpipe to collapse when they breath in.
• Progressive retinal atrophy: Atrophy is a wearing or wasting away of a body part. In this case, it is the retina in the eye, which eventually leads to blindness.
• Deafness: Deafness can be hereditary or can happen through infection, trauma, or a degenerative cochlea.
• Hip dysplasia: This condition is when the socket joint in the hip isn’t large enough, or more often too shallow, for the femoral head.
• Mitral valve disease: The mitral valve is an important valve in the heart controlling pressure and blood flow in the heart. Over time, it can wear, leading to a few different issues in the heart.
• Cataracts: A dog develops a cataract when the lens in its eye clouds. The clouding is caused by changes in the water balance or proteins in the lens.
• Von Willebrand’s disease: Caused by a deficiency of von Willebrand factor, a protein in the blood that helps platelets, this disease is a bleeding disorder.

Always request health screening for both parent pups from your breeder.

While you always hope your pet will live a long and healthy life, it is always a good idea to invest in pet health insurance.

Keeping your dog’s mouth clean and problem free goes a long way to your pup’s overall health. Dental hygiene can be the cause or can be the byproduct of other serious health issues.

Visual inspections can be performed to keep track of the signs of potentially waning oral health. These signs can be anything from bad breath to abnormal chewing to loss of appetite.

Keeping ahead of these warning signs can pay dividends. A preventative approach can delay and stop many of the common dental problems from arising.

Oral health can be tackled in five basic steps:

1. Brushing your dog’s teeth to prevent an undesirable buildup of plaque
2. Feed your dog a diet where the high quality dog food has dental benefits
3. Regularly give your dog dental toys and treats
4. Use mouthwash, to help where brushing misses
5. At the sign of any abnormalities, consult a vet. You can even do it virtually, from the convenience of your home.

Dogs are just like humans in that they can experience anxiety. The degree to which they are susceptible to anxiety and how they deal with anxiety is breed specific. Left unchecked, initial signs of anxiety could give way to an anxiety disorder. The symptoms of anxiety disorders can lead to a myriad of behavior issues.

Knowing the signs and symptoms will best equip you to keep ahead of it and to nip it in the bud at the earliest signs. There are options available to help with anxiety.