Vet or Experience Question - ACL or ?

westksbowhunter said:
I assume by your last post you did not get an xray. GO GET ONE! Could very well be a soft tissue injury. I would also have the dog tested for lymes disease. Also don't rule out Pano. And she could be dysplastic. No way to know without the proper testing. Taking her on a run is a recipe for disaster, that isn't going to solve the issue and may lead to further damage.

What type of food do you feed and how much?
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I dont know that an x-ray will show soft tissues anyway. X-rays are to rule out bone damage. MRI's are to check tissues and joint injuries. But everyone here is still right. I would not run the dog until cleared by a vet to do so. Drawer tests, (ant. drawer, post. drawer) are performed to assess cruciate and collateral ligaments in the joints within the legs. I would walk the dog first when you do go to try him. Then walk up stairs and up and down hills. If the dog does ok with that and is not showing signs of being sore the next day, then I would let him run a little.
 
About 20 years ago I paid about $700 for the ACL repair from my local vet who had plenty of experience. Durability of the repair was excellent. The dog (female Brittany) hunted 6 months later and continued to hunt until she retired. The University of Minnesota want almost triple ...

The probability of the other ACL tearing is apparently higher - so keep that in mind.
 
Update

Quick update on the pooch. The surgery appears to be successful. We're coming up on 14 days today. Staples have been removed. She's bearing weight on it and is able to walk with no issues. Vet said to start taking her on walks and start building up mileage. He said the opener in SD was not happening. I'm still planning on going to SD for opener. It will just be more social this trip.. My boots are going to see lots of mileage and ditches...
 
Hi Birddog,
Glad to hear the surgery seemed to go well and your companion is recovering well. We had the TPLO done on 7 year old yellow lab Taylor about 14 years ago. After the 6-8 month rehabilitation period he had two years of full unrestricted activity including hunting and backpacking. Then he blew out his other ACL-you just never know. We did not fix that, just did some physical therapy and tried to limit his activity. He got around pretty well until arthritis set in. He was 13.5 when he told us it was time to go-euthanized in the back yard by a mobile vet, our new standard.
Tom
 
Just got passed the 4 week mark and she's doing remarkably well. We've done 3 therapy session @ $85 a pop which include cold laser and h20 treadmill. I think I'll do the exercises at home and save some $. We go in a couple weeks for xray of bone.
 
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