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pinky920

ACL tear in dog's knee

Pinky920
16 years ago

Hi everyone,

Our dog Maggie was just diagnosed with an ACL tear (either partial or complete, they aren't sure) in her hind leg. She is a Border collie mix, about 60 lbs, and 11 years old. She has arthritis/hip dysplasia in her other hind leg.

The vet has her on crate rest and we towel walk her out to the yard a few times a day. Vet says 2-6 weeks on this regimen to see if it heals. If not, we are in for a basic stabilization surgery ($500)at least or the "cadillac" TPLO surgery ($1500).

Just wondering if anyone here has had experience with this. Should I be optimistic about the rest/non weight bearing? Or should we be saving our pennies for the surgery. The vet says the basic stabilization surgery may not be enough since she has another "bad" hind leg also.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Pinky

Comments (52)

  • anita22
    16 years ago

    Hi pinky,

    Sorry to hear about Maggie. FWIW, I'd be asking my vet and researching the likelihood that the other knee would tear due to having to take all her weight/stress during recovery from surgery, so that you are prepared for the possibility of 2 surgeries instead of just the one. Her age, where exactly the arthritis is in the other hind leg and how bad her hip dysplasia is are factors in recovery and the amount of stress she and her "good" joints can realistically take.

    Has your vet recommended supplements like Cosequin and/or Cortaflex to help her heal? Careful massage of the area (to keep the blood flowing to the affected joint and its ligaments) is also helpful for healing.

    Hope this helps.

  • wisrose
    16 years ago

    I have a golden retriever, 11yrs old march 8th. She had the same thing happen 4weeks ago, torn cruciate ligament. The vet told me it would not heal without surgery. It took One week to get into have the surgery and she had not improved one bit in that week. So I do believe she would not have gotten better without it. My vet (small town) only does the basic stabilization technique $700. Anyway she had the surgery March 6th, 3wks ago. They told me 50% end up having the other side have the same thing happen, this made me nervous because of all the hopping she is doing on one leg now, still even going on 4 weeks post surgery. My best girl is 11yrs old but in great shape, a little over weight which is bad for the knees and in part probably why this happened. She has since lost 6lbs. The other part is that she is a happy girl, I told her we were going to go for a walk and she started doing the happy dance that she always does, then pow her leg went out! I told her we had to go back in the house and she refused and motioned me that she wanted to go for a 3-legged walk! What a trooper, she never even yelped when she hurt it, just held it up. Anyway the first week after surgery was rough, you hurt because they hurt, but we are now taking slow walks everyday and she is slowly using that foot. It takes time to heal, I have been lucky in the fact that I am here for her 24/7. I slept next to her for two weeks until my back could not take it anymore. She normally sleeps upstairs with me, but she is not supposed to go up stairs until the 6th week after surgery, she is not capable of that yet anyway. But that will be the sign that she is back to her old self, when she can once again sleep with me upstairs. I wish you all the best with your dog. I think you will need the surgery, that ligament has been compromised, even if it gets better for now, it will happen again, because it has been severely injured.

  • shboom
    16 years ago

    I had a Springer Mix once that tore his left ACL. I opted to have my vet perform the stabilization surgery. For lack of a better term she looped a figure 8 and actually made for s stronger joint than nature provided. Like others here have mentioned... she did warn me of the likelyhood that he would tear the right ACL and almost a year to the day of the first he did and I had the same procedure done. He did very well after both prcedures but the recovery periods were very long...strict leash walking and no stairs or steps.

    Bob

  • donni
    15 years ago

    any one have any info on the new procedure on acl tears in dogs. TR or tightrope procedure. Or the TTA which is the newer TPLO? Thanks

  • ltcollins1949
    15 years ago

    In the past few years, I've had two dogs diagnosed with anterior cruciate ligament (also called the ACL). My 12 year old Golden Retriever came down with it from a fall on my back deck. Being that she was so old and overweight, my vet opted not to do surgery, but recommended rest and medications to help her during her recovery which took about 6 months. She always walked with a limp though. Last month at 14 years 8 months, we had to put her down because of cancer. We sure loved that dog.

    About a year ago, one of my yellow labs somehow managed to get ACL too. He is a 100 pound, solid muscle lab, only at 18 months old at the time. It was getting worse, and because of his young age and weight, we opted to take him in for surgery. Even though we no longer live in Houston, we had in the past used Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists. He had the surgery and is doing great now. He runs and plays like he is still a puppy. As always, I was and still am impressed with the clinic. Be forewarned, most likely, you will be surprised at the costs. His surgery ended up costing us around $4,500.00, but it is an excellent clinic that I will always take my animals to if my local vet cannot perform the needed care.

