bad rear leg / possible ACL
I am just looking for some help regarding a left rear leg injury on our Sheep Dog Kayla. She is 6 years old, high energy large female (106lbs) and just the best dog you could ever ask for. Monday night she was playing with the neighbors dog and somehow injured her left rear leg as she was limping home and was having trouble gettin up through out the night. The vet looked at her yesterday and ruled out any bone fracture and most likely a strained ACL and prescribed 7 days of medication (forgot the type) & rest. She stated if she does not respond after a week it is most likely a torn ACL and would require a very expensive surgery. Has anyone gone through this before and what results did you experience. It has been very upsetting for me to have to carry her up and down the stairs to take her out and to see her not her usual crazy self. We have been very fortunate with her and her health so I think this has just made me realize just how special she is to our family, to see her down like this has been very tough. Any help, recommendations, or advice would be appreciated. Thank you, Jay |
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| Yes - keep her quiet and do the rest. Surgery is not the only answer. If you can do it, extended rest will give very good results too (months of rest though - and most people are too impatient, or swayed by the vets to do the surgery)...and as a plus won't get the scar tissue that comes with surgery...and that eventually leads to arthritis at the site. Even with humans (I'm a 20 yr ortho nurse), this truly does heal. But we as a society are pretty addicted to surgical repairs instead of letting time and the body do it's own healing.  And if it turns out to not work, you still have a surgical option - time is not a factor in needing to decide to do this type of surgery. I have several friends with dogs who tried this, and their dogs healed and never needed surgery. |
| Not seeing the dog, it's hard to say.........If the dog's structure is wrong to begin with, ACL tear was not an accident but the result of very poor hip:femur structure. Our Sam the Great Pyr had this and had surgery to reposition the femur, not a pretty surgery. As the Ortho Vet explained, he could repair it but the strain would still be there and probably rip out again. (the bigger the dog, the more likely the tear will reoccur) Yes, Sam recovered quite well but our bank account not as quickly. Harry OESx has a torn ACL and has had for 6 years at least. He too has terrible hip:femur development but this time our bank account wouldn't allow for surgery like Sam's. We opted for no intervention. He was rehabbed and was able to walk but never normally again. He's been on pain meds for 6+ years. He figured out a way to run and years before was quite speedy with his bizarre run. Now other problems have slowed him down. He is a very sweet dog, doesn't react to pain though you can tell when he's having trouble, he's just slower. First, rest, complete rest. Outside for nature calls, the rest of the time rest. During this period see if there are doggie physical therapists in your area who will work with you and your dog in healing the tear (or hopefully just strain). |
| Just went through this! We followed the Vets advice. Rest, rest, rest. On leash walks only. No running, jumpng, step climinb, etc. Was on Dermax 1x a day and Glycoflex for seniors, one twice a day which equals about 2000 mg of glocosamine ( spelling)...After a few days he was not limping...but kept him on rest and no running, jumping a few more weeks. I think they recommedn about 6 to 8 weeks of on leash walks only. I walked him just in front of the house and if showed any limp, in we went. he is doing well now. I also give him a supplement from Volhard Nutrition ( friends of mine and visit their website), System saver added to food twice a day. All of that stuff and he is doing well. My vet cautioned me that the rest is SO important. Hurts us more than them I know. If he needs something to do, give him a bully stick to chew on or a Kong filled with something to keep him busy. REST THAT LEG! Hope he feels better. And by the way, my do is 6 years old too...Sending positive thoughts for healing  |
| Went through this with our last OES, Pooh Bear. Every once in a while he would hurt his leg and limp, and like the others said, rest is the best. We did go through an ACL and miniscus (spelling?) tear at one point and believe me you will know when that happens. He let out a big yelp and could not put any weight what so ever on that leg until it was repaired. He hobbled on 3 legs until then and was good as new after the surgery. So make sure she rests that leg to prevent any further damage. Also if it comes down to surgery make sure you do research on what would be best. Pooh was 8 when he had surgery and we opted not to have the expensive TPLO surgery. He did well and had no problem with the leg until we lost him at the age of 12 due to other reasons. Speedy recovery Kayla!!!! Big hugs for you! |
