Patella Luxation

Question
Hello i have a 17 week old female bulldog(Isis) puppy. I just had hear to the vet for hear shots. And as the vet was checking hear over he sed she had patella luxation. And i was wondering if thear is anything i can do to prevent hear having surgery. She is veary much a puppy. loving to run jump and play. And has never showed signs of discomfort. Please let me know what i can do.

Thanks  

Answer
At the risk of being blunt, you need to find yourself another vet. I can't believe a vet would even suggest surgery on a puppy this age who is exhibiting no symptoms at all.

You would be hard pressed to find a Bulldog puppy this age that didnt' have some movement in the patellas.

If she's not showing any lameness, let her be a puppy. Limit the jumping up and down off stairs or furniture as much as possible, but let her be. At a later date, if you start to see any lameness at all, just crate her and keep her quiet until it goes away. Leash exercise only.

It's very possible to manage this without surgery. The fact is, if you have one patella done, you can bet the other one with have to be done soon after due to the stress put on it while the other is healing.

There are good Bulldog vets and then there are vets who see Bulldogs. Find a good one.