    And yes, our surgeon warned us about the possibility of the other knee going out too. So far, so good, but then it has just been 11 months. I'm hoping he won't have to go through another surgery!

  • cookie8
    15 years ago

    The same thing happened with our Border Collie mix at 9 yrs. I thought she would never heal after the surgery. It took at least a year. She is now 10 1/2 and has no limp and can go for reasonably long walks. There is no more jumping but will still race after a deer if it is near the property and so far hasn't injured herself. We did the surgery as soon as the injury occurred and when they went to operate they found it wasn't nearly as severe as it could have been so we saved hundreds of dollars. The symptoms were that of a very bad tear.

  • lmstitching53_yahoo_com
    13 years ago

    have a young 18month imperial shiz zhu who has torn her acl playing with sister, vet said because she only weights 8 lbs that she does not need surgery. after 3 weeks she is still the same, on pain meds and glucosamene. she stays very calm and doesnt try to walk or jump. any more ideas?

  • dabunch
    13 years ago

    An excellent Vet told me the following about ACL tears:

    1) Almost ALL dogs who get an ACL tear in one knee will get a tear in the other leg within 1 year. Science does not have an answer as to why. The Vets do not readily tell their clients this in fear that they will want to put the pet down because of the expense. In my area the TTL is apprx. $3,000 each, without complications. It is the surgery of choice.
    2)The reason the dogs need the ACL surgery is because without it they will get severe arthritis and be in a lot of pain for the rest of their lives. Who with a heart would want to watch their sweet pet suffer for years?

    Laurie(lmstitching)- I would take my Shih Tzu to a Board certified Orthopedic Vet and get a second opinion ASAP. I'm not buying what your Vet is telling you and your dog is not better. He's probably thinking that it's a small dog, so not much weight to deal with. Trust me, no matter what the weight, they get arthtritis and it's VERY painful. I have some experience in that area with one of my Shih Tzus....Common sense tells me that something isn't right. Besides, do you want your dog to be on Anti-inflammatories for the rest of her loooong life? Shih Tzus may live to be 18. Do you have any idea what happens to their poor stomachs after a prolong usage of these pain meds? IT hurts them badly. They can bleed internally. The same medication may not work later. The kidneys can go....I can go on. You need a GOOD Vet. I have gone to many Vets who didn't know what they were doing. Finally I found 2 excellent ones. They have people bringing their pets from neighboring states. There IS a difference between Vets, trust me.

  • jackieblue
    13 years ago

    Not all dogs need surgery. If your vet feels your dog doesn't need the surgery then it probably doesn't. Probably has a lot to do with the size of the tear. My Boxer had a tear in his ACL. Wasn't torn all the way. The vet said maybe, maybe not, on surgery. I did the research. Found that arthritis is a great possibility whether you have the surgery or not. Found that there was a great chance that he would blow his other knee, because he would be using the good knee to support his whole body weight for the long long recovery period after surgery. I opted for conservative care. It took months and my dog wasn't too happy about no running or jumping for that time. But it was worth it and knowing surgery recovery would have taken just as long and been more complicated made it bearable.

  • dabunch
    13 years ago

    Posted by jackieblue (My Page) on Wed, Jan 19, 11 at 19:32

    Not all dogs need surgery. If your vet feels your dog doesn't need the surgery then it probably doesn't. Probably has a lot to do with the size of the tear. My Boxer had a tear in his ACL. Wasn't torn all the way. The vet said maybe, maybe not, on surgery. I did the research. Found that arthritis is a great possibility whether you have the surgery or not. Found that there was a great chance that he would blow his other knee, because he would be using the good knee to support his whole body weight for the long long recovery period after surgery. I opted for conservative care. It took months and my dog wasn't too happy about no running or jumping for that time. But it was worth it and knowing surgery recovery would have taken just as long and been more complicated made it bearable.
    *******************************************************

    Really?
    You think that not being any better in 3 weeks after taking Anti-inflammatories and Glucosamine is normal?
    I don't.
    A tiny tear may not require surgery, BUT....

    Second opinions from TOP NOTCH Vets are essential, IMO.

    Without going into too many details, let me tell you a little story about my dog, how she hurt her leg a 1 yo, went to a veterinary place where 5 Vets worked (all were incompetent, and stuck to one of their Vets' original diagnosis), operated on the WRONG area in her leg.... Something didn't seem right, so I took her to 2 specialists after the fact and they BOTH said that the surgery was wrong, and she had a different problem (which I suspected)!!!!!!!
    Sadly they are still operating in the area, and thriving, doing horrible work, while "my Vet" gets their messed up cases....

