Dog ACL injury

[SandyCreek]

Surgery was late Friday afternoon. Everything went well and she’s doing pretty good today just trying to keep her from getting too excited

 

[tony]

Our Doberman might have torn the CCL, GF has him in Vermont with her. Vet up there did X-rays and then sent them to an ortho vet. Said he can see something but since she’s coming home in a few weeks to have an ortho vet here follow up.
Some pain meds and rest along with light play time is what he has her doing.
She does a lot of hiking with him and he’s always run and jumping and in turn falling off rocks, etc.

 

[voltage]

Very interesting to see this. My 8.5 year old GSP tore his back right CCL on Saturday on the opener in SD. I went to the vet this morning and they gave me 3 options:
1. Do nothing, feed him pills to help the inflammation
2. TLPO
3. Unnamed “cheaper” surgery that would definitely retire him

I’m getting a second opinion on Thursday.

He already has a health issue that limits his hunting (frequent Exertional Rhabdomyalosis). He likely needs to retire regardless which is fine, but I worry going the less expensive route will lead to a higher rate of re-injury. From what I understand, recovery is the same on both surgeries. I am fine with retiring him, but he will continue to go hard as he still loves to play fetch, run, and chase squirrels in the backyard. My main question is will he be okay if he gets the less expensive option? Frankly, the homie and I have been through it all together. I want him to finish his life as fun and as comfortable as possible.

The whole deal just breaks my heart. I want him to have a good rest of life, regardless if he can ever hunt again.

Photos of likely his last point (he’s honoring my 2.5 year old) and his last public land limit.

 

[wind gypsy]

My 100# lab needed one at 9 or so years old. Tore it on day one of a SK hunt. He never did hunt again as I was sure he’d blow the other one with too much action. He got around fine for another 4 years though. I want to say it was around $5k in 2015.

 

[LabMan]

Had 2 different labs go through successful surgery and go on to hunt pheasant for many years. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[Ten Bears]

My GSP did both knees 5/6 years ago. Still hunting multiple times a week at 11 years old.

Hardest part besides the cash is keeping the dog chill during the rehab.

Couple helpful tips.

Get a surgeon that is known for the TPLO if that’s the choice for you.

Buy some rubber backed cheap rugs for hardwood flooring.

I made a ramp to get down the deck

Take the rehab serious, the dog will not want to use that repaired leg at first.

Swimming was the best thing to get my dogs legs back strong.

 

[SandyCreek]

My GSP did both knees 5/6 years ago. Still hunting multiple times a week at 11 years old.

Hardest part besides the cash is keeping the dog chill during the rehab.

Couple helpful tips.

Get a surgeon that is known for the TPLO if that’s the choice for you.

Buy some rubber backed cheap rugs for hardwood flooring.

I made a ramp to get down the deck

Take the rehab serious, the dog will not want to use that repaired leg at first.

Swimming was the best thing to get my dogs legs back strong.

agree so far keeping her from trying to jump has been tough. I think she’s struggling with not being able to get out and run but it’s just the deal. Our surgeon is where all the tlpo get referred to in the region. I want to do the swimming thing but it’ll be icing up soon on us

 

[jwtx5929]

Our now 11 year old lab mix had TPLO on both legs about a year apart back in 2017. She came through fine and still does 5 mile human hikes (8-10 for a lab) and just needs some CBD and doggie ibuprofen to recover. FYI it was about $3,200 per leg. I would normally balk but man I love this dog.

 

[voltage]

TPLO scheduled for Tuesday!

 

[Austink47]

Paying for it sucks but I don’t regret it. Our now 13 year old lab had both of hers done within two years when she was 4-5 years old. She is slowing down now but was still going for jogs 9 months ago. Still goes for walks every day. One thing that seems to be key is keeping their weight down. Good luck.

 

[Tex_F15]

TPLO surgery is great, but it's smart to prepare to pay for 2. Since it reconfigured the way that joint moves, our surgeon told us to expect the 2nd knee to go within the next year...and sure as sh*t, it did. But after the surgery, that knee should last a lifetime.

 

[SandyCreek]

TPLO surgery is great, but it's smart to prepare to pay for 2. Since it reconfigured the way that joint moves, our surgeon told us to expect the 2nd knee to go within the next year...and sure as sh*t, it did. But after the surgery, that knee should last a lifetime.

Yep. They said 50/50 shot hopefully not but cross that bridge if we come to it

 

[LostArra]

Thread revival:

I'm curious if early neutering was discussed as a contributing factor in all these CCL tears.

 

[tony]

Thread revival:

I'm curious if early neutering was discussed as a contributing factor in all these CCL tears.

The ortho vet we seen said they have been studies on this and there is evidence that this is the case.

Our doberman goes in Friday for I think it is the TPLO.
Will stay overnight, they will get him up that night to walk.
2 weeks with the cone, has to stay on one floor and on a leash when hes outside.
I'm actually kind of nervous. Working on people doesn't bother. Our animals are different

 

[Svivian]

Bumping an old thread.

My vet just told me my 5yo 75# dog has a torn CCL. He had recommended a traveling vet who only specializes in TPLO surgeries and quoted a price of $3200 which after research seems like a good deal.

With all that said what are some tips tricks do’s and donts that haven’t already been mentioned?

Thanks in advance

 

[voltage]

Bumping an old thread.

My vet just told me my 5yo 75# dog has a torn CCL. He had recommended a traveling vet who only specializes in TPLO surgeries and quoted a price of $3200 which after research seems like a good deal.

With all that said what are some tips tricks do’s and donts that haven’t already been mentioned?

Thanks in advance

That is a great price. Can you PM me who is doing it?

My 7 YO GSP tore his CCL in October of 2022. Surgery went well. Take rehab very seriously. Follow what the vet recommends to a T. No furniture. No stairs. I built a ramp off my deck to go outside. I used a sling (can be found on Amazon) to help him walk and go to the bathroom. I also used a “Lick Sleeve”, and that was better than a cone. For the first month or so, he was strictly in a kennel if he wasn’t doing rehab or going to the bathroom.

He recovered well. All that said, he died 6 months post surgery from a brain tumor.

 

[Svivian]

That is a great price. Can you PM me who is doing it?

My 7 YO GSP tore his CCL in October of 2022. Surgery went well. Take rehab very seriously. Follow what the vet recommends to a T. No furniture. No stairs. I built a ramp off my deck to go outside. I used a sling (can be found on Amazon) to help him walk and go to the bathroom. I also used a “Lick Sleeve”, and that was better than a cone. For the first month or so, he was strictly in a kennel if he wasn’t doing rehab or going to the bathroom.

He recovered well. All that said, he died 6 months post surgery from a brain tumor.

Thanks for the info, I’m sorry to hear about your dog.

I’ll pm you the vet here in a bit

 

[jml49]

My Brittany had it done for $5,000, the worse part was sleeping with her on the floor with a short leash on her for a month to keep her from jumping on furniture or using steps to get upstairs but it was worth it.

 

[JohnB]

I posted in this thread a few years ago when my dog got TPLO done on both legs. Recovery was a bit tough for her. One leg went really well and she may have rebroken the other which caused it to take about 4-5 months for the bone to re-fuse. My recommendations are to follow the vet instructions for PT. We kept our dog in a pen in the living room so she couldn't jump up into chairs for at least 3 months. Lots of PT, leashed walks & treats. Now after 3 years she's still a little bit gimpy and less fit but can still do windsprints across the yard after the neighbor's cats. We're quite happy we did it. She is a damn good dog and its real nice seeing her mobile again.