Cruciate ligament injury
Discussion
It looks like Louis dog 10yr old 15kg mongrel succumbed. X RAYS on Monday to confirm.
He's on painkillers, under house arrest and pretty subdued, but clearly uncomfortable. Would a surgical stocking be of any help in the meantime?
Hoping once formally diagnosed we can get to see the orthopaedic surgeon quickly.
He's on painkillers, under house arrest and pretty subdued, but clearly uncomfortable. Would a surgical stocking be of any help in the meantime?
Hoping once formally diagnosed we can get to see the orthopaedic surgeon quickly.
Our Westie did his cruciate ligament two years ago. Crate rest was recommended, but we don't crate him, so it was just confined to bed and carried up and down stairs and out into the garden when he needed the toilet. We have wood flooring downstairs, so put mats everywhere to stop him slipping and causing further injury too.
He had the surgery at a local small animal hospital (£3.5k) and ended up needing a metal plate fitted to further strengthen the joint. Since then he had physio for a few months and still has regular massage to try and monitor it and hopefully prevent it happening to the other leg. It took a few months to get him back walking properly, with only small walks at the start, but he is pretty much back to normal now. Good luck and I hope all goes well.
He had the surgery at a local small animal hospital (£3.5k) and ended up needing a metal plate fitted to further strengthen the joint. Since then he had physio for a few months and still has regular massage to try and monitor it and hopefully prevent it happening to the other leg. It took a few months to get him back walking properly, with only small walks at the start, but he is pretty much back to normal now. Good luck and I hope all goes well.
Red9zero said:
Our Westie did his cruciate ligament two years ago. Crate rest was recommended, but we don't crate him, so it was just confined to bed and carried up and down stairs and out into the garden when he needed the toilet. We have wood flooring downstairs, so put mats everywhere to stop him slipping and causing further injury too.
He had the surgery at a local small animal hospital (£3.5k) and ended up needing a metal plate fitted to further strengthen the joint. Since then he had physio for a few months and still has regular massage to try and monitor it and hopefully prevent it happening to the other leg. It took a few months to get him back walking properly, with only small walks at the start, but he is pretty much back to normal now. Good luck and I hope all goes well.
Thanks, reading up something Westiies are prone to. Cage rest is a no no for us, hard floors now covered in rugs and mats. Good job he's only 15kg, must be really awkward with a heavy dog. X-RAYS tomorrow. He had the surgery at a local small animal hospital (£3.5k) and ended up needing a metal plate fitted to further strengthen the joint. Since then he had physio for a few months and still has regular massage to try and monitor it and hopefully prevent it happening to the other leg. It took a few months to get him back walking properly, with only small walks at the start, but he is pretty much back to normal now. Good luck and I hope all goes well.
PositronicRay said:
Thanks, reading up something Westiies are prone to. Cage rest is a no no for us, hard floors now covered in rugs and mats. Good job he's only 15kg, must be really awkward with a heavy dog. X-RAYS tomorrow.
You do get funny looks from visitors when they see your nice wood floor festooned with loads of mats and rugs, but if they are dog people they completely understand. Ours is 12kg, which is more than enough when carrying him upstairs at bed time ! Let us know how you get on tomorrow.Not sure about a sock but our 8yr old boxer seemed to benefit somewhat from a knee brace while she recovered.
One of these iirc
https://zoomadog.co.uk/products/503-balto-jump-plu...
One of these iirc
https://zoomadog.co.uk/products/503-balto-jump-plu...
Kes Arevo said:
PositronicRay said:
Xrays look horrific, waiting for refferal.
Bugger.Dogs are hardy little sods, it may be harder on you than him.
Vet thinks good leg can be saved, TPLO opp, short leg may need amputation. Once we've seen the specialist we'll have a better idea.
We had this with Cadbury our previous chocolate labrador when she was 7 or 8. I hope you have good insurance as I think the cost of the operation was around £4k.
Point to note, if the split the bone and sponge the wedge to make the bone grow back over and strengthen the joint, then for a month or so it leaves the bone very week at the point. you MUST watch the dog when they go outside to the loo if they scatch afterwards, as Cadbury broke this small bone part the one time she wasn't watched after a couple of weeks and it slowed her recovery.
The good news is she made a full recovery and was running around on the beach right up until the afternoon before she died at 13.
We also swear by green lip muscle powder on food once a day, it made such a difference to her.
Point to note, if the split the bone and sponge the wedge to make the bone grow back over and strengthen the joint, then for a month or so it leaves the bone very week at the point. you MUST watch the dog when they go outside to the loo if they scatch afterwards, as Cadbury broke this small bone part the one time she wasn't watched after a couple of weeks and it slowed her recovery.
The good news is she made a full recovery and was running around on the beach right up until the afternoon before she died at 13.
We also swear by green lip muscle powder on food once a day, it made such a difference to her.
PositronicRay said:
No insurance, funding from savings.
Booked in for the 13th Dec.
We cut back on our insurance as it was getting stupidly expensive, so it just about covered the xrays. The op was £3.5k, although it was a complicated one. Additional costs (physio, massage etc) were probably another £1k, with the massage being an ongoing cost. The cheapest, most stupid thing we have bought to aid his recovery is a magnetic collar, but it actually seems to work and gave a definate improvement as soon as he started wearing it. I am the biggest skeptic going too !Booked in for the 13th Dec.
Good luck with the op. Keep him rested as much as possible, so he doesn't damage the other leg through overcompensating. Let us know how it goes.
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