My dog blew out its cruciate ligament

[TastesLikeChicken]

My dog K.C. loves and lives to play ball every day. She's been doing since she was a puppy so it's been a routine for years and she is practically psychotic about the routine. Now that she's 8 years old and no longer a young pup the wear and tear of going 110% chasing after balls has taken a toll. Earlier this week she came up limping after running for the ball. She actually came back to me with the ball in her mouth, hobling on 3 legs with the rear left leg held off the ground expecting me to throw another one for her. Psycho.

My wife and I took her to the vet yesterday and she was diagnosed with a torn cruciate ligament. The surgery is going to cost 2 grand, which is no big deal because we'd spend a million dollars on her if we had too. However, I'm concerned about putting her through all the pain and 6-8 weeks of rehab necessary when she'll likely never be able to play ball again anyway. Allowing her to rest for a month or so will allow her to be walked regularly and she's already showing signs of improvement.

So I'm wondering if anyone else in her has had that sort of surgery on their dog. Was it worth it? Are there any vets in here that can provide an opinion?

Thanks.

 

[olds]

Why won't she be able to play ball again after the surgery?

 

[Capt Caveman]

Do a search, there was a similar thread several weeks ago. There are a couple of different types of surgery.

I would find a vet that specializes in this area.

Good luck!

edit - found the thread. A lot of garbage but hopefully some useful info
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...ght_key=y&keyword1=dog

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Why won't she be able to play ball again after the surgery?

Don't know for sure. I ask the vet that questions and her answer was "Maybe."

Considering her age I'm not sure I'd risk it anyway. I'd like to change her routine and move her away from chasing a ball. It's going to have to happen eventually anyway one way or another. I'd rather it happen through choice instead of necessity.

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Do a search, there was a similar thread several weeks ago. There are a couple of different types of surgery.

I would find a vet that specializes in this area.

Good luck!

edit - found the thread. A lot of garbage but hopefully some useful info
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...ght_key=y&keyword1=dog

:thumbsup:

Thanks.

We have a specialist for her surgery lined up already.

 

[hx009]

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
My dog K.C. loves and lives to play ball every day. She's been doing since she was a puppy so it's been a routine for years and she is practically psychotic about the routine. Now that she's 8 years old and no longer a young pup the wear and tear of going 110% chasing after balls has taken a toll. Earlier this week she came up limping after running for the ball. She actually came back to me with the ball in her mouth, hobling on 3 legs with the rear left leg held off the ground expecting me to throw another one for her. Psycho.

My wife and I took her to the vet yesterday and she was diagnosed with a torn cruciate ligament. The surgery is going to cost 2 grand, which is no big deal because we'd spend a million dollars on her if we had too. However, I'm concerned about putting her through all the pain and 6-8 weeks of rehab necessary when she'll likely never be able to play ball again anyway. Allowing her to rest for a month or so will allow her to be walked regularly and she's already showing signs of improvement.

So I'm wondering if anyone else in her has had that sort of surgery on their dog. Was it worth it? Are there any vets in here that can provide an opinion?

Thanks.

A similiar thing happened to my five year old female Rottweiler last October. She was running around the yard like she always did and suddenly whimpered and refused to use her rear right leg. I took her in to find out she had torn her ACL. A specialist performed the surgery for ~$1400 a week or so later. She had the surgery done, stayed overnight, came home the next day, and was on pain medication for like a month. As far as recovery, once in awhile she seems to notice or "remember" what happened to that leg, but for the most part she's the same dog she was before the surgery. The thing that sucks is that the vet told me that it's about 75% likely the other ACL is gonna go at some point.

 

[malbojah]

My sister had her pit blow his knee and it did cost $2k. When you get the dog back, you MUST keep the dog from doing any type of running or you risk the chance or ripping the internal stitches. Also keep the dog from chewing on the incision. He doesn't run anywhere near as much as he used to, and takes some type of vitamins for his knee. My sister was told that he also has an increased chance of blowing out his other knee.

 

[olds]

Good luck changing her ways.
We had a lab that LIVED to chase balls. At the end we had to put her down as she went blind and got severe hip dysplasia. But she still wanted to chase a ball and would drag her hind end and find the ball by smell.
:sad;

 

[ShockwaveVT]

just amputate his leg, he will learn to run around on 3 legs in no time.

