Cruciate Ligament
Sky seems to have torn his cruciate ligament on the left hind leg today. Nothing is official because he needed to be under sedation to tell for certain, and we didn't do that today. Probably in the next couple of days. I was curious is anyone else has had this happen to a dog and what your experiences were. Did you do surgery or no? How much did it cost?
Last month's Whole Dog Journal talked about alternatives to surgery, but it seems they are not any cheaper than surgery (which the vet today said could range from $1500-2000 and up). I am concerned about the effectiveness of such surgery and about how long I'm going to have to PBJ to pay for it! My mom is not encouraging. Her words were "it's a dog, if it's going to be that expensive you need to just put him down." =(
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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My parents' Chessie had the surgery and is now hunting sound. She tore it going over a log in the water and her leg slipped. The surgery involved putting in a filament, and then scar tissue grows around it and stabilizes it. The rehab phase is very important, as activity too soon can prevent proper healing. Of course you won't put him down, that's ridiculous!
I think the outcomes are generally better with surgery if the tear is complete. If the ligament is just injured, then it can heal on its own with a very long rest period. If it's not a complete tear, then you would need to assess Sky's personality and decide if he would handle surgery better, or a long period of inactivity better. My parents' dog ruptured hers completely, so surgery was the only real option. They took her to an orthopedic vet. She was allowed no activity but potty breaks for a set period (not very long, I think it was about 2 weeks), then VERY short leash walks for a period (like, to the corner and back) then gradually increasing leash walks for some time before any off-leash activity was allowed. She tolerated it all very well and she is NOT an easy dog by anyone's definition.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I had somewhat the same experience with Wynn and they would have had to sedate him. They did give him 3 days of prednisoine(sp) and said this would help right away within a day or 2 and if not he would have to come in and be sedated, Wynn had a slight limp for a couple days and needed no futher medical care.He did this on a 1st spring day and I think just overdid himself. I hope Sky's is not serious! Good Luck!
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Permalink Reply by Sky and Lyla on
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So Wynn got hurt just a few months ago? What I was reading in the WDJ article (man, that was good timing on that article!) was that most dogs will get better and be asymptomatic for a while but the knee would still be inflammed and then arthritis would set in and still need surgery eventually. So did Wynn go back to the vet and they said he was fine and not to worry about it? I'm curious. I would love it if Sky was that easy, but I don't want it to turn into a chronic condition like th WDJ made it sound.
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Wynn got hurt when he was about 1 so that would be 4 years ago. If he overdoes it he will occasionally limp but he definitely did not tear it too bad. The vet did say surgery if it didn't work with the meds but thank goodness it did.I'm sure it all depends how bad BUT Wynn would also make a terrible patient so we were lucky!
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Oh, that is great!! I certainly hope Sky's is that easy! He would be a terrible patient too, and he's already so confused as to why I've put him in a crate all day. I felt so bad for him tonight, I gave him a turkey neck for dinner. He loved that! :) He's in a giant crate though (seriously, a Dane could fit in it comfortably) so he has a little room to stretch out. I hope everything works out okay on the end and I can afford to do what I need. I have a feeling his agility career is over though, which is sad, Sky loves agility.
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That is sad. I'm sorry to hear that. I'll bet he could do Rally, though!
My parents' dog is a terrible patient, but post-surgery she self-limited her activity pretty well. The leg is weak and it seems to affect the dog's behavior accordingly. Hopefully it's just something minor and it won't come to that, but if he does need the surgery his behavior may pleasantly surprise you.
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Permalink Reply by Susan Temple on
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Oh poor Sky. Our 4 year old Corgi, Peanut, tore his Cruciate when he was under a year old. Now we had been through this THREE times with our big rotti-mix so we knew what to expect. We have a wonderful vet, and Peanut's surgery was about $800. Here's something we've found out over the years. Some vets that appear to be 'home town' vets are not. They are owned by conglomerates which dictate pricing AND treatment. One vet we had brought our Rottie to was not even willing to treat him unless he had an MRI, which was not necessary. This really jacks up costs. If you look around you will find the surgery price will vary. Our vet is a traditional vet who owns his own practice. His overhead is not nearly as big as a vet who is owned by a conglomerate. If you are really strapped for $ you can try going to a veterinary school if there is one in your area. Another suggestion is www.carecredit.com which will finance your vet bills. I know a lot of people are hurting financially these days, but your Mom's comments really make me sad. When we agree to take on the care of a pet it means facing sacrifices for their sake. Sometimes those sacrifices are financial. I hope that Sky feels better soon.
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Thanks for the valuable info! I'm hoping to get a better idea tomorrow when I talk to our vet, today I went just went to the after hours clinic. And I take my mom with a grain of salt. :) She would rather I have a husband and kids and no dogs, lol.
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Permalink Reply by Cindy P on
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My daughter's corgi tore hers about 2 years ago. When she went to college she took her to the vet school and it was outrageously expensive. That isn't the way to go in our case. She's just treating her symptoms until she can afford the surgery. Rimadyl helps.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Sorry to hear that! Sparty partially tore his a few years ago and we decided not to do surgery. He would make a terrible patient! They did have to put him out but we needed to have his teeth cleaned anyway.So far he has been fine but we have eliminated some of his favorite activities and he does occasionally have problems with arthritis. I toss him the ball to catch instead of having him chase it and keep walks more often and shorter distances. He was on rymidal for several months at first but has not been on it in several years now. My neighbors dog had a full tear, had the surgery and rehab and did pretty well. I am pretty sure she spent about $2500 . Best of luck to you!
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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I just got back from our Emergency Vet Clinic, and Seanna seems to have done the exact same thing, exact same leg. They gave us an estimate of $2500 for surgery. We take her to our vet in the AM to talk about having the sedation done to tell for sure. She was outside playing with our German Shepherd and came back in not putting any weight on that leg. We waited all day to see if she'd start using it again, but she was still hobbling tonight. Now she's penned in her kennel whining...I think it's harder on me! Can't chase the cats, rough-house with her sister, go on our walks, etc...I feel your pain with the price of surgery--I however am in the situation I can afford it (with a payment plan) and I will do anything for my animals. Check into a payment plan though--all my vets have let me do that...keep me informed--we can suffer together!
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Oh no!! I'm so sorry! It seems to be a bad day for legs. Sky too is in a crate and it's killing him (and me). My Internet is also down, it's just one of those days, and typing on the phone is annoying, but I'll be in touch tomorrow and we can compare vet notes. I hate that you are going through it too, but it feels a little better to have a "buddy."
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