Cruciate advice please.

Hi my dog (a small GSD X) had an op a few days ago to repair her cruciate (knee ligament).

Has anyone else had this done and how successful was it?

I have been reading that they should have strict rest after op, but my vet said i can take her out as long as it is on a lead.

She is a rescue and hates being shut in, especially when I take my other dog out.

Any advice please??!!

Hi, I have some experience - my girl just having the op for the 2nd time (on her other leg).

Is it 'just' a repair she has had - i.e. was her ligament still there and needed stitching back together or had it completely snapped and needed replacing with an artificial one (or a different type of op called TPLO)? I only ask as it may affect what advise you are given.

My girl is a border collie - so as you can imagine, I know all about them hating to be left behind.

But I would definitely go for doing too little rather than too much. There are dangers that you don't consider even with lead walking (depending on how excited your dog is).

For example, the issues I had with Hoki when lead walking her during the early stages were
(1) she got set on by two black labs (who were on lead but the woman couldn't hold them and let go). That set her back big time
(2) because she couldn't run around she got really excited by anything that moved past her at speed and would try to lunge - again, not a good idea on a leg that is trying to mend
(3) I got a bit carried away one day as she was walking so well and went too far - always remember to turn round WELL before you think she is ready - if you go too far it is a nightmare trying to get them home again.

What I would do (and what I'm doing at the moment) is leaving Hoki with a kong while I take my other dog for a proper walk. Then when I come back I spend time with Hoki with a bit of training (tricks which don't involve a lot of movement e.g. crossing paws and lots of 'stay' work). Unfortunatley as Hoki has to lose more weight, I do have to watch what she eats so I don't do as much of this as I would like, but hopefully that won't be so much of an issue for yours.

Hope that helps a bit - let me know if you have any other questions

Hi thanks for reply.

Yes they did have to put in an artificial band of some sort - sorry not very technichal.
How long was it before your girl put weight onto the leg? mine still carries it right up and hops on the other three legs!
And in your opinion do you think they ever go back to the way they were before or not? Yes see what you mean about lead walks totally agree.

Well, in Hoki's case it was a bit different. She was a rescue and it turned out that her cruciate had completley ruptured sometime before we got her. It took some time to diagnose because her muscle had developed to slightly support the joint. As a result of this I think she was more used to the discomfort etc and started to use it earlier than many dogs do - within just a couple of days she was putting it down.

But I have read that it can take 2 weeks - and to be honest, I would have thought to a certain extent, the longer she holds it up, the better, as it will give it complete rest.

As for whether she's 100% - no in Hoki's case she isn't. But that was partly because she was massively overweight (twice what she should be) when rescued and although her weight has come down, she is still overweight. in addition, because the damage had been there for so long, it has caused arthritis in the knee.

However, in 'normal' cases I understand that complete recovery can be expected - even to the extent of working dogs going back to work.

The recovery time is so frustrating. Hoki is really depressed at the moment - I hate to see her like ethis - she perks up when she hears me putting my walking boots on then hangs her head when she's told she can't come. It breaks my heart, but, particularly with her right leg not being 100%, I just can't take the risk with her.

But the time will pass and hopefully in a few months we'll both be able to post pictures of happy dogs running around again

My large crossbreed has had two cruciate repair ops (both legs, first op was November 06, second in September 07). Both were a complete success and he is now as fit and healthy as he's ever been despite having fairly severe arthritis in both joints. Luckily, he has excellent hips.

He has joint supplements daily and we give him as much opportunity to swim as possible so that he can get plenty of non weight bearing exercise.

He was also allowed out for short on lead walks from his first day home from the vets...I believe it depends on the type of surgery whether they need strict rest or not.

Hi my choc lab Kt had hers done six years ago, and as she is a lab she loved it all the fuss, she had little walks and i would masarge her leg and do gentle streching exersises with it ,lifting her in and out the car(she loved that) she is 11 now and has no problesms with that leg .

Hi my big dog Oscar is having an operation on Friday. He has ruptured his cruciate ligament in his back right knee. I am really worried about him as he seems a bit depressed as we lost our litle dog to epilepsy three weeks ago. They were together for ten years and never separated. Anyway I just wondered if anyone could tell me what is involved.

Thanks for all the replies!

Cheekycharlie I know what your going through, my girl was not herself when she did it and to be honest she was still bit low for about a week after op, but now she is back mentally I think!
She uses her bad leg about one step in five, the rest of the time she is on three legs, but pulls and wants to go! Its only been two and a half weeks though. Been back to vets and he reckons she should make full recovery.

Your dog will be fine, you feel bit sorry for them afterwards, but remember they will still have the effects of the anethetic if come home same day - most do.
The difficult thing usually is not letting them do too much too soon. Like mine still jumps up on the sofa!!

Let me know how it goes.

Hi,
An update on Oscar. He had his op on Friday and we got him home Saturday. He was very sleepy hubby stayed up with him all night incase he tried to get up. Today he is a bit brighter but still looks very sorry for himself. His leg looks so painful I was quite shocked when I seen it. He is staggering on three legs and his appetite is minimal. We were not given any pain medication for him. I have been giving him a paracetemol every 8 hours and will phone the vet tomorrow. The biggest problem we have is getting him outside to do his business as we have two quite hight steps out to the garden and he is not sure about getting up and down. I am sure he will be ok.

My previous dog Ozzy had this op, it did take quite some time for him to recover. The best advice I can give is to make sure your dog gets plenty of rest, we used to crate Ozzy as he wasn't the sort of dog who would rest himself and were bothered he would damage it further.

We took tiny little walks at first (literally just a few steps at a time) but after a few months he was able to walk again quite freely without limping and he even recovered to the extent that he could run again, although we did restrict him as we were afraid he would damage himself.

It is a shock when you see all the stitches and how much they are limping, but it is amazing how quickly they start getting around again

With regards to Oscar having difficulty going up the steps, why not try make a make-shift sling? If you have this under his tummy you could gently help him get up the steps so he doesn't put weight on the leg?

Best wishes and I do hope he makes a speedy recovery.