The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Dogs => Topic started by: Daisys Mum on May 30, 2017, 08:16:06 am
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my 10 year old JRT has damaged her cruciate ligament and so is hopping on 3 legs, vet has recommended leaving it to heal itself.Does anyone have any idea how long this is likely to take?
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Oh dear. It depends on how bad the damage is. If it's ruptured, I can't see that it will mend itself.
Our collie cross hurt hers years ago and she still has a bit of trouble with it now.
Did your vet have any idea about the extent of the damage or advise how long to rest her?
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Usually about 6-10 weeks crate rest will allow the joint to scar and stabilise itself.
If you're not keen on this, you could request surgical options, which may well involve an orthopaedic specialist if your own vets don't do it, and may be very expensive, take similar timeframe of rest due to cutting and realigning bones, and have a similar outcome for a small dog.
Hope this helps and she's feeling better soon.
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If ruptured it will NOT heal. If torn a little or pulled it needs complete cage rest, only out on lead for wees and poos, for 5 to 6 weeks. I do know of one brittany (Extremely energetic breed and nuts of kept restrained, believe me!!!) My own girl had to have expensive surgery at 9 as hers was ruptured - cost me £2K, and 6 weeks rest.(her not me :innocent:). She lived to 1 week short of her 15th birthday with not further problems or treatment. Check with your vet whether it is ruptured or torn.
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It is irrelevant whether partial or full tear of the ligament. Neither option looks to repair the ligament that is damaged.
Conservative management with crate rest allows the rest of the joint to form a scar that is tight around the joint to prevent instability where the ligament can no longer do this, but if the surgery is done instead, it usually realigns the bones so that the new angle of the joint means that there isn't the instability.
Conservative management can work as well as surgery, but not in larger dogs as the forces on the joint are much greater and the scar tissue alone will not be strong enough to support the weight long term.
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if the surgery is done instead, it usually realigns the bones so that the new angle of the joint means that there isn't the instability.
In Freckles case (TPLO) the bones were cut and moved so that the portion of the tibia adjoining the stifle was rotated so that its slope changed, preventing the femur from sliding down the slope of the tibial plateau. Is that what you mean?
We were advised that cage rest wouldn't work - and in fact it didn't becasue we tried that first.
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Yes, there are several surgeries, tplo, tta, MMP that all rely on similar realignment of bones. None of these "fix" the damaged ligament, just make it redundant, so work if partial or total rupture.
If a dog is over about 20kg, the chance of the joint being stable enough by scarring following a long period of create rest is low. With a jack Russell, it is more likely to succeed than a spaniel, though I have seen a light Springer spaniel who got a good level of stability and comfort after about 10-12 weeks of crate rest because her owners were completely on board with the treatment as not keen to do the surgery.
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Our old dog jumped over a fence and tore his leg, the tendon was torn, I think, vet said he could potentially heal or have an op done. We did as Doganjo is suggesting now and we also treated him with oil in his food, olive oil and omega 3s and such, also we put turmeric in his food to reduce inflamation, it all helped heal him and he walked fine on his leg, until the day he died (sadly a few years later) :( Needless to say the vet was really surprised at how well it turned out. I hope you can find a solution for your dog and I hope it gets better soon!
All the best
WBF
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Yes, same with Freckles - she hated being caged and that bandage on her leg was often nibbled at, but she lived a very active 6 years afterwards - huntin, shootin n fishin as Brittanys do. :thumbsup:
She was often seen in this position - frog like, so her op was a brilliant success
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Well after about 9 weeks of hopping on 3 legs and a couple of weeks back on all 4 Daisy met a rabbit so now the other ligament has gone, feeling very sorry for herself. I am kicking myself as I had been so careful but just didn't notice rabbit in the garden. :'(
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Operation now imperative.
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Oh what bad luck :bouquet:
Poor Daisy and poor you :hug: