Vet or Experience Question - ACL or ?

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BirddogGSP

Active member
I have a 6 year old lab. Went hunting for a couple hours back in March 2016. Dog was fine during the hunt and exhibit no signs of issues. Got home and a couple hours afterward was limping and not bearing weight on her right rear leg. We gave her some Rimadyl and all was fine the next day.

I've mentioned this to vet on last check up and he did a quick check with no xrays. Said she had symmetry, muscle mass didnt see any issues.

We had some kids visiting yesterday and playing fetch with the dog and she comes up lame again in right rear. Give her 1/2 Rimadyl and fine next day. Today she's begging to play fetch.

She has no limping or issues on long walks or getting around. Can bear weight on right rear. I'm hoping it's not an ACL. Friend said if it was ACL dog wouldnt be able to bear weight at all.

Planning on bringing her in for Xrays. What questions or test should be done?
I've read about the drawer test for ACL.

Any and all help/comments are appreciated.
 
Lots of lookers no takers...
I don't think it's ACL as I've talked to two coworkers and they said dog couldn't bear weight at all until surgery was completed.. I'm praying it's not ACL but not sure what else it could be.
 
When one of my Brittanys tore her ACL ... she could not put any weight on the leg at all ... it kind of dangled ...

Partial tear or other ligament ... I suppose it could be ... ask your vet or find a vet with more thorough training.

Arthritis is not a simple health problem to manage. It typically is chronic (vs. acute) with some days better than others. Just like people. X-rays will quickly tell if there is some joint deterioration and arthritis setting in.

Actually an ACL injury if repaired (surgery costs vary widely) can prove to be a one time deal ... although some say the other side can be prone to go then too. Where as arthritis is a long term chronic problem to deal with ... Pain meds and homeopathic solutions are available, but for the remainder of the dog's life.
 
In my experience, dogs get sprains and strains just like people do. Not to talk you out of getting it checked, but if it is a 1 day deal and has only happened twice in 6 years, I would lean towards just being a simple joint sprain or strained muscle.
 
BRITTMAN said:
When one of my Brittanys tore her ACL ... she could not put any weight on the leg at all ... it kind of dangled ...

Partial tear or other ligament ... I suppose it could be ... ask your vet or find a vet with more thorough training.

Arthritis is not a simple health problem to manage. It typically is chronic (vs. acute) with some days better than others. Just like people. X-rays will quickly tell if there is some joint deterioration and arthritis setting in.

Actually an ACL injury if repaired (surgery costs vary widely) can prove to be a one time deal ... although some say the other side can be prone to go then too. Where as arthritis is a long term chronic problem to deal with ... Pain meds and homeopathic solutions are available, but for the remainder of the dog's life.
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Thanks for the info. Heading in this week for xrays. Hoping for the best.
 
I spoke to vet yesterday and he said he did the drawer test on her last check up in May and noticed no issues and really sounded like it wasnt ACL issue. I'm going to take her on a run and see what happens.
 
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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mlf3882 said:
agree with westksbowhunter bout getting dog checked out...below is link to article in gun dog mag about 3 separate diseases in dogs, one of them talked about is Lyme Disease. if vet decides it is just OA (osteoarthritis) consider trying 81mg of Aspirin daily...ask your vet of course.

http://www.gundogmag.com/health-nutrition/3-life-threatening-dog-diseases-to-know/
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All, thanks for the info. We're going in next week and will mention all. It's crazy what these dogs do and will do.
 
BirddogGSP said:
All, thanks for the info. We're going in next week and will mention all. It's crazy what these dogs do and will do.
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Feeding a high quality food like Dr. Tims or Eukanuba can make a difference. You may very well have a dog with dysplasia. A poor diet, keeping a dog overweight, genetics, and jumping in an out of the back of the truck can ruin and injure hips. I just wonder if that is the case since rymadyl seemed to help eleviate pain.
 
westksbowhunter said:
Feeding a high quality food like Dr. Tims or Eukanuba can make a difference. You may very well have a dog with dysplasia. A poor diet, keeping a dog overweight, genetics, and jumping in an out of the back of the truck can ruin and injure hips. I just wonder if that is the case since rymadyl seemed to help eleviate pain.
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Feeding her Fromm dog food and 2.5 cups a day. She walks every day and is pretty buff. Exam is scheduled for Monday am.
 
Dogs are athletes and certain can injure shoulders, knees, paws ... time to heal is not always know and the dog is not going to tell you and most hunting dogs have the drive to go until it is time to stop ... when the injury (limp) reshows itself.

I have seen quite a few front should injuries (especially during grouse season) and back leg injuries that can last more than a few days.

I would be very careful running your dog on asphalt or concrete ... long term I believe it can and does damage some dogs. We walk our dogs on asphalt roads, but they do their running / conditioning in fields.

I give buffered pet aspirin to my older dogs after they work out and show they need a little pain relief.
 
Update - Just got back from vet and he's pretty confident that it's not an acl and more than likely a tinge of arthritis. He spent close to 40 minutes with dog and my barrage of questions. I asked him if it was his dog would he do the xrays and more test. He said he wouldn't as she has no swelling, no fluid, no issues with drawer test on knee. I asked about Lyme, and fungus and the answer was she didnt exhibit symptoms. I think we are going cut back some on food, more exercise add some water work for conditioning.
 
Well, if injuries must happen, that sure sounds like a good one to have. Seems the Vet was conscientious and attentive.

Best wishes to the pup and the owner for a rapid recovery.

:thumbsup:
 
BirddogGSP said:
Update - Just got back from vet and he's pretty confident that it's not an acl and more than likely a tinge of arthritis. He spent close to 40 minutes with dog and my barrage of questions. I asked him if it was his dog would he do the xrays and more test. He said he wouldn't as she has no swelling, no fluid, no issues with drawer test on knee. I asked about Lyme, and fungus and the answer was she didnt exhibit symptoms. I think we are going cut back some on food, more exercise add some water work for conditioning.
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So what about hip dysplasia? It is a serious problem in the labrador breed. I know that my vet is as good as it gets and the very first thing she would do is an xray. You don't know anymore now than when you started this thread. The xray would let you know if you are dealing with arthritis, dysplasia, or a soft tissue injury.
 
BirddogGSP said:
Update - Just got back from vet and he's pretty confident that it's not an acl and more than likely a tinge of arthritis. He spent close to 40 minutes with dog and my barrage of questions. I asked him if it was his dog would he do the xrays and more test. He said he wouldn't as she has no swelling, no fluid, no issues with drawer test on knee. I asked about Lyme, and fungus and the answer was she didnt exhibit symptoms. I think we are going cut back some on food, more exercise add some water work for conditioning.
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If it is arthritis, prescription Rimadyl (NSAID) works wonders. Always keep a small supply on hand. I use it on my older dog during the hunting season if he gets a little stiff or comes up a little lame the next day.

I also use this Glucosamine supplement once a day in his food: http://www.nutrabio.com/product/51970/

He doesn't have arthritis but use it rather as a maintenance regime.
 
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Update: It Happened

Had a neighbor kid let her out and play fetch and she comes up lame on right rear leg. We bring her into Emergency and 2.5 hours later and xrays and drawer test show ACL blow out.

Now I have a bunch of questions before we have surgery:
1) There's three types. What are the pros and cons of each?
2) Do I need a orthopedic certified surgeon or someone who has done it for years?
3) Has anyone done water therapy afterward to strengthen muscle without the stress on bones/joints etc? Wonder if that clinically decreases likelihood of other knee going too.
4) Recovery Time - How long is typical recovery? How long before hunting? Am I better off skipping season and letting her totally recover without the stress. I can't believe that might have to be an option. I haven't missed a season in 28 years.

appreciate everyone's guidance and thoughts.
 
I am glad you finally got it diagnosed. As far as your questions, these are things that you need to discuss with your vet. And I would get a 2nd opinion. It is a very expensive and long process. You have not told us whether it is a partial tear or a complete blow out. I believe on average the surgery and rehab will run about $7000. If you do the therapy yourself you can cut the cost significantly. I thought that I read somewhere that 50% of the dogs that tear an acl will eventual tear and acl in the opposite limb. There is no way you are going to hunt that dog this year. Your looking at 6 months of recovery time.

By the way, I would suggest a new vet for your dog. There is no way my vet would not have caught this right off. My female lab came up limp back in the spring. I took her in and the very first thing out of her mouth was to eliminate the ACL first thing with an xray. The xray revealed no acl problem but a thorn driven up in the paw. It was a 2 inch long locust thorn. Had it been acl we would have caught it on the first visit. My dog was back to full activity the next day.
 
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I'm going to cut him a bit of slack as it was couple weeks after so no swelling and it may have been a partial tear. I am getting a second opinion. I spoke to the emergency vet from last night and he recommended a board certified surgeon especially for working dogs.
 
Spoke to a friend of family who runs a vet practice. He basically said the TPLO is the gold standard today but is expensive @ $ 3.5-4K. He had good success with lateral stabilization over the years. At $ 1,200 per knee it's much cheaper than TPLO. TPLO gets the dog more anatomically more correct along with slightly less chance for arthritis in the future. This whole thing sucks.
 
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