My dog has a torn ligament, is anxious. What are affordable options?

Poor Willie! The duration of cage rest and pain medications depends on the degree of the tear. You can also provide Willie with joint supplements, which are available at most pet stores or through your veterinarian. These will help maintain the lining of the joint and partially prevent further pain and damage. If Willie is overweight, a diet plan is also something to consider to minimize pressure on the knee when she does begin exercising again. There are surgical options that can be considered to stabilize the joint if warranted. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you have!

It is difficult to assess without a full history of the type and severity of the injury. The most common type of injury is to the cruciate ligament inside the knee - although this can stabilise quite well with rest, weight management and joint supplements (especially in smaller dogs under 10-15kg), surgery is the recommended route in order to minimise the severity of arthritis which will develop due to the joints being unstable. Some arthritis is inevitable but it should be less severe and develop later in life if the joint is quickly stabilised with surgery

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.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It sounds like you are doing everything you can right now in terms of supplements and joint support which is good. Since it is both her back legs, and she is a large dog, and she is young, getting surgery on at least one leg is a good idea for her quality of life long term. The alternative however is medical management which includes everything you are doing, PLUS weight loss to keep her on the skinny side PLUS getting that muscle mass up. Since her joints are unstable and cannot tolerate a lot of stress, running and walking may cause more damage, therefore swimming is the best option for her. If you can get her muscle mass up with lots of swimming, and keep her weight lean, you might be able to get her joints more support. As mentioned previously, think about getting surgery on at least one leg. Best of luck with Mania!

Where surgical treatment is not an option then the alternative options are: pain relief medications; joint care diets (hills); strict weight management; physiotherapy; acupuncture; chiropractic care and possibly steroid injections. It is important to assess her quality of life and comfort levels to ensure she is not suffering undue pain

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.

It is true that he will put more weight on his other limbs and that is why 40-% if dogs tear the other. I would also encourage you to start him on fish oils to reduce inflammation as well and a chondroprotectants such as dasequin. Surgery is the absolute best option to reduce the development of arthritis. Happy healing!