My large dog struggles to walk. What are non-surgical knee options?

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!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Nidge! There is no surgical management for arthritis sadly. It is managed with non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, joint supplements (Dasuquin, Adequan), keeping the dog lean and fit, other pain modalities (tramadol, gabapentin), alternative treatments like accupuncture, chiropractics and laser, physical therapy. I hope this helps and I wish Nidge the best!

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.

Toby is a cute guy! I would recommend to look into physical therapy and alternative therapies such as acupuncture and laser treatments. Often times these therapies will help tremendously. I used these therapies on both my geriatric dogs and I firmly believe they maintained a better quality of life than they would have otherwise. I hope this helps!

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!

Hello. I agree, surgery at this age would not be ideal given her age. You do not indicate what meds she is already on, but she should be receiving an NSAID such as meloxicam, carprofen, or any one of several excellent drugs in this classification. I would also have her on gabapentin, possibly tramadol, & maybe even Adequan injections, just in case some of her joints are painful. An alternative for the NSAIDs would be steroids as they are very good at reducing inflammation, but that does put her at some risk for side effects. Hopefully, these can keep him comfortable for some time to come. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.