Cruciate ligament (update @ post 12)

Hi,

Just returned from the vets....

We have an 8yr old greyhound who has just been diagnosed with a cruciate ligament injury

Just wondering if any of you have had dogs who have been through this and how things turned out?

Reading up it seems like its going to be a long process to recovery. Shes normally a very active dog and i'm worried about keeping her immobile after surgery etc. i'd really appreciate hearing your stories....

Thanks.
Clare and a limping fed up paddy xx

i will def be following your thread my girl is going vets tommorow for xrays etc as they believe she has ruptured her cruciate. i wish you and your doggy the best.

Awww!!! Good luck for your woofer for tomorrow, let me know how she gets on. Its so scary isnt it

i will b glad to get anwsers she was xrayed in dec and diagnosed with hip dysplasia, her lameness continued to get worse even after resting and hydro therapy i kept going back vets and kept being told reduce her weight keep giving her metacam finally i went and saw another vet who agreed she was far to lame for mild hip dysplasia and have agreed to have her in sedated her and finally gets some anwsers. it will be nice to have some one in the same boat and not go through the op and recovery alone we will def have to compare notes lol

Well i hope tomorrow will finally bring some clarity for you. Well done for sticking with it and going to another vet, you live with your dog so you know her best and whats normal and whats not.

Paddy has been occasionally limping for a few weeks now.. We didnt think much of it as it was only after she'd been lying down for long periods and after a few steps she was fine... Then got up this morning and she could hardly put any weight on it. The vet seems pretty convinced its the cruciate ligament.

My neighbours dog ended up having both cruciates done,led a full and active life for many years. I will ask her the finer details as it was a few years ago now. Good luck

Poor girl - I bet she is hopping around with his leg tucked up well away from the ground.

Our last dog had the op, and like you I was so worried about keeping her quiet afterwards because she was a reall looney - however, when she came home she accepted the restrictions very well and slept a great deal for quite some time. The vet didn't give her painkillers, so that she could "feel" her leg and not be tempted to use it too much. The recovery period seemed to stretch forever, but once over it was well worth it because she went on virtually trouble free for several years.

We had several scares over the weeks following the op, when she would twist awkardly or something then yelp and carry her leg for a while......we kept trudging back to the vet for reassurance, and all was well each time.

Good luck and the time will pass before you know it.

Thank you, that sounds encouraging. I really hopeshe can get over this, she is never happier than when shes at full speed!!

Thank you, thats very reassuring. She is hopping about and the vet has given us some painkillers to help her through the night. It sounds like the whole experience was relatively good, obviously the scares must have been stressful but lovely to hear a good outcome.

Poor Paddy

I went through this last year with Saba, my pointer. She had a TPLO. Although it was really worrying at the time, I am so glad we had it done. The leg is stronger than ever and has significantly less arthritis than her other back leg.

As Bitkin has said, they seem to accept the restrictions much better than you would expect. The first few weeks are actually the easiest to manage as the dog really is only up to walking gingerly on the operated leg. Make a secure place for the dog, minimising the chances of jumping up (no chairs/windowsills etc). I put lots of cushions on the floor so that I could go and sit there with her. Games that make them think are good for wearing them out. I found that Saba needed to destroy things to get rid of some of her energy...putting a bit of chicken in an old pasta box stuffed with newspaper was a favourite. Loads of mess, but a happy dog! If you search on here for 'cruciate' you'll come up with some threads for more ideas.

As the level of exercise goes up, it is a delicate balance between too much and too little. I had a scare with Saba about 12 weeks after the op, when she suddenly went lame again. Bitkin reassured me then that she'd been through the same, and the vet confirmed it was only a muscle sprain.

Good luck.

hello
there are a few threads here as my dog had it done recently - this may help
http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=166244
http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=167732
http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=168261

that should give you some ideas of what to expect - my dog was 11 when he got his done, and although not a really boisterous boy he certainly did not enjoy being contained or detained as I called it !! mostly cos he wasn't allowed on the bed though,.

he is now much better and back to full walks etc and am glad i did it...

hope the threads help