Lame Dog
 

Just throwing this out there in case someone else on CP has had the same issue...

My dog recently injured himself chasing a rabbit. He ran full steam into our deck and came up lame. At 1st I thought it was his hip but the vet said it's his knee (back leg).

I've been doing a lot of reading on this but don't know what to do. I've seen conflicting viewpoints that say either 'do surgery' or don't. My dog is large so the issue is compounded. He's a 75 lb. pointer/bird dog.

Because he's so big, he needs something called TPLO surgery where they change the angle of the leg - http://www.tploguide.com/tplo-recovery.php.

The cost is anywhere from $2500-$5000. That's a lot of money for my kids, let alone my dog. I'm afraid he might reinjure it chasing the same rabbit. He's 5 1/2 yrs old so still fairly young.

Anyone had this same issue?

my lab slightly tore something in her hind knee once; out of the blue, when she was probably 5 or 6 years old. Likely chasing something and tweeked it. Vet said we could do surgery, or just ry to monitor it see if it heals. We opted that route.

She'll be 14 in June, with no real effects of it. She was gimpy for a bit right after it happened. hardest part was trying to keep her from running, or pulling really hard while on a leash while we were trying to get her to heal we had to go out into the yard before letting her out on the leash, and once of use would have to 'shoo' away any squirrels, rabbits, or birds from the yard so she wouldn't be tempted to chase.

damn dog lol.

If it's TPLO, then he basically blew his ACL - my lab did this a couple years ago, and had TPLO surgery. She was 2 at the time, so it was a no-brainer for me, despite the cost.

Post-surgery, it's 8-12 weeks of cage confinement, which really sucks. I was diligent with rehab exercises, and after 8 weeks, my pup got a clean bill of health. I eased her back into activity over the next few weeks, after which she was completely back to normal. I run her the same as I always have, still throw the ball/frisbee for her to chase, and she has no lasting effects from the injury. IMHO, she's a dog, and I'm not going to keep her from doing dog things.

FYI, they say that once they pop one side, they're more likely to pop the other. They'll also start seeing issues with arthritis in the repaired joint earlier, so it's recommended to use joint supplements. I don't believe they're any more likely to reinjure the same joint, but I can't remember for sure - I believe changing the angle may reduce the likelihood.

It's expensive, but I don't regret it for a second. If she were to pop her other one today, I'd have the same procedure done without a second thought.

I had a dog that got a sticker in his pad on the front paw so I just shot him.

I'd probably do it because I'm stupid and gullible with my dogs; I just spent $900 on a 12 yr old with a chronic cough but he's still kicking.

My sister had TPLO done on her presa canario and the problem wasn't just the surgery, it was the rehab. She had her in a water tub doing exercises every couple of days for a couple of months. I can't imagine that was cheap.

3 years later she blew out the other one and went through it all again.

It's a tough call that nobody can really make for you. Seems like there's as good a chance as any that it'll happen again but in the end you can't take it with you so if you have the money and the answer is fix your dog and wait another year for a new car or move on from the dog and buy the car now, well I'd fix the dog.

But I understand why some folks would see things differently. Everyone's finances are different and there are no guarantees.

my brother had his dogs ACL repaired, then he tore it again, and did both sides eventually.

hopefully the dog will be ready for the playoffs. / obligatory

Antifreeze is more expensive than .22

Our late Husky/Shepherd mix had TPLO on one of his knees when he was about 6. The ACL looked like the end of a mop so he tore it very severely. He tore the other knee a few years later and since he wasn't nearly as active, we opted for the less invasive/expensive knee surgery. Big dogs are ticking time bombs with their back knees because of how the legs are angled.

Arthritis will definitely be a concern with the surgically repaired knee. We gave our boy Dasequin once or twice a day and that did pretty well for a while. Once they get much older, you just can't avoid the arthritis.

Prayers for your pooch. And you know what you have to do




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