Has Anyone had to Deal With This Injury to Their Dog(ACL) - Page 1

Any Suggestions are welcomed. I have a friend who has a high energy almost 11 month old GSD that might have to go into surgery tomorrow for an anterior cruciate ligament problem, and they would like to know what they should expect from this? They were also told that they would have to keep him confined for around 4 months if he does have this problem. Any suggestions how to keep any high energy (basically) puppy confined without having him climbing the walls(Bored), but not wanting to have him hurt himself all over again. Any help would be appreciated!!!

Thanks

Kel

how about confining him in a crate .give him some toys. or get him a kong and fill it with penutbutter. hours of intertainment there. you could also freeze the kong with the penutbutter in it . last longer takes longer to get out.good luck .joe t

confinement, leash walking, physical therapy, stretching/muscle massage - have your friend speak to an animal chiropractor or someone interested in animal sports-therapy and rehab.  Proper healing and rehab (both, not just healing) means the difference between permanently unsound, or sound enough to work.  After ACL surgery, the dog will never be 100% again, but he can be comfortable and active.

molly

That's what they were thinking of doing, but you have to understand that this dog is use to walking/running going everywhere, and not having to be confined for up to 4 months. The 4 month's he has to be confined is what is going to worry them. He loves to play, chase after the ball and jump, and they wanted any ideas to help them help him not to do these things. They don't want him to lose his drive and playfulness because he has to be confined for a long time.

joe t,

has your dog ever had this type of injury?

Kelly, I had a female who would spin in her kennel and this happened to her we took her in and they said surgery was needed so we did. The inital surgery went fine but while in the hospital she tore her halo collar off and reopened the surgery site and had to be taken back to surgery...they let her do it again not sure sometime during the night after the second surgery anyway it was not smooth ended up with a big scar it had to heal inside out took months and months before she could be on the limb again. She  now has no problems but it was a major ordeal. They can heal on their own which is what I would do next time with my experiences with the surgery it did not go well at all for us. I asked what would have happened if no surgery and they said she would have DJD in her leg and maybe develop a limp from not being repaired but also the rate of sucess on this prodedure is not 100 percent in resolving anyway. Hope it goes well either way our dog was around four when this happened to her the younger dog may have better chance of sucess with the surgery. It was expensive and that was oh my six or seven years ago and it was 3,500 at the Ortho vet Clinic we used.

Marlene

My girl spend 5 months in her crate. High drive and very much not happy about it. However, my advantage was that I got her already crate trained at 6 months of age. Kongs, the everlasting treatball (triple crown product) and toys like that made the crate more acceptable for her.

However, walking on the lead for business time was the tough part. She would jump, spin, twirl and act stupid because of too much energy which was defeating the purpose. Being raised with only play and stimulation this was a problem. So I ended up having to have a meeting with her. The endresult after 5 months was a dog that was wonderful in the crate, physically sound, mentally sound but a bit less willing to go out and show her civil side on the field.

In her case, it was not a tear but a bad strain. The surgery and resulting arthritis would not have been a good choice. The price was prohibitive as well. But once I got her quiet she would walk quietly with me on leash, flat surface, stretching and we would go swimming (ok she would go swimming in the pond).

It was worth it for me to maybe have compromised her drives a bit in return for a dog that 2 years later still shows no signs of any discomfort and is just as crazy now than she was back then. Just not on the field.

Thanks so much Molly, Marlene, and joe.

They are very worried about the surgery, and how to keep him NON-active during the 4 months of healing time. I will have them read this post, and in the meantime if anyone else has other options on how to keep their dog on low key, or if anyone else has gone thru this with their own dog, we would like to hear as much as we can about this injury.

Thanks

Kel

if the cruciate ligament is torn, it can not and will not heal on it's own.  The dog will be 3-legged and muscle atrophy, never will be comfortable again.  Only if the tendon is frayed, not torn, is there a chance the dog will be ok without surgery.

molly

Their vet does believe that it could be torn, but will not know until the surgery.

Molly,

So if it is torn, should they still look at physical therapy like you had mentioned? or should it just be R&R?

Thanks for EVERYONE'S feed back about this injury!!! I've never had any of my dog's go thru this, so I was no help to their questions.

Thanks

Kel

physical therapy for sure.  Without it, the leg will not heal properly, and though the dog will be comfortable, he will not be as sound and free-moving as he would if the rehab is done seriously and correctly.

molly