  • jackieblue
    13 years ago

    Dabunch, yeah I think three weeks is a very short period of time for an ACL tear to begin healing. Conservative care for an ACL tear is a very long drawn out process, much the same as healing from surgery.

    It does seem that you feel your original vet was not very skilled, on that I wont judge, but that still doesn't mean every dog needs thousands of dollars worth of surgery for an ACL tear. Some cases do, some don't.

    Even for those who do, people can make the decision not to do it and the dog will still heal eventually with a limp and may get arthritis (as they may with the surgery also). A dog may have to be put to sleep when the time comes in that circumstance. Not everyone has thousands to spend, or feel comfortable jeopardizing their fanancial stability by financing surgery.

  • todancewithwolves
    13 years ago

    Wow, that's a hard decision.

    I went through it with my Bernard Mix who is 150 lbs. I opted for the TPLO surgery but he was 6 years old at the time. The vet said it's genetic and his other leg would probably go too. The surgery cost me $5000.00. He also went through 8 weeks of physical therapy.

    He's 9 now and his other leg is beginning to show signs of going. I cringe of the thoughts of putting him through another surgery at his age. We pray everyday. I'm trying everything possible to avoid it.

    I'm considering this ...

    Here is a link that might be useful: Brace

  • Jeane Gallo
    13 years ago

    Ten years ago our terrier mix tore his ACL in a back leg. I don't know what kind of surgery our vet did, he only gave us one option at the time, but he told us he used fishing line to repair it. Our dog was 13 and he recovered 100%. You couldn't even tell which leg had been injured. He lived to 18 and the other leg did not fail. We did have to give him rimadyl for arthritis...back then we didn't know about glucosamine. He had a leaky heart valve, too and was on blood pressure meds for that - which worked fine. We ended up having him put down because he was blind and deaf and didn't have much quality of life.

  • glaserberl
    13 years ago

    Todanceswithwolves,
    Our Brittany had a partial tear almost 5 years ago. We used a brace and so far he is fine.
    Here are two threads about it.
    http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pets/msg0915423415071.html - with pictures
    http://ths.gardenweb.com//forums/load/pets/msg0212382531101.html?3 This one actually links back to the first one.

    Katharina

    Here is a link that might be useful: Brace

  • elisaburns_hotmail_com
    13 years ago

    My 2 1/2 yr old lab has a partially torn acl. Vet said no surgery yet. He gave him dasquin and dermaxx, told me he needs to lose weight. He can only have leash walks and I dropped him down to 11/4 cups 2x per day. Can he lose weight with these recommendations and are leash walks a good idea? he seems to have improved already in the last week. trying to avoid surgery but it seems inevitable for a good quality of life. Am I doing the right things?

  • trancegemini_wa
    13 years ago

    I had a little dog that tore her ACL and the vet advised me to get the surgery asap because he did say arthritis would start setting in if it wasn't repaired as DaBunch mentioned. She had the stabilization surgery and after her recovery which took about 6 weeks the leg was excellent. 4 years later the same thing happened to her other hind leg and she had the surgery again. She lived to be 16 and both surgeries were a complete success, she never limped or had problems with her hind legs. I wouldnt wait, and would get a second opinion now.

  • nancyf80
    12 years ago

    Our Golden Retriever Leah (98 lbs) had one cruciate repair when she was two. About a year later she tore her opposite knee. Because Leah had trouble with the anesthsia with the first repair, surgery was not an option. Although our vet was skeptical about the effectiveness of the A-TraC, I convinced him that we should give it a go. Leah was able to bear weight the moment we put the brace on. We got the double sided brace and only used the ROM rods in the un-repaired cruciate. Within a few momnets of walking around with the brace on, Leah actually started to run! I hadn't seen her run in over a year- it was so great. She is from a larger than breed standard stock, with litter-mates weighing upwards of 110 ibs, and her size was a concern with having one reapaired knee and one blown out knee. She never complained or chewed at the brace- and wore it steady for 7 months, with us following the reccomendations for slowing changing, and then removing the stabilizer rods. The only change I made was putting a thicker fur pad on the webbing across her chest and the webbing under her tummy. The last time Leah wore her braces was in June of 2008. She never had any trouble with either knee again. Our vet is sold on the A-TraC for dogs that are not surgical candidates. Every time Leah had gone in for a vet check, he's been amazed by the fact that there's little range of motion difference between the knee that was surgically reapired and the knee that repaired itself via the A-TraC. If you are still trying to decide if the a brace is right for you, I suggest you talk to your vet, or even call woundwear a call.

