Dog torn ACL's

[birddogdad]

Have never had a dog tear an ACL  before but it was pretty devastating. Come to find out, she has torn both back legs. Researched all the 20+ surgical options for repair and opted for TPLO - tibial plateau leveling osteotomy arthrodesis. This corrects tears and allows working dogs pretty much full recovery with minimal future issues. Problem was the cost. At quotes in the Seattle area from 4500$ per leg to upwards of 7K it was troubling.. My vet recommended the WSU Pullman school and I was amazed at the cost reduction for having patients in the teaching environment and costs are around $3200/leg. Back Leg #1 was done last Friday and I am nothing short of amazed. 4 weeks I return for back leg #2. Full recovery I am told will be in time for fall season. Down time for the dog is key to success, no walking, jumping, stairs ect for 8 weeks post surgery, so for her, it will actually be 12 weeks.. I will post weekly updates and pics if I can figure it out here with her recovery status for those who may have similar issues with a working dog..

[vandeman17]

Wow, how did she injure them?

[birddogdad]

Wow, how did she injure them?

just running..

[vandeman17]

Wow, how did she injure them?

just running..

Ouch. My 5 year old goes balls out all the time and it scares me. I watch her jumping sage brush, downed logs etc and I just pray she doesn't hurt herself. She is a dog though so can't really hold them back. Keep up posted and good luck!

[jackelope]

Really common in active lab sized dogs it seems. Happened to my yellow dog as well.  DoubleJ has a thread going on it happening to his dog too.

[Mfowl]

Sorry to hear! How do you keep the dog inactive during the recovery time? 8+ weeks seems like a long time to keep a dog from being a dog.

[bigdave]

no walking for 12 weeks?  how does that work?

[quadrafire]

no walking for 12 weeks?  how does that work?

House arrest. Leash walk only out to potty, that's it.

[Ridgeratt]

no walking for 12 weeks?  how does that work?

House arrest. Leash walk only out to potty, that's it.

 

When our dawg had her's done the vet gave me an example of putting a 100.00 bill on the fridge. Said if she tears it bring me back 12 more of them with the one on the fridge and he will repeat what he had just done.

[jackelope]

Ya you put the dog in a crate that is just big enough and leave it there for 8-12 weeks. It's torture.

[Mark Brenckle]

Our lab/dane cross had both done at the same time. We used a strap around her belly to assist her walking and going outside. We got her a comfy bed and a play-pen type enclosure. The kennel we have for her is plenty big, until you need to reach in and help lift 120 lbs.
Tramadal and ace pills helped keep her mellow. Her surgery was in April, she's fully recovered but we keep her calm on the wood floors, don't let her chase the neighbors cats, etc.

[Mark Brenckle]

Here's a picture of the x-ray.

[WA hunter14]

Different injury but equally amazing, had a dog lost spring break her pelvis, when I saw the xray I felt sick. There was a clear separation about a half inch wide, I thought I was going to have to put her down. The vet was happy though that it wasn't the broken leg we thought it was,  she said no surgery needed just lock her in a kennel so she can't jump or run for 4 weeks and she will fully recover.  She's healthy as can be no issues at all .

[Mudman]

Sound advise.  My wife assists on these all the time.  Our dog has had one.  If you are westside I may be able to suggest a good Doc at a better price?  Would have to ask wife.??  Yes 12 weeks, pills, kennel all important. Its hard.

[lamrith]

Wapititalk should post in here anytime with his Vet recommendation, I am sending him an email... 
Do NOT get it done locally, all the vets here on the Wetside charge way to much.
His dog had to have BOTH knees done a year or two ago and out the door total was around what the local here charge for ONE.  and the vert is supposedly a pioneer in the field.  His dog was back up and going pretty quickly.

[Bluemoon]

I had the first Sporting Breed the TPLO was ever done on.  The technology has come a long way since then.  The Technic was developed by Dr. Barclay Slocum.  My GSP blew hers out at ten months of age another Vet friend of mine who has since retired (Dr. Slocum has passed) arraigned to have this procedure done for me.  It was much more expensive then then now.  Through proper Rehab. mainly swimming.  Ardi went on to a outstanding field trial career, She became a AKC Field Champion / Amateur Field Champion, Canadian Field Trial Champion / Amatuer Field Trial Champion and won the 1998 Canadian National Chukar Championship.  She also had a outstanding Hunting Career until she retired at 13 years.

