Cruciate ligament advice needed please - updated 13th Jan.

[elaine.e]

Not for William, thank goodness, but for the owner of a young Springer.

The owner is a lovely lady I see out on my walks with William. We sometimes walk together and William plays with her 2 Springers. I saw her today for the first time in weeks and she was in a very anxious state.

The Springer is about 2 years old and has only been owned by this lady for a few months. She took him in when his army family were posted abroad and couldn't keep him. He went lame a few weeks ago and was diagnosed with cruciate ligament damage. I'm not sure exactly what, but it isn't torn. The Springer has been rested at home and restricted as best she can without crating him. He's taken into the garden on lead. He's been on Rimadyl, has had some physio and swimming on the recommendation of the vet, but is still lame. He is due to go back to the vet on Tuesday.

His owner is an intelligent lady and experienced dog owner, but is in pieces over this, partly because of everything else going on in her life. She's the carer for her disabled husband and currently has her 80 year old father in law staying with her as his wife died a few weeks ago. Her daughter is in the late stages of pregnancy and is unwell and the daughter's husband fell off a ladder today and injured himself, leaving this lady with 3 extra dogs to take care of.

I know that some of you have Cockers who have had cruciate problems. Is there any advice you can give please? In particular, what should she be asking her vet on Tuesday. She may be able to have the dog referred to another vet clinic for a procedure to have a little camera inserted to look at the damage. Should she go for that?

Any advice or encouragement that I can pass on would be appreciated please. I don't know this lady very well but I feel so sorry for her situation at the moment. She's under so much pressure.

[jarbaha]

what a worry.
but can totally sympathis, as i went through this several years ago.
my harley, when he was 18 months old, had cruciate ligament problems in his right back leg/ stifle joint.
i had been out walking my other cocker, and when i came home, he never greeted me ( which was odd), i then saw him, and he could'nt move, i thought he had broken his leg, jumping up at the door or something, immediatley rushed him to the vets, were my vet thought he too had broken his leg, they admitted him, and ran tests ect, then discovered he has cruciate ligamment damage, but it had not torn, and required no surgery, ( so felt very lucky), he had to have 6 weeks total cage rest, and only allowed out for a wee on the lead, and then had to be carried back to his crate, not to jump up, or go up and down stairs/ steps.
he was on rimadyl for months and painkillers.
and eventually after 6 weeks, it was a very slow progress, 5 mins walk, building it up, he is now 5 and 1/2 months old, and has never ( i'm touching wood), had a problem since, but we do have to be careful, he does'nt over do things, and was also told later in life he could suffer from arthritis because of this.
so there is hope, as i said my harley was an 18 month of puppy, and he is now 5 1/2, also be careful that the dog does'nt gain to much weight, i think once they have had  a problem, then you will always need to be more careful.
sometimes my heart goes into my mouth, as he runs after a ball ect now,and i always fear he will do it again, i just wrap him up in cotton wool abit more since this.

but it can be a very slow process while it heals, and my dog is scarred stiff of the vets ever since, as they really rotated his legs, and push and pull his leg, even now when he goes for a booster vaccination, just to check that everything is still ok.

even after the 6 weeks total cage rest, it was very restricted walks for months, then over a further 6 months, it was building him up to do a half an hour walk.

harley never had a camera inserted, he had x-rays, and a dye inserted through a needle.
its just going to take time.
but there is hope, and my harley is living proof of this.

sorry for the long post.
love terri
x

[Spaniel Girl]

My friends Australian Sheep dog has just had his cruciate ligament operated on , he's 5 and is fine, he has just come off the painkillers, which has left a raw looking patch on his side, which she isn't happy about,his back leg is shaved, he is very perky in himself and it doesn't seem to be bothering him at all.  He goes out on a lead for toilet breaks. My friend is very happy that she went ahead with the op rather than leave it.  I think she said it will be about 6 weeks before he can go out a walk.

[elaine.e]

Thanks for the replies. I'll pass the information on and post an update when there's some news. It sounds like he needs cage rest at the very least.

[suzysu]

I have a friend with two retrievers and one of hers had an op for this about 6mths ago and just recovered and she sent me a mail on Xmas eve to say he'd now damaged his back leg! He was operated on last Monday.     I'm sure if you need any info she would be happy to advise if you want to pm me. Sending lots of healing hugs x

[bluegirl]

I had one years ago that damaged her cruciate ligament when she was about 6 yrs old. The vet gave her a steroid jab and she was on steroids orally for about a month hers cleared up without the need for surgery, although even to the end she did have a small limp every now and again.

[henrys mum]

Sam our previous cocker had his cruciate ligament replaced when he was 11 years old. He was in pain for a couple of days after the op but it didnt stop him getting about in fact it was hard to keep him quiet. At first he could only go out in the garden for a quick wee then after a couple of weeks we had to gradually build up his time out on the lead starting with 5minutes twice a day for a week then 10 minutes  the next week to a total of 40mins on his lead twice daily. This was to build the muscle up after his operation. He was then allowed to go off lead. i note your friend has alot going on her life at the moment-to be honest i think the fact that Sam was alone for long periods after his op helped him to some extent because it allowed him to rest because he wasnt trying to follow his humans round all day and slept giving his leg chance to heal. We were advised imediately after his op to crate him but he has never been in a crate and became really traumatised when we tried to crate him.
Hope this is of help.
Pat

[Helen]

Jarv's 1/2 sister tore her cruciate ligament at that age - it was weeks of crate rest before she got the all clear from the vets - no op was necessary for her.

she then had hydrotherapy for a few months and lots of on-lead road walking to strengthen the muscles around the joints.

She will be on supplements forever as they fear she has the onset of early arthritis  - Synflex (and a bit extra green lipped mussel in the form of tablets) and cod liver oil too, and she may have some Cartophen injections if the arthritis progresses - fingers crossed she's keeping it at bay 

[elaine.e]

I've just had a phone call from Rafa's owner. Rafa was referred to a specialist orthopaedic vet last week and had an operation to put a plate and a screw in his leg. At the same time his other leg was x-rayed and will be having the same procedure in 6 weeks time. The cruciate ligament in that leg is also not right and has an extremely high risk of tearing as soon as Rafa starts exercising again.

Apparently it's a genetic problem that's quite common in Rottweilers, is also found in Labradors and increasingly in Springers according to the specialist.

Rafa is on cage rest and is coping quite well. He'll have to be rested like that until several weeks after the second op., poor boy. His mum is coping quite well at the moment.