    Here is a link that might be useful: woundwear atrac brace

  • joepyeweed
    12 years ago

    Lots of things go into a decision about ACL or TPLO surgery.

    The size and age of the dog are huge factors.

    Smaller older dogs probably won't need surgery... larger younger dogs probably should have surgery.

  • cindyandmocha
    12 years ago

    I have to say I am surprised at so many responses here. I can only speak for myself. My beloved Mocha had a torn acl at 11 yrs old and 100 lbs. We elected for surgery which went very well. However during his recovery so much more stress was put on his "good" back leg. He really never got over it all. A year later, he could not get up at all -- too much arthritis set in in the "good" leg and the acl recovery in the bad.

  • montana800
    12 years ago

    My lab mix had to have surgery because he also has a bad hip in addition to a torn ACL. There are at least three different methods of fixing a torn ACL. We interviewed four different vets before we chose a method and a vet to do the surgery. I would NEVER in a million years opt for the TPLO method. I think it is way too invasive and too new to subject my dog to. We found a vet who does it by tying it back together. He has healed very well and even runs again.

    We have him on dosequin MSM that helps him too. Even more effective now that he is 9 years old is our vet put him on Adequan shots. Talk about a miracle drug. We give him the shots at home ourselves and the vet prescribes the medicine. There are many different price ranges for this medicine through vets too, so you have to price shop to get a vet who will be reasonable about price on it.

  • kawalskyedward
    11 years ago

    Montana,

    Have you looked into a brace for post surgery? When I was researching a brace for my dog Zep, I read that braces can be used for post surgery. It may be something to look into. Zep had a torn ACL and we went the brace route instead of surgery. I made an article for dogkneeinjury.com for those who would like to see. Please ask me any questions - Zep is fully recovered now!

    Thanks,

    Ed. K

    http://dogkneeinjury.com/conservative-management-full-cruciate-tear/

    Here is a link that might be useful: Zep's recovery

  • bmmalone
    11 years ago

    my dog has been diagnosed with a partial ACL tear. The vet said she needed surgery. How much pain in the dog in at this point. I have been out of work for a while and just cannot afford the $4000 quoted. We are trying rimadyl an cosequine at the moment,

  • Ninaap
    10 years ago

    Hi Pinky,
    I would definitely stay positive about what you're doing, especially due to Maggie's age. The TPLO surgery is very invasive and the recovery is difficult--even more so with an older dog. We went through this with our "elderly" dog and we got a conservative-management brace from WoundWear. We were very happy with our decision. She was comfortable and could bear weight on her leg. It's certainly not an overnight process, but we know it was so much easier on her, and us. I would check out their brace and see if it's something that could work for Maggie. Best of luck to you and Maggie!

  • Ninapearl
    10 years ago

    glad i found this thread. my dane girl will be having acl repair surgery next friday, 4/12. of course, i am frantic but seeing these success stories makes me feel a little more confident.

    the surgeon will be using the lateral fabellar suture technique. i have been doing a LOT of reading and talking to a few other vets and each has told me this is their method of choice. i know recovery will be brutal but i'm ready to get this over with. swee' pea is in a lot of pain when she is up and moving around and seeing her all better in a few months is my goal!!

  • trancegemini_wa
    10 years ago

    Hi nina, I had a dog who had two surgeries, one on each knee a few years apart. Aparently if one side goes, it's not uncommon for the other to do the same at some point. It took about 6 weeks of recovery for each surgery and during that time I kept my dog crated (she slept a lot during that time though). I only took her out of the crate for toilet breaks at first and I did have to support her so she wouldn't topple over, and when she got a bit better with her balance I would still stay within arms reach in case she started to toppled over. It was a lot of work but eventually she could put a bit of weight on it, then more, and by about 6 weeks she was using the leg normally again. Both surgeries were a complete success but the crating made it much easier and forced her to rest up while she healed, especially during the first couple of weeks. She may not want to use that leg at all at first so they do lose their balance until they can at least put the leg down again. Good luck with sweatpea!

    This post was edited by trancegemini_wa on Mon, Apr 8, 13 at 1:22

  • Ninapearl
    10 years ago

    thanks so much, trancegemini_wa! the vet explained and i already knew about the possibility of the other knee going to pot. i guess we'll cross that bridge if/when we come to it.

    pea is 175#. i have a giant crate but i haven't had it out in years and i'm not even sure she would fit. my plan is to put a baby gate up and confine her to my master bathroom. she will have enough room to get up and turn around but not enough to get silly. pea is pretty "self regulating" and when she's in pain, she spends most of her time just resting. i plan also to get a sling that has a handle on it for helping her get around. lifting her is a definite no-no after my back surgery a couple of years ago!!

    i'm going to move my pet camera into that room so that when i go back to work, i will be able to keep an eye on her.

