My dog has a wobbly leg. Can a ligament injury heal on its own?

The answer to your question really comes down to her examination and your goals. It is possible for a cruciate ligament to be partially torn or fully torn. If it is fully torn, the knee is unstable and surgery is the best option to stabilize the knee and slow down the development of arthritis in the joint. If the cruciate ligament is only partially torn, you can see signs like you have in Hambro where she seems pretty normal unless she injures the cruciate ligament again with high activity. For a large dog who is young, partial cruciate ligament injures are often problematic because they inhibit dogs from being able to play normally without being painful, but it sounds like Hambro has done well for 6 months. Another consideration is that if she has a partial tear, she may completely tear the cruciate ligament in the future which will necessitate surgery. There is also a potential complication of cruciate injuries that involve a tear in the meniscus. If that happens, she will be consistently lame and will need surgery. Unfortunately, only you can decide on the right answer for Hambro. Surgery provides the best possibility for return to normal activity without lameness, but certainly isn't without potential risks and complications. I have attached a handout on cruciate ligament injuries below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1975 Finally, if this is a partial cruciate injury and you would like to avoid surgery, I would recommend trying to find a rehabilitation veterinarian to help you with physical therapy exercises to strengthen Hambro. They will also be able to give you a second opinion. Hopefully you can find a vet in the UK at this site. http://www.caninerehabinstitute.com/Find_A_Therapist.html http://www.caninerehabinstitute.com/action.lasso Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

A torn cruciate ligament in the knee is not something you need to rush to surgery for. I'm a rehab veterinarian and I usually recommend rest, anti inflammatory medication, and short leash walks for potty only. If she is improving over the next few weeks then she may recover well without surgery. If there is no improvement or she starts using it, then gets worse again then I do recommend surgery. It is very important to prevent any jumping and no explosive movements. Basically Gumbo needs to be leash walked only for up to three months for her to recover without surgery. Also if you have a veterinary rehab clinic near you taking her for treatment there would assist her recovery without surgery. If you have additional questions please request a consultation with me and I can answer them. This is the most common injury I see in my practice. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Gumbo.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Brooklyn. I usually discuss surgical repair when I diagnose a dog with a cruciate injury, but it is not my only approach. Conservative care has been more effective in small breed dogs though in my opinion. However, I have had some large breed dogs do well without surgery. I usually start with strict rest for a period of 4-6 weeks depending on the case. This can allow scar tissue to develop in the knee and stabilize the joint. I will also prescribe pain medication as needed as well as prescription joint supplements. If the dog is overweight at all, I will use a veterinary weight loss diet. Any additional weight will be extra stress and strain on that joint. So I want the dog to be as lean as possible. If the dog is comfortable, I will gradually return them to their normal activity level. I also warn owners, if a dog suffers a cruciate injury on one leg then they are likely to suffer the same thing on the other rear leg as it is a degenerative injury. I hope this information helps!

Wrapping the leg is unlikely to help and an improperly applied bandage could actually do more harm than good. You could look into a custom brace - these along with physical therapy can be successful although they can cost nearly as much as surgery. Otherwise I’d recommend following your vet’s recommendations for medical management.

In these cases ACL or CCL tear is the most likely reason for it. Tear can be partial and conservative management (especially in dogs under 15kg) could be successful. Complete rest and anti-inflammatory meds can be attempted.

The best treatment is surgery. There are some dogs that may respond ok to rest and pain medications or a brace (mypetsbrace.com) but in the end most do best from surgery. I would consider having the surgery performed or going to get the opinion for a surgeon. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, i suspect Barney may have injured one of the ligaments in his knee. In order to make a definitive diagnosis, you will need to have him examined by a veterinarian. If he did injure his knee and we suspect a ligament tear, your veterinarian will discuss the best treatment options including pain medication, crate rest and possibly surgery if indicated.