/atot

for real though, make sure you cut back on his food so he doesn't get overweight, or even loses some weight - it will help protect his 3 good legs.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: malbojah
My sister had her pit blow his knee and it did cost $2k. When you get the dog back, you MUST keep the dog from doing any type of running or you risk the chance or ripping the internal stitches. Also keep the dog from chewing on the incision. He doesn't run anywhere near as much as he used to, and takes some type of vitamins for his knee. My sister was told that he also has an increased chance of blowing out his other knee.

Mine is a pit as well. She's pretty mellow that vast majority of the time and the last few days has seemed to resign herself to the fact that she's injured and can't play like she's a puppy anymore. I'm concerned that putting her through the surgery may not be beneficial for her in the long run and based on the responses so far that appears to be the case.

Thanks for the info.

 

[SketchMaster]

This is an expensive but pretty standard operation, I've sat in on a few and all the dogs recovered well. They will have a pain patch put on her 1-2 days before you go in to help with current pain and get her ready for OP. When they put her under she will get a cocktail of drugs and a spinal block, she won't wake up in any pain (if anything she will wake up wondering WTF just happened and why does her butt feel funny). After the OP you will take home some drugs and she will still have the pain patch but she will still be in a bit of pain for a week or two (though some dogs don't even notice) but after that she will be over the worst of it.

She will have to take it easy for the first month (No running, going up/down stairs, jumping, swimming) then you can start easing back into your regular play patterns but you will have to take things back a notch to insure she doesn't blow the other knee.

Really though, you got nothing to worry about.

 

[Eli]

How exactly do you keep a dog from running, jumping....? Especially if they feel no pain?

 

[SketchMaster]

Originally posted by: Eli
How exactly do you keep a dog from running, jumping....? Especially if they feel no pain?

Keep them inside, when they do go out side you keep them on a lead, block stairways with baby gates or what ever you can get clever with.

And they do feel pain after the operation, they just may not care until they pull something.

 

[Raiden256]

I have a 9 year-old 15 pound Brittney/Poodle mix who tore his ACL about 4 months ago. We're pretty sure he did it going down the deck stairs, because he wouldn't come back up after going out to pee, and walked only on three legs thereafter.

Anyway, we took him to our vet who diagnosed the torn ACL. He gave us two options -- 1) have the $2000 surgery with a veterinary orthopedic surgeon or 2) have a $500 surgey with this vet he knows who is not a board certified verterinary orthopedic surgeon, but had done about 150 ACL repair surgeries. We chose the latter. The surgery went perfectly with no complications.

Max was a mess when we brought him home -- it really scared us. Surgeries like this can be hard on the little ones, and ours was no exception. Talk about pitiful. We were REALLY careful with him -- wouldn't let him walk up stairs... locked him in his cage while we were at work, etc.

After about three weeks he still wasn't putting his leg down and we started to get nervous., especially since, even with the recommended exercises, his mobility didn't seem to be improving. We took him back to the surgeon, who suggested putting him in the bathtub up to his chest and doing some different specific leg excercises and sort of making him swim a little. We did this every night -- talk about a labor of love! At about the five week point, just about the time we were really starting to get discouraged, he started to put his leg down. His mobiility improved steadily thereafter, and he was doing pretty well by about the two month point. (Hint: We really think the warm bath water was the big help. His flexibility always seemed greatest right after his bath.)

Now, he scampers around like nothing ever happened. His mobility is great, and he never acts like it hurts him. Can't tell you what a great feeling that is, given our despair at times during his recovery. (This one's had a tough life, and we didn't want this to be the thing that started that downward spiral every pet owner fears.) We did get the warning about the liklihood that he would tear the other ACL, but we're hoping for the best.

I would look around and see if you can find a vet like we found. The most important thing is experience, whether or not they are an official orthopedic surgeon.

Good luck. Whatever the cost, it's worth it. You're friend will be fine, but you've got to be patient and try not to get discouraged!