  • trancegemini_wa
    10 years ago

    Yep as long as she's confined to a small space she shouldn't get into any trouble, she may do what my dog did both times and just sleep a lot of the days away. Once you get her through to the other side of this you really see how worth it all of it is. Let us know how it goes and hopefully in about 6 weeks that leg will be like a new one!

    This post was edited by trancegemini_wa on Tue, Apr 9, 13 at 5:44

  • Ninapearl
    10 years ago

    i'm getting SOOOO nervous!! i'm heading to the clinic today to get a Rx for a narcotic pain patch. they don't keep them in stock and walgreen's won't accept a faxed or phoned in Rx for a narcotic. the vet will put the patch on swee' pea tomorrow morning and he said it will help a lot to keep her pain under control for a few days.

    i'll let you know how it goes!! thanks for the encouragement!!!

  • Ninapearl
    10 years ago

    pea came through surgery just fine! BIG relief!! vet said the ligament was 90% torn. he repaired everything and she will come home today sporting a fiberglass cast. back to the clinic in 10-14 days for suture removal and then the cast will go back on for another 4 weeks. he wants this for extra stability to her knee.

    poor bentley misses his sissy. he pouted all day yesterday. the only time i could get him interested in anything was when i fixed his supper. he ate and went right back to bed where he watched out the window all evening as if wishing her home. he's gonna be SO happy to see her today!!

    i have 2 places fixed for her with cushy beds, one in the living room for the weekend and one in the master bathroom where i will confine her when i go back to work next week. hopefully, she will spend most of her time resting which won't be anything new! LOL

  • trancegemini_wa
    10 years ago

    Wow that's fantastic nina! Your vet really is going the extra mile by putting a cast on. I'll bet she was happy to be home again (and Bentley would have been happy too by the sounds of it), I think once our fur babies are back in their own environment they do so much better. I hope she is resting up and being a good girl for you. She'll probably be sore for a while and I think that really slows them down some which is exactly what they need. Good luck with your recovery sweetpea!

    This post was edited by trancegemini_wa on Tue, Apr 16, 13 at 8:03

  • Buffy43
    10 years ago

    I know how this feels, 3 years ago my rottwieler Taro aged 1 and a half tore his ACL and my vet optited for the surgery he does which was Escapular. It was fine until 4 months in and Taro was tormented by some kids and due to him running up and down garden ect he torn the suture in the knee and had to go through it all again :(. He recovered after 6 months very well and after 9 months there was no limp visible.
    But unfortunatly few weeks ago i noticed his other leg was failing, he developed a limp when he was sat for a period of time. I took him to see my vet and he said it was starting to draw, so I took him home and tried the rest and 9 days ago Taro went out the back door and i heard him cry and wen I went to see what was wrong he was holding the leg up and I knew wat he had done:(. I took him to the vet the day after and he kept him in and did same surgery ( as I cant not efford any other ) for ã442. He is now 9 days post Op and not doing to badly. He does put the limp down but does lift it now and again and as its early days yet he still limps badley but at least its down on the floor. I did take him to a dog pool the first time but this time I cant as the cost has gone up and also Taro used to swollow alot of the water and developed Colitus real bad so had to stop his swimming so this time there wont be no swimming excersises for him so will av to gradually build his muscle by walks and then wen he strong

    But yes, usually the other leg will go :( I know keep him so calm as dont want this to fail like it did the right leg as he is only 5 years old bless him

  • Ninapearl
    10 years ago

    we are 3 weeks post op today! pea had the cast removed on monday to have the staples taken out. her incision is pretty much completely healed (amazing!!). her vet said the surgery was a great success and he felt absolutely no "movement" where before, her poor knee was sliding all over the place.

    the only issue he found was a nasty pressure sore on the side of her foot. he cut the cast so it would not rub there and then put it back on. she is going in on monday to have the sore re-checked. he wants her to wear the cast for another 4 weeks. if the ulcer has healed or appears to be healing, the cast will be put back on and re-wrapped.

    i stayed home with pea for the first couple of days after the surgery to make sure she would be ok. i found that with the cast on, she moved around very little so with her vet's blessing, we tossed out the idea of confining her to the bathroom and instead, i put a barrier up and let her and bentley have the master bedroom to themselves. with a big cushy dog bed and 2 twin mattresses on the floor, her recovery has been totally uneventful. in fact, these 2 dogs do nothing but sleep all day when i'm at work so i don't even confine them to the bedroom.

    i couldn't be happier with the results so far. i know we have several months before she is completely healed but all in all, it's been a very positive experience. having said that, i hope we NEVER have to go through it again!!!

