[OwnedByJezebel]

OUCH! Poor baby's knee cap was dislocated, so glad you took Winnie to the vet.

I may be the odd one out here, but this is my opinion.

If, indeed, the vet found that the knee cap was out of place and popped it back in, then I don't have a problem with the vet's advice. Luxating patellas (unfortunately) are often seen in toy breeds, and sometimes it is severe enough that it needs surgery. She could also have torn a ligament, but based on what you say the vet did, I don't think there was any way she could know if that was the case one way or the other. Letting it rest for a week and then sending you to the ortho vet if it is still bothering her would get you into the best hands to fix the patella and a possibly torn ligament (and waiting for a week and resting won't hurt her outcome).

Now, if there is a broken bone you would not want to wait. But the only way to tell that is with an xray. If I were you, I would call the vet's office and politely ask if they could go ahead and get you in to see the ortho surgeon. Then you can get the expert opinion and xray (sometimes a regular vet won't take the xray at the correct angle and the ortho will have to do it again).

These are the possibilities that you could hear from the specialist:
1. Exactly what your regular vet told you, only involving luxating patella and needing crate rest for a while with ongoing monitoring with no jumping to prevent worsening of the condition, or, in more advanced cases, surgery.
2. Luxating patella with a torn ligament, surgery is required.
3. Broken bone, surgery required.
4. Who knows, but I can't think of anything else.

I'm really thinking that it is going to be #1 or #2, especially since your vet had to pop the patella back into it's proper place. If they can go ahead and refer you to the specialist, you will KNOW exactly what you are dealing with.

Now, regarding keeping her on bed rest, they adjust easier than you would think, but they do have their "moments." This is what I did when mine had surgery and was supposed to be confined for 8 weeks:

I kept her in a crate or small ex-pen when I couldn't watch her. They can be large enough for a bed and a piddle pad, as she should be allowed to get up and go potty when she needs to.

Does she like being held or being in your lap? Do that when you can. I used a tether (actually an 18" loop from a grooming arm), with the clip attached to her harness and the loop end around my wrist. If I was at the computer, I would put her bed in my lap and tether her to my wrist, or I would put the bed on the floor next to me and let her lay there with the loop around my ankle.

The reason I used the tether is because if she hears the doorbell or a door knock (even on TV), she jumps up and bolts to the front door. I also put a sign on the front door asking people not to knock or ring the doorbell because there was a recovering surgical patient. The sign worked remarkably well -- dh had ordered a case of wine which requires an adult signature for delivery, and UPS left it without knocking or ringing the bell.

When you do take her out to potty, she must be on a leash. You don't want her taking off and chasing a bird or a butterfly.

Two weeks after surgery, mine was allowed to go on walks 2-3 times per day. They started out 5 minutes in duration and increased 5 minutes each week until they reached 20-30 minutes in length. This not only helped with rehab, but also really helped to burn off some energy.

After 6 weeks had passed, I figured I had been taking her on multiple walks per day for 4 weeks, so I gave her a little more freedom and no longer used the expen. (During the 8 weeks one of us was always home, we did not go anywhere together, but if we had to, she would have gone back in the expen while we were gone). She could get up and go look out the window, go from one bed to the next, follow me around, etc. But you know how they are, they spend a lot of time sleeping anyway. I put empty cardboard boxes on all of the furniture so that she could not jump up or down. She was still allowed on the furniture when one of us was using it, but still tethered so that she couldn't jump down.

Good luck, I hope you get positive news and one week's rest is all that is required.