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Raiden256
I have a 9 year-old 15 pound Brittney/Poodle mix who tore his ACL about 4 months ago. We're pretty sure he did it going down the deck stairs, because he wouldn't come back up after going out to pee, and walked only on three legs thereafter.

Anyway, we took him to our vet who diagnosed the torn ACL. He gave us two options -- 1) have the $2000 surgery with a veterinary orthopedic surgeon or 2) have a $500 surgey with this vet he knows who is not a board certified verterinary orthopedic surgeon, but had done about 150 ACL repair surgeries. We chose the latter. The surgery went perfectly with no complications.

Max was a mess when we brought him home -- it really scared us. Surgeries like this can be hard on the little ones, and ours was no exception. Talk about pitiful. We were REALLY careful with him -- wouldn't let him walk up stairs... locked him in his cage while we were at work, etc.

After about three weeks he still wasn't putting his leg down and we started to get nervous., especially since, even with the recommended exercises, his mobility didn't seem to be improving. We took him back to the surgeon, who suggested putting him in the bathtub up to his chest and doing some different specific leg excercises and sort of making him swim a little. We did this every night -- talk about a labor of love! At about the five week point, just about the time we were really starting to get discouraged, he started to put his leg down. His mobiility improved steadily thereafter, and he was doing pretty well by about the two month point. (Hint: We really think the warm bath water was the big help. His flexibility always seemed greatest right after his bath.)

Now, he scampers around like nothing ever happened. His mobility is great, and he never acts like it hurts him. Can't tell you what a great feeling that is, given our despair at times during his recovery. (This one's had a tough life, and we didn't want this to be the thing that started that downward spiral every pet owner fears.) We did get the warning about the liklihood that he would tear the other ACL, but we're hoping for the best.

I would look around and see if you can find a vet like we found. The most important thing is experience, whether or not they are an official orthopedic surgeon.

Good luck. Whatever the cost, it's worth it. You're friend will be fine, but you've got to be patient and try not to get discouraged!

:thumbsup:

Just be weary if they operate out of a garage, basement, or van. :Q

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: Raiden256
I have a 9 year-old 15 pound Brittney/Poodle mix who tore his ACL about 4 months ago. We're pretty sure he did it going down the deck stairs, because he wouldn't come back up after going out to pee, and walked only on three legs thereafter.

Anyway, we took him to our vet who diagnosed the torn ACL. He gave us two options -- 1) have the $2000 surgery with a veterinary orthopedic surgeon or 2) have a $500 surgey with this vet he knows who is not a board certified verterinary orthopedic surgeon, but had done about 150 ACL repair surgeries. We chose the latter. The surgery went perfectly with no complications.

Max was a mess when we brought him home -- it really scared us. Surgeries like this can be hard on the little ones, and ours was no exception. Talk about pitiful. We were REALLY careful with him -- wouldn't let him walk up stairs... locked him in his cage while we were at work, etc.

After about three weeks he still wasn't putting his leg down and we started to get nervous., especially since, even with the recommended exercises, his mobility didn't seem to be improving. We took him back to the surgeon, who suggested putting him in the bathtub up to his chest and doing some different specific leg excercises and sort of making him swim a little. We did this every night -- talk about a labor of love! At about the five week point, just about the time we were really starting to get discouraged, he started to put his leg down. His mobiility improved steadily thereafter, and he was doing pretty well by about the two month point. (Hint: We really think the warm bath water was the big help. His flexibility always seemed greatest right after his bath.)

Now, he scampers around like nothing ever happened. His mobility is great, and he never acts like it hurts him. Can't tell you what a great feeling that is, given our despair at times during his recovery. (This one's had a tough life, and we didn't want this to be the thing that started that downward spiral every pet owner fears.) We did get the warning about the liklihood that he would tear the other ACL, but we're hoping for the best.

I would look around and see if you can find a vet like we found. The most important thing is experience, whether or not they are an official orthopedic surgeon.

Good luck. Whatever the cost, it's worth it. You're friend will be fine, but you've got to be patient and try not to get discouraged!

Thanks for the encouragment. We just want whatever will be best for the quality of the remainder of her life. She has given us so much joy and unconditional love it's the least we can do to return the favor.