OT: Our Rescue Golden blew out his ACL in back left leg

THEBuckeye

Buck is 10-11-12. We're not sure, we rescued him. Came up lame today and we got him to our Vet before their noon closing. We're referred to an Orthopedic specialist for likely surgery next week, 

He simply walked down a few outside steps, we think. Apparently this is not uncommon based on the normal angle of the knee joint and the wear and tear over time.

Anybody been through the post surgery rehab for with your best friends? 

Wolfpack

Sister in laws dog had the surgery twice- their dog never got the same level of mobility back but she could move around. She was a black lab. 

THEBuckeye

Wolfpack said:

Sister in laws dog had the surgery twice- their dog never got the same level of mobility back but she could move around. She was a black lab. 

Ya - I've read if one goes the odds the other will go too. 

TFols

One of my Goldens tore his about 4 years ago he's 11 now. Rehab as I remember wasn't too bad. We have 4 steps going into the house so I built a ramp for him and put indoor/outdoor carpet on it so he could get in and out easier. The biggest pain was keeping him from licking the incision. We would put the collar of shame on him when we left the house, he was not happy when he saw that coming. His mobility is pretty good considering his hips aren't that great. Good luck, hope things work out well if he does need the surgery.

Hokie_Smoker

THEBuckeye said:

Buck is 10-11-12. We're not sure, we rescued him. Came up lame today and we got him to our Vet before their noon closing. We're referred to an Orthopedic specialist for likely surgery next week, 

He simply walked down a few outside steps, we think. Apparently this is not uncommon based on the normal angle of the knee joint and the wear and tear over time.

Anybody been through the post surgery rehab for with your best friends? 

@TheBuckeye, my 6 year old Newfie goes in on Tuesday for right rear ACL surgery. We don't have children so this dog means everything to us. Good luck to Buck, and please share a prayer/positives vibes for Merle.

THEBuckeye

Hokie_Smoker said: THEBuckeye said:
Buck is 10-11-12. We're not sure, we rescued him. Came up lame today and we got him to our Vet before their noon closing. We're referred to an Orthopedic specialist for likely surgery next week, 

He simply walked down a few outside steps, we think. Apparently this is not uncommon based on the normal angle of the knee joint and the wear and tear over time.

Anybody been through the post surgery rehab for with your best friends?  @TheBuckeye, my 6 year old Newfie goes in on Tuesday for right rear ACL surgery. We don't have children so this dog means everything to us. Good luck to Buck, and please share a prayer/positives vibes for Merle. Good luck to you! We're empty nesters and Buck is SHMBO's "Baby".  Mine too but I won't admit it 

We'll root for Merle and let's PM later in the week! 

Hokie_Smoker

THEBuckeye said:

Hokie_Smoker said:

THEBuckeye said:

Buck is 10-11-12. We're not sure, we rescued him. Came up lame today and we got him to our Vet before their noon closing. We're referred to an Orthopedic specialist for likely surgery next week, 

He simply walked down a few outside steps, we think. Apparently this is not uncommon based on the normal angle of the knee joint and the wear and tear over time.

Anybody been through the post surgery rehab for with your best friends? 

@TheBuckeye, my 6 year old Newfie goes in on Tuesday for right rear ACL surgery. We don't have children so this dog means everything to us. Good luck to Buck, and please share a prayer/positives vibes for Merle.

Good luck to you! We're empty nesters and Buck is SHMBO's "Baby".  Mine too but I won't admit it 

We'll root for Merle and let's PM later in the week!  Sounds great.  We might even talk about that game coming up on Labor Day.

Hook_emHornsfan_74

Our yorkiepoo has to have surgery on both knees on her back legs soon. We are terrified. She is like one of our kids. Apparently it's common on the yourkie side. 

bigalsworth

We have a mastiff that had TPLO surgery on her hind knee in February.  It was a 4 month recovery, absolutely no running, jumping, or stairs for 3 months.  Lots of leg massages, cold packs, and stretches for the 4 months.  After 12 weeks we could take her on short flat walks and over the month work up to small inclines and figure 8s to get her to use the leg the surgery was on.  For a TPLO the bone gets sawed and moved up and a plate put in, I'm not sure what happens with ACL surgery but this was our experience with recovery

Edit: I did a bit of reading and the ACL is the same ligament my dog tore.  I think there are several surgeries that can be done and TPLO is the one recommended to us.  When we first took her into the vet they recommended crate confinememt for a couple weeks with no running, jumping, walking to try to allow it to heal.  Our girl has some separation anxiety and locking her up in a crate is not an option so we were not able to get her to heal naturally.  By the way here in Canada the cost of TPLO surgery is $3000

mahenryak

Our little English Russell sometimes struggles to hop up the first step to our patio. Then other times its no problem at all.   Maybe its time I get a ramp for the little guy.  I sure hope your Golden comes out of this okay.

Chief9

Please keep the thread updated. 

