Limping dog

my dog has been limping for several weeks now. It seems he has got arthritis in his hips and cruciate ligament problems in his hind leg. He has had a 4 week course of injections. I'm not sure this has helped any. I think it's the ligament problem that is causing more of the limp. He also looks like he's limping on his front leg - not sure what is causing that. Any suggestions?

Hi there.

If your dog has cruciate problems it is quite possible that he will also be limping on his front legs. Its not uncommon for the dog to try and ease the weight/work on the back legs, so the front legs get more of a battering.

Unfortunately I don't know of anyone who has successfully managed a cruciate injury with rest so that an operation wasn't required (not saying its not possible, just that everyone i know who has tried has ended up having to have the op after a couple of months).

his hips may be ok - my vet suspected that my girl had arthritis in her hips at first. in the end we had her x-rayed - her hips were fine but her knees were quite arthritic as a result of the cruciate damage having gone on for so long (she was a rescue dog and her cruciates were already damaged when we took her in).

My girl had ops on both knees (a year apart) and had hydrotherapy to help her recovery - quite a bit of that was working on her front legs (particularly her shoulder joints.

If restricted excerise has not helped your lad, i would suggest talking to the vet about an op on the cruciate ligament.

Because of arthritis in his hips, the vet thought it wouldn't be beneficial to do the operation on his knee because he already has restricted movement.

Ask your vet about hydrotherapy as this may help.

Can you tell us a little more about your dog - how old is he and whether he is a large type, an active dog, etc.

He is a mongrel. He's approx 7 years old. He's a medium sized dog and not very active really. We got him from a dogs home when he was approx 2 years old and therefore don't know his history.

hydrotherapy would possibly be a good solution but he hates water!!!!

I think I would discuss further the possibility of a cruciate repair for your dog. It may be that his other problem with arthritis is the main reason your vet seems to be going for the non-invasive way to treat him. Also, if the cruciate ligament injury is not a full rupture then a repair may not be the answer. Has your vet done the drawer test to establish how bad his injury is? One thing I would add is that not all dogs are suitable candidates for a cruciate op. I know that as a result of the operation arthritis very often sets in quite quickly in the repaired limb. Also, sometimes the other leg can go as well (just to complicate the situation). The age and health of your dog will also be a consideration for the vet (not that he is old) but your vet should weigh everything up and treat your dog in the most appropriate way for him. Very often, given enough time the injections do work and there is always oral medication as well. Cruciate operations are also quite expensive and sometimes the result is not as successful as the owners would hope for. I hope you can work out a good solution for your dog. If your vet does decide the best answer is not to do an operation, then you can always get a second opinion - The decision should be one that you and your vet is happy with. Good luck - let us know how you and your dog get on.

Hello again Kinney,
There is another thread that has quite a lot of posts on people's experiences with cruciate ops. It is under the dog health section and there are currently five pages of posts to look at and a lot of them are very positive about the op.