Anyone's dog have ACL surgery?

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
One of my little pooches is scheduled for it. Thank God my husband retired to watch him afterward when I am not home. I feel so badly for my little guy.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Not any of mine as I worked with a breed that, though prone to orthopedic issues, isn't prone to knee/stifle problems.

However, I did have a friend who had a dog that went through the surgery: it's a long and painful recovery, and ideally, if available, should include access to a physical therapy facility.

If not, hubs will be doing a lot of gradually the increasing exercise with your little dog.

For my friend, the hardest part of the whole thing was keeping her dog, a medium mixed breed, at rest for the time required immediately after surgery.

I can't imagine having to go through it with-one of my GSDs. The worst orthopedic injury I had with-one of mine was a dislocated hip in an adolescent, working-bred male. Once his hip joint was replaced in position, his leg had to be bound against his body for 6 weeks.

He could still be active in terms of going out in the yard and walks within reason, but he couldn't engage the extreme athleticism that his training and normal exercise routine involved.

I nearly lost my mind, and he wound up on tranks because he DID lose his mind and started self-mutilating. (chewing holes in his forelegs)

I'm sorry for your family and your poor little dog. I hope they heal well. The best thing you can do for them is to get their weight down and keep it down if they are overweight, and to put them on a good joint supplement ASAP, and keep them on that for the rest of their life.

Also, be aware that if they have blown one ACL, they are much more prone to blow the other.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Thanks GN. Fortunately this is a very sedate lap dog. My other one is very active so I'm glad it's not her! We will take him for physical therapy and the house we are buying has a nice little yard he can walk around in.

This dog tore his ACL partially once before but it healed enough to hold off on surgery. This time we want the surgery and rehab done....and hope he is good as new when we travel next January.

Thanks for answering!
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Oh, it's the little boy who got hurt? Poor guy. I'm glad he's a couch potato, though you and hubs will have to lift him on and off the couch for a bit after the surgery.

I'm glad you have access to a vet PT clinic, water exercise will be a huge help in healing if they have it available. Ask your vet if they have cold laser, and if so, ask them to do a treatment after they close the surgical wound.

I don't know how it works, but cold laser seems to help with-healing. Thomas had/has (I'm very leery of putting him under anesthesia again as he tried to croak that night after I got him home and wound up spending a few days in the hospital.) his tooth roots scaled a few times.

The gums, as you can imagine, are very sore and swollen after that procedure. The last time, they used the cold laser on his gums, and he healed much faster.

Best wishes to your little guy and his family, let me know how he does with the surgery, and keep me posted as his recovery progressive.

Oh...be the squeaky wheel if you have to about pain management. That's a painful surgery to recover from, and as the dogs heal, they have to use the leg in order to heal properly.

The vet will likely provide a strong NSAID, if that doesn't do it, don't hesitate to ask for something stronger.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Thanks again, GN. We have had the same wonderful vet for 15 years and he won't let our little boy suffer. We never had to use P T before, but we trust the staff.

We are very happy we have insurance on this dog!!!

Thanks again. Trust me, our pets are treated with the love and tenderness of any sick family member. If we have to carry him, we will. We are also buying a doggy stroller so he can go on walks with us.

I am glad your cat recovered and I am sure he was very well taken care of.
 

Triedntrue

Well-Known Member
My dog recently had leg surgery for a rare condition known as a neuroma. The hardest thing for her was the cone they use to keep them from bothering the wound. She totally freaked out would thrash around and then just stand and drool. So just be aware that they do make different kinds that you can order online or get at some pet stores that are less frightening. Lucky for us she didnt bother with the wound and as long as we watched her we left it off. Good luck!
 
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