Eggingaround

We have a Golden that went through the same surgery years ago.  She is not as agile as she was before the injury.  Biggest problem was keeping her down for a few days top heal. She was on meds to help keep her calm. The biggest piece of advice is to talk to your vet about board certified and non board certified surgeons. We opted for non certified that had hundreds of surgeries and years of experience, saved more than 50% in vet. costs. Our Vet actually told us to go with the non certified Dr. since they do most of the surgeries in pet hospitals. Best of luck to your Golden. 

YukonRon

My Golden was my life while I was deployed. I got her home, and I initially thought it was the hip curse of the Golden breed. Just to be sure, I took her to the vet, and she diagnosed the same problem you share with yours. Surgery followed, and after a very regimented, and totally dialed in readiness program, within 60 days, she was GTG.
The healing process must be followed for long term success.
I was very lucky. I had her for 16 years. All active duty. I had to put her down over the Christmas holidays due to cancer. I have not yet regained the courage or the heart to replace the Golden, that fetched nothing, chewed my boots, and slept soundly in my rack, for years.
Do whatever it takes, to keep yours around. It is a part of your life ghost will never get better. Ever.
Hoping all goes well.

SGH

THEBuckeye said:

Anybody been through the post surgery rehab for with your best friends? 

No sir, I haven't. But I'm certainly sorry to hear this about your old friend. Hope that he makes a full recovery and is back to top form real soon. 

Scottborasjr

Similar to @YukonRon my Black Lab, which was a present from my wife before we got married went through this. Unfortunately the cancer set in a little sooner and after paying for the ACL I was unable to prolong her life. I miss Maybell every day, and haven't had the courage to adopt another furry friend.  I keep thinking when my youngest child is a year or two older I will but I still haven't decided. 

YukonRon

Scottborasjr said:

Similar to @YukonRon my Black Lab, which was a present from my wife before we got married went through this. Unfortunately the cancer set in a little sooner and after paying for the ACL I was unable to prolong her life. I miss Maybell every day, and haven't had the courage to adopt another furry friend.  I keep thinking when my youngest child is a year or two older I will but I still haven't decided. 

You, my friend, is what courage is all about. Keep it together and keep the faith !

mahenryak

I was a little reluctant to post these pics because I didn't want to hijack this thread.  But for those who have lost a dog and are hesitant to get another, I present the pics below.  We had to put down the older one about two Thanksgivings ago.  The younger one is still with us and is now our pride and joy.  Well, at least he's our joy  .  There was a two year age difference and we did not realize how attached the younger one was to his older sibling until he was gone.  We had to bring the younger one along and it almost felt like a rescue situation even though we had had him since he was a pup.  Moral of the story?  lol, I guess I don't really know except that dogs are great companions and I think what I learned from this experience is that as painful as the loss was, I always want one around.  Again, good luck with your challenge TheBuckeye.

Scottborasjr

Beautiful pics @mahenryak My lab was attached to a Dachsund. When the weiner dog passed we continued to introduce other dogs in hope to improve her mood but she was never the same after the Weiner dog passed. 

mahenryak

Thank you, @Scottborasjr.  We were tempted to try and do the same for our little guy but in his case he was such a basket case we felt we needed to just try and bond with him ourselves.  My wife stays at home and he has since become her dog--so to speak.  Fortunately, he's made great strides and now really is a special little dog.  He enjoys company and has a healthy balance of independence.

THEBuckeye

YukonRon said:

My Golden was my life while I was deployed. I got her home, and I initially thought it was the hip curse of the Golden breed. Just to be sure, I took her to the vet, and she diagnosed the same problem you share with yours. Surgery followed, and after a very regimented, and totally dialed in readiness program, within 60 days, she was GTG.
The healing process must be followed for long term success.
I was very lucky. I had her for 16 years. All active duty. I had to put her down over the Christmas holidays due to cancer. I have not yet regained the courage or the heart to replace the Golden, that fetched nothing, chewed my boots, and slept soundly in my rack, for years.
Do whatever it takes, to keep yours around. It is a part of your life ghost will never get better. Ever.
Hoping all goes well.

We've lost two Goldens earlier - cancer and an auto-immune horror. My fear with Buck is not so much the surgery and rehab it's the sense we've started the "break your heart" phase. 

16 years - wow. Thanks for sharing, Ron.

Dobie

Describe what exactly they said they would do during the procedure? 

THEBuckeye

They essentially cut the femur bone and attach screws and a plate in order re-establish the proper angle in the joint in order to stabilize the joint.  Right now, there's no stability in the joint. Think RGIII. 

We're talking a 10-12 week rehab period frown what I'm reading. 

But don't quote me on that 

bigalsworth

That is TPLO surgery I can give you the exact instructions from the vet for  our dogs recovery if you want.  And just so you know she is good as new

Dyal_SC

Our 11 year old beagle tore hers several weeks ago. We opted for crate confinement with pain killers for 3 weeks to allow the scar tissue to build up. She seems good as new and doesn't even have a limp now.  

Dobie

THEBuckeye said:

They essentially cut the femur bone and attach screws and a plate in order re-establish the proper angle in the joint in order to stabilize the joint.  Right now, there's no stability in the joint. Think RGIII. 

We're talking a 10-12 week rehab period frown what I'm reading. 

But don't quote me on that 

I had the TPLO surgery and wouldnt rush into it. If the ligament is torn I would first just have them go in and clean up the tears a bit and use some meds after to reduce inflammation and limit exercise after that. My female Dobie had the TPLO around age 3 and it was to be the "fix" because the leg bones dont align up correctly they said. While I think theres a place in verterinary medicine for this procedure in some cases I also think some vets get referral fees for steering people to the surgeon for this expensive and highly invasive surgery. Recovery is brutal and resilts are not guarenteed. Get a second opinion if they aren't receptive to the less invasive procedure I mentioned above.  

dmchicago

My lab, Eli (pictured) blew his out at 6 months. Running around on the frozen tundra of Chicago during the Polar Vortex winter of 2013-2014. 

Had the surgery, don't remember which one but do remember my vet having a strong opinion about one and a negative about another which I confirmed talking to another vet and other dog owners.

The after care was a chore. A 6 month old LAB puppy who can't go out, is confined to a playpen for the first 30 days was hard. After that, short walks...just enough to do his business. Then gradually extending the walks a block a week to the 90 day mark.

he's as good as new and can leap a chaise lounge chair like a show pony.

Also, our surgeon told us about the if they blow one, highly likely to blow out the other.

She has two labs and both have had both repaired and according to her, you'd never know.

Good luck!

THEBuckeye

Our vet says it's a complete tear based on the the de facto standard physical exam. She didn't do X-rays ($$$) because she know the surgeon will do his own. We're considering all options but on the surface we're leaning to TPLO. We trust our Vet, perhaps blindly, but this is our third Golden we've trusted her with.  We'll see what the surgeon says. No decisions yet. 

We're only looking forward as far as his next potty - an ordeal in itself due to 3-4 stairs to get up/down - and the next pain med dose. 

What's so hard is that Buck is getting up there is age and we want to give him the best quality of life with what he has left. And, if we do nothing, the arthritis gets worse faster and the other leg/ACL is more likely to tear based on the additional stress. Then he's screwed. 

Us dog lovers all know, it all SUCKS at the end. We're just hoping we're not close to that yet. 

Thanks for your comments @Dobie.

THEBuckeye

Our vet says it's a complete tear based on the the de facto standard physical exam. She didn't do X-rays ($$$) because she know the surgeon will do his own. We're considering all options but on the surface we're leaning to TPLO. We trust our Vet, perhaps blindly, but this is our third Golden we've trusted her with.  We'll see what the surgeon says. No decisions yet. 

We're only looking forward as far as his next potty - an ordeal in itself due to 3-4 stairs to get up/down - and the next pain med dose. 

What's so hard is that Buck is getting up there is age and we want to give him the best quality of life with what he has left. And, if we do nothing, the arthritis gets worse faster and the other leg/ACL is more likely to tear based on the additional stress. Then he's screwed.

Us dog lovers all know, it all SUCKS at the end. We're just hoping we're not close to that yet. 

Thanks for your comments @Dobie.

THEBuckeye

Dyal_SC said:

Our 11 year old beagle tore hers several weeks ago. We opted for crate confinement with pain killers for 3 weeks to allow the scar tissue to build up. She seems good as new and doesn't even have a limp now.  

I understand that's not a great option for a larger dog. Buck weighs 75 pounds. That, and the scar tissue is more likely to tear again. 

Happy for you that your Beagle is doing well. You must be slipping her some of that Jerk Pork under the table

Dyal_SC

Yeah Sassy is 30 lbs soak and wet, so we were able to tote her up and down the stairs.  Sassy, Tilly and I wish y'all the best!  

Dobie

Just use critical thinking when considering procedures. Its tough to do when your buddy is suffering and the surgeon has the answer. Its not the cost and they know that, you love that dog. Your dog is older and has a soft tissue injury right now. Sawing bones in half and plating back together with metal plates and screws is not going to change the soft tissue damage but is supposed to align the bones to further reduce the soft tissue stress because they say the bones are misaligned. Your dog has lived into senior years without needing a bone realignment involving bone sawing. Animals get soft tissue injuries just like we do just be critical of the methods used to "correct " them.
my girl was never the same as before and we were sold she would be 100% and she was only 3 then. In my case I regret putting her through what in hindsight I wish I would have taken less invasive action first. Your dog will be able to walk again in three months but it will be a year before the heal is complete and still could be lame. Thats a big portion of a dogs life spent in painfull recovery not to mention the at home care required. Good luck on whatever decision you make and keep us informed.  Either way keep the dog as light weight as possible and limit exercise drastically going forward.