  • trancegemini_wa
    10 years ago

    Oh that's great to hear nina, I was hoping you would update us on her progress. I think that cast has saved pea a lot of trouble by supporting the leg these last weeks and thank god you didn't have to support her so she could get around or your back probably wouldn't have held up well. Just the fact that she has been able to put weight on that leg so soon is probably a good thing to help strengthen it up too because it can take weeks for them to put the foot back down and balance themselves so they can move around a bit. You're almost at the half way mark now so it won't be long. I hope the ulcer heals up quickly, darn there's always some drawback isn't there but it sounds like the cast has done a lot more good for her than harm especially being such a big girl.

  • Ninapearl
    10 years ago

    boy howdy, you ain't kiddin'!! i have been especially careful with my back these last few weeks. the last thing i need is to undo what my own surgeon did! LOL

    ya just can't keep a good dog down. pea has even figured out the best method for getting in some couch time. she sits down, flops over and scoots herself around till she's all nice and comfy.

    far be it from me to deny her some much deserved comfort, even if it means she takes up the whole couch and i end up on the dog bed on the floor. :D

  • trancegemini_wa
    10 years ago

    even if it means she takes up the whole couch and i end up on the dog bed on the floor."

    LOL, the things we do for love eh? she's such a cutie nina, Where there's a will there's a way, and that couch must be way to comfy to resist, LOL. Bless her she looks like such a doll.

    This post was edited by trancegemini_wa on Sat, May 4, 13 at 7:26

  • dogdancer9
    10 years ago

    I hope your dog has improved and is walking again without pain.

    My dog tore her ACL CCL Crucial Ligament torn tendon in her back knee.

    I have been reading about Dog Knee Braces. Who has tried a Stifle Canine Knee Brace?

    Who did you buy it from and what was your experience?

    Helpful articles on tendon surgery or dog knee brace here...

    TiggerPoz.com

    VeterinaryPracticeNews.com article Questioning Canine Cruciate Surgery

    http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-practice-news-columns/complementary-medicine/questioning-canine-cruciate-surgery.aspx?cm_mmc=10177433

    Thanks anyone for sharing your experience with your dog wearing a Dog Stifle Knee Brace it would be really helpful.

    .

  • dogdancer
    10 years ago

    My vet prescribed surgery for my big older dog with a full torn CCL ACL cruciate crucial ligament tear. It was really upsetting when reading the many TPLO TTA fishing line type surgery complaints.

    The knee had terrible cracking like sound from the meniscus and the leg trembled terribly. Walked with holding the leg up or just using the toes to maintain balance.

    I searched online reading about different canine knee braces.
    I read many forums that slippage can be a major issue. And the velcro straps get all tangled in the hair and the velcro attaches underneath the dog so very hard to get the braces on if you have to go underneath into the hair and can't see underneath that well.

    I decided on the custom posh dog knee brace locally in Florida from http://www.PoshDogKneeBrace.com The updated posh dog knee brace is easy to put on with webbing straps and the buckles are on the upper outside of the leg so easy to see and adjust. The brace stays in position and does not slip.

    My dog has improved a lot with wearing the dog knee brace and with conservative management.

    Improvements after getting the dog knee brace. The meniscus has stopped cracking. The trembling has stopped and when the posh dog knee brace is on, walks almost normally putting weight on the injured knee so with the brace on for dog walks, the muscle can build up again.

    While wearing the knee brace, we can go on long dog walks.
    I can see the brace makes a huge difference. Now we can go on dog walks again with the brace supporting that injured knee while it heals.

    Because of the older age, my dog will wear the dog knee brace from now on for dog walks, playing or any activity. This way the knee will be protected from tearing again, especially in older age.

    At home laying or walking around the house, no need to wear the brace. I just put the brace on for playing, outside, dog walks, any activity.

    Very relieved that this posh dog knee brace worked. I was told by my old vet that a total tear would never heal, but the vet was wrong. The knee has been healing. There has been great improvement so I am very satisfied that I decided on a dog knee brace.

    Happy that I did what was best for my dog and avoided the surgery nightmares that many posted on forums to warn others what can happen if you choose surgery for a torn canine ACL CCL cruciate tear.