[quadrafire]

Common injury for sure. May want to check east side surgeons as well for TPLO. Spokane or WSU
May be worth a road trip. Drop the dog off for surgery, take the wife out for a nice weekend and still have gas money  for hunting season .......
Seems the west side surgeons realize their clients won't travel???

[Skyvalhunter]

While I didn't have my dog have torn ACL's in both leg he is into the 11 month of recovery for one leg. My vet suggested a vet in Wenatchee for the TPO surgery. I couldn't be more happy with how it turned out. He does have a little atrophy but that's expected. We were pretty strict on his progress for his recovery. He is a pretty tough dog and before and after surgery has done some pretty extreme hiking. Good luck with your dog just going to have to baby him for a while which is tough to do but in the long run its worth it.

[Mudman]

Wife says its around $3500+ at her place of employment.  The Doctor is a mobile specialist. He is very good.  Just a heads up for any looking for good care from certified Vet hospital.

[jason4429]

I was wondering if you looked into the lateral sling procedure. My lab tore his tendon last year during hunting season and I researched the Tplo and decided to do the lateral sling instead. If you are interested in more info let me know.

[jason4429]

Never mind I should have read your entire post. Hope all goes well .

[birddogdad]

Wow, how did she injure them?

just running..

Ouch. My 5 year old goes balls out all the time and it scares me. I watch her jumping sage brush, downed logs etc and I just pray she doesn't hurt herself. She is a dog though so can't really hold them back. Keep up posted and good luck!

Thanks, yea my 8 year old (injured) was balls out all the time and I have a young 3 year old she MUST out perform. I have 3 pointers and she was my range girl. out 2-300yds and hold points for me to catch up, others in closer kind of zones they work. She, once healed, is smart enough to be talked into close in work and create a new tight zone of range around me, but that is still 1 more successful surgery away!   She I think had injured one leg a couple years ago, maybe I saw thought she was just lame, no yipping ... when the second leg went , she was chasing the puppy around my yard and was very vocal in pain. I am +3 days now and she is responding incredibly well IMO.

[Skyvalhunter]

I will tell you this before my dog tore his after a hard day of hiking when we got home he would limp. I would give him a half or a full tablet of Rhymadal(sp) and he would be good to go the next day. Well then last year we were hiking in the snow and got back and he was limping and continued to limp for days so we took him in to find out it was torn. The vet said sometimes it can be immediate and sometimes it gradually gets worse. 

[Happy Gilmore]

Dr Akers in Sun Valley is the only choice in my opinion. Hands down the choice for anyone who wants a complete rehab with the most performance based experience. Also, a few thousand dollars less than others who claim better results. He made the real developments in the surgeries which benefit the long term recovery.

[birddogdad]

Ya you put the dog in a crate that is just big enough and leave it there for 8-12 weeks. It's torture.

yes tough on the dogs for sure, but the alternative is worse..... she very much understands what is happening.. has an ortho bed and camps when I am home...

[Happy Gilmore]

They should be  up and feeling good days after. Again, Dr. Akers sun valley is the guy . He developed the surgery and technology. If your vet says he didn't they are a dumb dumb.

[DoubleJ]

Dr. Brown at Raintree Vet Hospital in Hoquiam did my dog's TPLO for $2900 for one leg.  I am VERY happy with the results.  All follow up visits were included in the cost.  Dr. Brown learned the procedure from Dr. Akers directly.

[Shannon]

Dr Akers is the best. He did two on my dog about six years apart on different legs. You don't have to crate them for 12 weeks just limit there mobility for 2 months. I was walking her on leash the next day and she was putting a little wait on it already. Zero complaints on Akers and he was half price of the Seattle vets who had only done a couple hundred of the procedures if that. Akers was around 10,000 surgeries if I remember right.

[UBA]

Had to do the same tthing to my lab. Watch out for round river rock.

[87Ford]

...vets who had only done a couple hundred of the procedures if that. Akers was around 10,000 surgeries if I remember right.

Gosh that's a lot of torn ACL's!  Guess I've been fortunate with my Labs.

[DoubleJ]

Are labs pre-disposed to it like a lot of breeds are?  I had a lab/border collie that lived for 14 years at about 90lbs and never had a knee issue.  This dog is Rott/Golden Retriever and he's had TPLO once and will need another soon.  I know Rotts are on the list for weak ACL's.  Now I have to go look.......

