Dog has a torn ACL

Took my dog in because her back left leg seemed to tremble/shake when she was standing, vet determines she has a torn ACL. The options are medicating with glucosamine, fish oil, and pain meds, which apparently can help out quite a bit, or surgery. Surgery is apparently cheaper than I expected. Surgery for a torn ACL for a dog is typically $1,700 but for her age it’d be a different surgery for her age and about $2,200. I guess I was expecting a lot more, because surgeries and hospital procedures for humans are outrageous, but maybe that’s more of an indictment of stupid expensive healthcare costs, which is a topic for another thread.

My plan now is to try out the meds/pills and see what happens. Anyone have similar experience, tried the pills, tried the surgery, etc?

Some background: She’s 11, will be 12 in May. She’s a mix of husky & shepherd and who knows what else, I got her at a pound in Kansas when I was stationed at Fort Riley. So I know she’s getting up there in age. The vet (whose honesty was refreshing and appreciated) said that if it was his dog, at that age, he likely wouldn’t do surgery. But he also said she seems in good shape and might still have some good years left in her.

That’s kind of why I’m just looking to see if anyone else has done this surgery or not. I think subconsciously and even consciously I’m leaning towards doing it. If anyone is thinking of typing the old “I would never waste $x,xxx on a dog” don’t waste your time, I won’t listen. Think of how many people post on here when their beloved animal dies; I don’t want to get to that day and wish I would’ve done this. I got this dog less than a month after getting back from my second Iraq deployment. She’s been one of the major parts of my adult life. As I said, surgery doesn’t even really seem that expensive compared to what I was expecting. And hell, this is why I wait until things are on sale to buy them and live as frugal and cheaply as I can, so I can spend my money on the people and animals that I love. So I guess this isn’t a “should I or shouldn’t I?” post, it’s more of a “have you been through something like this, or gotten the surgery on a dog, and care to share your experience?” post?

Thanks in advance. I know IDO is full of good folks who’d kill for their pet dogs, and I’m the same.

I elected for the surgery on my previous dog. It was a 6 month recovery process. It is an owner involved and intensive recovery for the exact procedure that was done. It was a full recovery.

It’s a tough call for sure.
A few years back, my 11 year old lab tore both ACL’s. A vet from the U of M examined her and said he could do surgery. I believe it was like $3k per leg.
She would have to be immobilized for 3 months and even if I was able to do that, she could jump off the deck at any point and tear 1 or both again.
So I had to weigh the pros and cons. For me, it wasn’t about money but quality of life.
I couldn’t see putting her through that at her age. I gave her the meds the vet suggested which helped a lot. She was always a house dog, lived 2 more years and you could tell, but we took it easy and we were best buds until cancer finally won.
Given my situation, I would make the same call again.
This one is your call. Best of luck to you and your buddy!!

Dan
You have a tough call. if this were a hunting dog and you still wanted to hunt with it, surgery would most likely be your only option. Given the size and age of your dog. Id say the medication treatment is really hit and miss. I know a few friends who have treated tear’s and other muscle issues with med’s and had really good luck. I also know others who didn’t have much luck. Of the 3 dog owners who went the Surgery route. 1 did really well and fully recovered, 1 got better but never fully healed, and one ended up just as bad as prior. I’m sure this is not what you wanted to hear. If the dog doesn’t seem to be in a lot of pain, you may want to try the medication route and see how it goes. If you decide on the surgery , Id get a 2nd opinion just to make sure another Vet confirms that is for sure a torn ACL. Nothing against your vet, its just there are lots of things that could be causing the issue you described. I wish you and your dog the best of luck. Hopefully what ever you decide works and your dog gives you many more years of enjoyment

So I’m sad about my dog, now I hear stories about you guys’ dogs who I haven’t even met…….leave me alone, it’s just something in my eye…..

A good friend of mine is a surgeon that does a lot of these. He’s done both knees on two of our friends ad family’s dogs, and they’ve both done really well.

I think your approach is not bad. Unfortunately, it is quite common for a dog with a torn ACL to tear the other one while compensating for the bad leg.

My friend is a mobile surgeon, meaning he travels and does surgery at your clinic (as opposed to a general practice vet doing your surgery). If you want his contact info for a second opinion or anything, PM me.

Had the surgery done on my dog years ago , but she was 4 at the time . Lived a long and happy life afterward . Recently spent a lot more than I care to admit on our new pup that somehow had a collapsed lung . Couldn’t look my daughter in the eye and say no . You’ve got tough decision , wish you the best .

my 100lb german shepherd tore his acl last spring. Did the surgery in june. Just under 2 years old. Recovery process was like 6 weeks. sedation, no activities and what not. Then it was rehab. short walks to start. gradually building up to trotting and playing tug of war. He’s healed up well, still building strength in the leg. He runs and jumps and plays and barks and plays and plays just fine.
It cost me around $2200. One surgeon wanted six grand. Board certified and whatnot.