    There is hope and you don't have to choose risky surgery with alternatives like a dog knee brace.

    I made the right decision to avoid surgery. Hope this helps.

  • downsouth1993
    9 years ago

    I've read all the posts on here to figure out what to do. My friend passed away from cancer last year and I adopted one of her dogs who this year will be 10. She is a retriever/collie mix so around 64 lbs. Sweet girl - love her and my other two dogs. She has been diagnosed (haven't had xrays yet) with full CCL (use to be called ACL but the newer vets are calling it CCL) tears in both knees. Tightrope surgery is the surgery of choice for her if she is a candidate. My vet won't do the surgery until doing full xrays and bloodwork to make sure that she is healthy enough for it and also to ensure that not too much arthritis has set-in. He said because of her age/size the choice is surgery on one knee but then because the other is torn it might put too much duress on the other or both knees and I'll have to get some type of contraption to haul her butt up and out for potty breaks etc. The other option he said is just conservative mgmt i.e. nsaids tramadol for pain if required. I asked about knee braces for both legs and he said he hasn't heard much success about them at all. They cause rubbing, chafing, injury etc. I had looked into the different types of braces and not sure if this is really an option. My vet says he has done the tightrope surgery on many dogs from ages 1 to 14 with great success. I'm still concerned. My girl does go for nice slow walks with us and seems happy, but walks bowlegged so I know there is pain. Can someone tell me of any good products for supporting the backend if I do go for the surgery, I really can see this being a big problem trying to keep her off both legs. Other option is use one brace after surgery on the bad leg and having one knee done then doing the other. I'm in a real dilemma - I've never had to deal with any surgeries in any of my dogs over the past umpteen years.

  • downsouth1993
    9 years ago

    I've read all the posts on here to figure out what to do. My friend passed away from cancer last year and I adopted one of her dogs who this year will be 10. She is a retriever/collie mix so around 64 lbs. Sweet girl - love her and my other two dogs. She has been diagnosed (haven't had xrays yet) with full CCL (use to be called ACL but the newer vets are calling it CCL) tears in both knees. Tightrope surgery is the surgery of choice for her if she is a candidate. My vet won't do the surgery until doing full xrays and bloodwork to make sure that she is healthy enough for it and also to ensure that not too much arthritis has set-in. He said because of her age/size the choice is surgery on one knee but then because the other is torn it might put too much duress on the other or both knees and I'll have to get some type of contraption to haul her butt up and out for potty breaks etc. The other option he said is just conservative mgmt i.e. nsaids tramadol for pain if required. I asked about knee braces for both legs and he said he hasn't heard much success about them at all. They cause rubbing, chafing, injury etc. I had looked into the different types of braces and not sure if this is really an option. My vet says he has done the tightrope surgery on many dogs from ages 1 to 14 with great success. I'm still concerned. My girl does go for nice slow walks with us and seems happy, but walks bowlegged so I know there is pain. Can someone tell me of any good products for supporting the backend if I do go for the surgery, I really can see this being a big problem trying to keep her off both legs. Other option is use one brace after surgery on the bad leg and having one knee done then doing the other. I'm in a real dilemma - I've never had to deal with any surgeries in any of my dogs over the past umpteen years.

  • Dan4427
    9 years ago

    My older dog, Ralphie, went through the same thing a couple months ago. He tore his ACL and I didn't want to put him through surgery for the cost and also because of his age. I had to resort to a plan B and while researching online I found that braces were very helpful for older dogs with an ACL injury. I ended up getting a A-TraC brace from Woundwear and it worked wonders! So I would say stay optimistic and try a brace if you don't want to put your dog Maggie through surgery :)

  • Marilyn Muma-Reid
    9 years ago

    My 6 year old husky/shepherd mix tore her CCL (it is called a canine cruciate ligament in dogs, not ACL like a human) on January 5th, 2015. We opted for conservative care versus surgical after I extensively researched all options. Even with surgery, they have up to 40% chance of having arthritis in the stifle (knee joint). That is about the same as the odds of having it without surgery. Also, surgery so restricts their movement that often, up to 30-40% of dogs have the same injury happen to the other leg. I found that number to be much less with conservative care. She is just over 8 weeks out and walks on four legs fine at a slow speed. We never crated her, just restricted her movement. No jumping or running. (she had a setback once when some idiot let her out of her pole barn and she ran a bit....set us back a bit, but not much). She walks up to 15 minutes at a time on all four legs with her A-Trac Brace which I bought for her. Almost full pressure on injured leg. We walk her with the brace 1 time per day and give her 3 other walks without out it for about 5 minutes each. When she speeds up she does life the leg UNLESS she is on a mission (smells a rabbit or something along those lines). I know it will take many more months before she will full on using the leg 100% of the time and from here on out, we will restrict her running unless she is wearing the brace. But I guess the point I am making is that you can heal them without surgery. My vet is very impressed at the healing she has had. In fact he suggested surgery right away and I told him I was going to try the conservative treatment. He checked her at 4 weeks and was astonished at her level of healing. She was on pain meds for a couple weeks and also Meloxicam (anti-inflammatory) which she is still on, along with a supplement. I also give her organic bone broth with each meal (known to help with joints) and she gets lots of natural healing including Reiki energy healing and work with stones and crystals. She is doing wonderful. I know it is a long process and I am willing to work through it for her benefit.