[DoubleJ]

yup.  Labs are on the list

Cranial cruciate ligament disease can affect dogs of all sizes, breeds, and ages, but rarely cats. Certain dog breeds are known to have a higher incidence of CrCLD (Rottweiler, Newfoundland, Staffordshire Terrier, Mastiff, Akita, Saint Bernard, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, and Labrador Retriever) while others are less often affected (Greyhound, Dachshund, Basset Hound, and Old English Sheepdog). A genetic mode of inheritance has been shown for Newfoundlands and Labrador Retrievers

https://www.acvs.org/small-animal/cranial-cruciate-ligament-disease

[WapitiTalk1]

Took my yellow dog, Gus to Dr. Akers a few years ago for double TPLO.  Gus is stronger than ever.  The procedure works and works well.  Here's a quick clip of Gus on really his first outing after the recovery process; I'm guessing 4 months after the surgery? 

[birddogdad]

yes, that is awesome~! round 2 next week. first leg is doing great! Thanks for the vid!

[sidexside]

My last lab blew his acl on his right leg at age 9.  He was in great shape and still hunted great, but I wasn't going to spend thousands on a 10 year old dog, so I just let it heal on it's own, not knowing what I would end up with.  within 6 months, you couldn't tell, and he hunted for another 5 or six years (I hunt upland 25+ days a year with 10 miles being my minimum hunt).  I just put him down last summer.  I don't know that you can expect that everytime, but dogs are pretty good at healing themselves.

[Calvin Rayborn]

Sorry to hear that.

[Ridgeratt]

no walking for 12 weeks?  how does that work?

House arrest. Leash walk only out to potty, that's it.

 

When our dawg had her's done the vet gave me an example of putting a 100.00 bill on the fridge. Said if she tears it bring me back 12 more of them with the one on the fridge and he will repeat what he had just done.

Well almost 5 years to the date. She is going in for the other side on Tuesday. Grandma had her on a walk and she slipped on some ice. On the east side if anyone needs a recommendation it would be to Garland Animal in Spokane. They have been my vet for over 40 years.

[netcoyote]

My English Setter blew out his ACL five years ago at age 9. He was really at the height of his hunting career and we were out doing some conditioning in the spring when he blew it out. Made me sick. I considered the TPLO proceedure but decided I just couldn't justify it at his age. I would be loosing a whole year, maybe two of hunting and he was just getting too old by the time he would be back in the field. I decided to retire him, well....semi retire. I did get him out for some brief trips above Winthrop before his hearing got so bad that I couldn't safely let him loose in the field. I was concerned at first that he might blow out the sutures used to hold his leg together but he's not had a problem. He's now 14 and enjoys pampering and warm nights by the fire. 

[johnnyaustin44]

I will tell you this before my dog tore his after a hard day of hiking when we got home he would limp. I would give him a half or a full tablet of Rhymadal(sp) and he would be good to go the next day. Well then last year we were hiking in the snow and got back and he was limping and continued to limp for days so we took him in to find out it was torn. The vet said sometimes it can be immediate and sometimes it gradually gets worse.

Pretty much exactly what my dog is going through right now. We’ll see on Tuesday what it looks like. Doesn’t sound too good.

[Skyvalhunter]

Well you will do what you think is right for your dog. Mine was 10 at the time and it was the best money I could spend for him. I couldn't just let him go thru the rest of his life limping and wanting to be out in the mountains.

[johnnyaustin44]

Well you will do what you think is right for your dog. Mine was 10 at the time and it was the best money I could spend for him. I couldn't just let him go thru the rest of his life limping and wanting to be out in the mountains.

Oh for sure. Mine is only three and we have a lot of good hunts and sheds in our future.

[birddogdad]

update: on the road to recovery both leg surgeries complete. No complications or infections.. Amazing how good she looks now. no walking hunched and in pain, perky, happy.. 7 weeks to physical recovery...

[Skyvalhunter]

Great news make sure you stick to the recovery plan

[Happy Gilmore]

Guys are going to the wrong vet when you lose a year. Again, Dr. Akers developed the best and fastest recovering procedure anywhere. Other vets copy his procedure and some claim they did it first. None are true

[Skyvalhunter]

thanks for the report

[birddogdad]

update: well I am absolutely sold on TPLO surgery~! +9 weeks post surgery #2. My dog is her old self again. Very surprised at the atrophy from non use on the hind legs. she is gaining muscle mass now. Wants to run everywhere again, no walking... Looking forward to fall bird hunting again.. Very pleased with the staff at WSU. Was a quest to have to keep her down so long, hardest part of the process as well as the most critical.. if I can figure how to post a video, I will add later...

[WapitiTalk1]

Sweet!  Glad your pup is back in the saddle, err, back on the trail again  .