| Thank you for the repies and the medication we were given is Carprofen (Rovera) 75mg. Our major issue with Kayla is trying to keep her calm and rested. If she hears a leaf fall she is at the window so it is a challenge to make sure she relaxes. I will update her progress and again appreciate any feedback. She is the best dog and all I want is for her to be allright and as comfortable as possible. Jay |
| My boy had TPLO surgery for a complete tear to the ACL. It is expensive but the key is to find a specialist that is very good at this type of surgery. And it also requires you to be very patient & follow the dr's. orders completely for a full recovery. This includes a gradual increase in exercise (straigtline walking) to rebuild the inner & outer thigh muscles, for short periods of time several times a day. My neighbors probably thought I was nuts walking my boy on lead back & forth across the front yard 6 times a day. And no climbing stairs for awhile or jumping. I have a graveled dog run & I spent 4 months putting my boy on a lead to walk him outside to do his business on lead so he wouldn't take off & run around the dog run. I am fortunate in the fact that my boy is very laid back & he LOVES his kennel. So kennel rest was not a problem. If you end up choosing this route, make sure the dr. explains the surgery completely to you. Mine did this with a jigsaw puzzle apparatus that showed exaclty what they were going to do. When you see that you with understand why it is so important to follow the post surgery recommendations. My boy had this done at the age of 6 years. He is now 8 years old & doing fine. They told me not to worry if he got a bit gimpy after some exercise for awhile or when wintertime came around. I never had that problem arise yet. |
| Kayla has been responding well and Thursday morning she really seemed to improve a bit. Prior to that it would take her two or three attempts to get up and she would just lie in the corner all morning. She is now not favoring the left leg as much and is up following me around all morning like normal and I am trying to get her to slow down as much as possible we have been just walking half a block in the morning for her to go to the bathroom (#2, she will not go in the yard) and out around the yard twice in the evening. Our efforts are now just trying to get her to slow down, relax, and rest as much as possible which is very hard for her to do. Hopefully this continues and for the next few months we will continue to keep her as quiet as possible. I really appreciate all of the replies and will send updates. Thank You, Jay |
| Thanks for the update! Glad she is doing better. |
| You might want to put down some rubber mats to help her getting up. If you have wood or tile floors, their back legs slide out and can injure the injury. A bully stick might keep her occupied for a while or a stuffed Kong...Also, be careful of her jumping...on the bed, the couch, etc. If necessary, put a baby gate on the couch to keep her off. The jumping is probably worse than the running. Glad she is feeling better. You will see improvement with the resting. You might want to add a supplement of glucasomine ( spelling?). We were using 1000mg, twice a day, mixed in with their food. I would just walk my guy in front of the house on a leash. This was if he started to limp, we didn't have far to go back home! Good luck. I know how hard this is but believe me, this is better than recouperating after surgery. |
Ashley wrote: You might want to put down some rubber mats to help her getting up. If you have wood or tile floors, their back legs slide out and can injure the injury. A bully stick might keep her occupied for a while or a stuffed Kong...Also, be careful of her jumping...on the bed, the couch, etc. If necessary, put a baby gate on the couch to keep her off. The jumping is probably worse than the running. Glad she is feeling better. You will see improvement with the resting. You might want to add a supplement of glucasomine ( spelling?). We were using 1000mg, twice a day, mixed in with their food. I would just walk my guy in front of the house on a leash. This was if he started to limp, we didn't have far to go back home! Good luck. I know how hard this is but believe me, this is better than recouperating after surgery. All very good suggestions. I can speak about it first handed having gone thru TPLO surgery. You feel like you are walking on eggshells for several months during the recuperation. |
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