My GSP Fritz had a torn ACL last May and we opted for the surgery. It was about $2300 from what I recall, but we do have the Pet Plan Insurance which helped quite a bit with that. Fritz is only 5 so we have many years of hunting and running left, so it wasn’t a hard decision to do the surgery and since then he’s made a full recovery!

See my post here: https://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/fritzs-surgery-today/

I was a nervous wreck for about 2 months. There’s quite a bit of physical therapy which I did at home following the vet’s instructions. There’s a lengthy restriction period which was challenging to enforce at times, as GSPs are born to RUN! But it was totally worth it. Fritz enjoyed a successful pheasant hunting season with us and his brother Remi! See that post here.

Fritz really enjoyed the massaging part of his recovery plan, and luckily Remi is a snuggler, so I spent a lot of my summer on the floor with my boys. Chances are, we might have to do this again someday for Fritz’s other knee… And I’ll probably be a nervous wreck all over again, as it’s in my nature.

One of my daughter’s dog had the surgery. I’m trying to see how to tag her here on this post, I’m sure she could help.

Are you around @Sharon M ?

S.R.

Good timing, Dad! I just posted my response about Fritz.

I should have known Thank you Sharon!

S.R.

My Lab, Jake, had the surgery and recovered well. Years later, he had trouble again. This time I decided no activity or getting up and down off furniture for 3 weeks and he was well again. Start with the doggie motrin and lots of rest. You can always do the surgery.

We have big dogs and ACL problems are the norm. We spend a fortune on Tramadol. Never did the surgery, but in hindsight probably much, much cheaper.

Typically, there are two different surgeries that are prescribed for torn cruciate ligaments in canines. There is one called a Lateral Suture, which is where they attach a heavy duty monofilament line to the parts of the knee to replace the ligament. This is typically done on dogs 50 lbs or less, or older dogs that do not need the more aggressive TPLO surgery. TPLO is for younger dogs that are athletic or hunters. The costs between these two, should range between 1600 to 2k for the suture version, to 2300 to 3k for the TPLO.

I had a dog that had both done and the recovery time was’nt that bad or long.They were done about 8 months apart.The worst part was carrying up and down the stairs for a short while.I got 8 more years out the surgery before a respitory issue took her.I know the age is an issue but trust your vet.

Tough call Dan. Every situation is different and you will ultimately make the right call. Never had this happen but been through plenty of decisions with our best furry friends. It’s never easy that is for sure but you will do what is best. Keep us updated please

in the repair type photo, my dog got the metal plate on the right.

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My girl had here torn ACL repaired when she was 9 months old. Imagine trying to keep a 9 month old lab relaxed! We also lived in a split entry house at the time, like another poster said, the biggest pain was carrying her up and down the stairs all the time. The surgery was back in 2012 and for the past 7 years I cringe every time she jumps or does anything that could re injure. Thankfully she hasn’t but its always in the back of my head. Looks like the prices have went down, by the time we were all said and done we were close to 4,000 into it.

A little tip for anyone with a dog struggling with stair issues. Take one of those reusable grocery bags and cut the end panels out of it. Then, you can slip it under the dog and use it as a cheap sling with handles to assist the dog up and down the stairs.

Just thought I’d update everyone since I appreciate all the responses and some of you had asked for updates.

It’s been a tough call and I’ll never really know whether I made the best decision or not. She turns 12 this month and for a husky mix that’s not young; I could do the surgery and it could be rough on her and she could die in a year or two, or I could not get the surgery and she lives another 6 years and I’d wonder every day if I should’ve done surgery and made her life better. Another wild card is having an 11-month-old now. After reading some of the stories from other IDO’ers it would be awful tough to work the work schedules my wife and I work, manage an active infant, and be able to devote enough time to a recovering dog who needs therapy and additional help.

After the initial appointment she got pain pills and the vet wanted to see her in a week or so to do bloodwork to see if the pills were affecting her negatively. Bloodwork came back fine so she can handle the pain pills.

I had a different vet (same business) this time and he worded things a little better to make me comfortable. He said that at this stage my dog is like a person who’s getting arthritic in old age. He said with the arthritic person there’s good days and bad days and when you have a few bad days you have to medicate to combat it.

She seems somewhat ok and normal most of the time. Her leg with the bad knee still shakes a lot but when I get the stroller out for my son the dog gets up and gets excited to go on a walk, so she still wants to have fun. I typically take her for just a few blocks and then bring her back home and then continue walking to the park for my kid. Then she gets a pain pill about 50% of days.

Most of the time you can’t even really tell there’s something extra bothering her besides old age. I’m going to continue to monitor and do the best I can to keep her comfortable and happy.

Glad things are going ok. Reading your post I would recommend you talk to your vet about an injectable joint supplement called adequate. It can really help some dogs. Good luck.