Cruciate ligament damage

[JEM95]

Oh woe.  Molly is coming up to five months old, and for the past four or so weeks has been limping on and off, and stiff after resting (her back left leg).

A course of anti inflammatories helped, but when they finished there was still signs of an occasional limp, plus a reluctance to put full weight on her leg.

To cut a long story short, she has been for x-rays today, and it appears she has cruciate ligament damage :-(

I completely trust my vet, he is an ortho specialist and my pets have seen him for over 20 years. 
His advice is more anti inflammatories, lead walking, no jumping and lets review in 3-4 weeks.  He is reluctant to operate at this young age but said it's a possibility in the longer term.

Molly is happy and full of energy - not showing signs of pain as such - but there is obviously a problem.

Has anyone else had this experience?

M was so well behaved during her stay at the vets today, and had lots and lots of cuddles from everyone. She's really laid back and took it all in her stride!

I would love some reassurance. I just wish she was 100% and could gallop about freely.

Thank you in advance.

[PollySpaull]

I completely understand how you feel, I'm actually going through the same with my 8 month old - Monty. Exactly the same symptoms as Molly.

We've been to see the vets and she's unsure, said it could be a damaged ligament, but were resting him for a month (short lead walks, keeping him calm etc) before we go back for X rays.

Hopefully at Molly's review there will be some improvement after a rest period. No advice I'm afraid but just wanted to let you know I understand how worrying and upsetting it can be. Xx



Love from Polly and Monty!

[JEM95]

Thank you for your reply Polly, it's appreciated.

It is a big worry, but I'm glad we know what is happening now.  Fingers crossed Molly and Monty will be fine.

It's puppy training class tonight, so I'm going minus Molly (she's a bit droopy after sedation). I'll feel a bit daft, but it's all about training the owners really - so I'll watch and learn and we can practice at home.

I can scare myself silly reading about ligaments on the internet - I'd much rather hear about it from real people on here!

Thanks again Polly & Monty! xx

[Ben's mum]

Ben had cruciate ligament damage as a pup, and we rested him for about 3 weeks, with virtually no walking, no stairs or jumping on settee etc. it was a nightmare with a board young dog that wanted to run, but I am so glad we stuck to it very strictly as no surgery was needed, and Ben went on to do agility with no problems.

The only time he ever struggled with it again was on beach holidays for some reason running on sand triggers it off so we have to limit what he does on a beach

Fingers crossed no surgery needed for Holly or Monty  try brain games to tire them out it did help us

[BobnDot]

In our pre cocker spaniel days we had a crossbreed terrier, Penny, with cruciate ligament problems.

To cut a long story short she was three years old at the time and the injury was caused when one of her rear paws got trapped in a crack between paving slabs when she was being walked. Following x-rays and referral to a specialist vet we decided to go for a surgical repair which involved a section of the bone just below the joint being cut through and re-positioned to reduce the strain on the joint and allow the ligaments and joint capsule to heal more efficiently.

We were told at the time that the procedure would provide a faster recovery as bone knits much faster than ligaments heal and this proved to be the case as penny was walking quite happily on the leg within a month. Three months later she was bounding about doing all the usual terrier things and continued without further problems for another nine years until cancer took her from us at 12 years of age.

Seemingly there are a few different procedures that may be used to treat damaged cruciate ligaments depending on the severity of the problem, dogs age, breed and lifestyle etc. From our experiences I'd certainly advise getting a specialist opinion early on as the correct method of repair will ideally last the dog a lifetime.

Bob.

[JEM95]

Thank you both for your replies.

I'm adhering to lead walks only, the hardest thing is stopping Molly playing with our other dog. They both want to jump about and have rough & tumble sessions.  It needs careful management - luckily I have a pen for Molly and she's happy to go in there if I'm not around. 

Poor girl has so much energy though. 

The anti inflammatories are helping with pain, and I can tell her leg muscles are slowly building as she uses the leg more.

Fingers crossed that restricted exercise will do the job. 

I will explore all options before going down the surgery route, if that is what is recommended in the longer term.  I have talked to quite a few people including the lady who runs puppy classes - my vet comes exceedingly highly recommended by all.

Its great to hear the surgery was successful - I understand it has a high success rate.

My fingers retain tightly crossed!