There are a couple of medical problems that potential owners should be aware of.
     Tooth problems do run in some of the bloodlines, requiring the owner to do daily tooth brushing and regular veterinary visits for dental care.  When acquiring a puppy, it is important to have the vet check for correct bite, and for any palate defects.
     For more information regarding bite types please see: Medical Index/Malocclusion.
     Papillons are highly sensitive to anesthesia.  Anethesia is administered according to weight.  The Papillon have an unusual bone structure that absorbs the anethesia resulting in them becoming overdosed.  It is imperative that you discuss this condition with your veterinarian before any surgery is performed involving anethesia.
     Penicillin should never be administered to a Papillon while the Pap is under anesthesia.  It can cause an adverse reaction in which the dog may die.  The best advice is to talk with your veterinarian about this condition prior to any surgery.
     Progressive retinal atrophy (or degeneration) has been found in some Papillons recently. For more information on this condition please see Medical Index/Progressive Retinal Atrophy.  The best protection for the new owner is to ask the breeder for CERF certification for the new puppy, and again to have regular checkups by the veterinarian.
     With Papillons being such a fine-boned, almost dainty type of dog, the Pap may develope patellar luxation.  For more information regarding patellar luxation please see: Medical Index/Patellar Luxation.When Pappy's are young, they are very bold and know no fear.  They will attempt to jump just like the big dogs do, and sometimes they will not exercise good judgement as to the distance or height they are jumping from.  Children are sometimes very careless in how they are carrying a puppy, and will  let the little one wiggle out of their arms and fall to the floor.  Damage done as a puppy, will have long term affects on the dog, both physically and temperament.  Care must be exercised and children should always be supervised when around puppies.
     And lastly, some Papillon puppies are born with what is called, "open fontanels".  The fontanel is the location on the skull where all of the skull plates join. It is the "soft spot" at the top-center of a baby's head. When babies (human and dog) are born the bony plates of the skull a somewhat soft and separated. As the puppy grows these bones will become more rigid and will gradually fuse together. It will take 2 to 3 months for the skull plates to fuse and the soft spot (fontanel) to close. In some Paps the fontanel never closes. This means that the owner has to be particularly aware as to the sensitivity of this area.  It should be noted that even though the fontanel never closes, the affected Pap can still live a full, energetic and active life. The major difficulty with owning a dog with an open fontanel is for the owner - the constant concern that the spot will be damaged. The dog is unaware that there is a problem and will be as rambunctious as any "normal" dog.

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