  • socks
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This is all so interesting. I have an active terrier, and I hope he never experiences this injury. Keeping a terrier inactive for weeks is not something I would look forward to. How exactly do dogs tear their ACL's (CCL)? Just running, jumping, etc. ?


  • trancegemini_wa
    9 years ago

    socks, from what I was told it's a weakness in the ligament in some dogs, may be caused by an unusual angle in the knee joint, and thats also why often times the other knee will also go as well at some point. with my little maltese, the first one happened when she jumped off the bed, so I thought she must have landed strange, but 4 years later she tore the other knee just by wagging her tail and shaking her butt excitedly while waiting for dinner so there was no reason for it to tear unless it was weak already. It just seems to happen from normal activity if the ligament is already disposed to it.


  • socks
    9 years ago

    Thank you, trancegemini.

  • Marilyn Muma-Reid
    9 years ago
    Socks, my dog did it by running and when she hit the deck her leg went out to the side. That is what she did to tear it. I believe hers was all from the incident but some dogs can be predisposed by being constantly inflamed. They can get that way from their immune systems being taxed. excessive vaccinations, bad food and treats, exposure to chemicals from lawns and roads. I mean, think about it, you never see a wolf or coyote with a ccl injury.
  • Marilyn Muma-Reid
    9 years ago
    Go get your peer study if you need to. Point is, you don't see any wolves or coyotes limping and with the extremely high rates of this in canines, someone, somewhere, would have. We have had a very sick fox come into our yard and fight with our dog. So, if I am thinking what you must be thinking an injured or sick animal would be killed by others for food. Funny how we have a lot of coyote and bear in our area and this sick fox was able to outsmart them all in order to come into my yard and fight with my dog. I am sure we would see a limping coyote or wolf somewhere at some point BEFORE they all would be killed by other predators.
  • Marilyn Muma-Reid
    9 years ago

    Those who would like an update on my dog though, here ya go. All the natural stuff we are doing is working wonders. We did put off her vaccination for distemper (especially since she is no longer an outside dog nor able to have contact with other dogs) in order to keep the inflammation down to a minimum and help her heal. She was due for her rabies vac though, which we do not ever miss. Her last trip to the vet for a checkup was on 3/16/15 and the vet was AMAZED at her improvement. She has very little drawer movement now in the stifle and we are increasing her walks with her brace up 5 minutes every 5 days. We are up to 25 minutes now. She is also using the leg almost 100% of the time. Once in awhile she will lift it (vet says at this point, some of it is psychosomatic) so we usually just say, put the leg down and she will. It is funny. She does still take the Meloxicam (anti-inflammatory) and since she is such a crazy running girl, we are not going to try any off leash activity until at least May. She is still also on organic, grass fed bone broth 2X per day and a supplement that includes glucosamine and chondroitin. We have also been giving her small amounts of coconut oil. Our vet is extremely impressed at her improvement especially since she is only 11 weeks out from a major tear. Just know that you don't have to go the surgical route if you have a vet who will work with you. Read everything you can on this issue BEFORE making a decision either way.


  • SaltiDawg
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "Go get your peer study if you need to."

    Faced with a response such as this, I deleted my post. You clearly had not comprehended it.

    Perhaps someone else will explain to you what happens to crippled coyotes and such and why they don't come limping into your yard...

  • Marilyn Muma-Reid
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "So, if I am thinking what you must be thinking an injured or sick animal would be killed by others for food" This was the exact statement in my last comment. So tell me, DID I misunderstand you or DID YOU misunderstand me. This clearly states I understand what happens to an injured animals in the wild, followed quickly by a story of such an injured animals who made it into my yard. Now that you have been rude when I only asked you to find a peer study if you feel you need to, do you feel better about yourself? Hope so. Have a nice day.

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