Torn ACL in Dog

Last Spring, in March, my dog who was 15 at the time, fell on the ice and injured her leg. We gave it a few weeks to heal, but we saw rather quickly this injury wasn’t going to go away on its own so we scheduled an appointment with our vet. She clearly had a difficult time standing and walking. She could not put any weight on her injured leg. We were starting to carry her everywhere we went because just standing was agonizing for her.

Our vet looked over my dog and bent her knee, and told us that she has a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament, otherwise known as the ACL. I guess it is not uncommon for puppies to have this happen to them as well as dogs of all ages. Its just something that happens to dogs.

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One of the best things we did is get rid of my dog’s flat bed and got her a double-thick orthopedic bed (like this). We didn’t do this for 6 weeks, and when we did, the difference it made for her was unbelievable. I never would have guessed an orthopedic bed would have made that much difference, but it did. I strongly encourage you to get one for the healing process. It is well worth the money. Prior to this bed, her leg seemed to cramp and give out more, and the bed seemed to resolve a notable amount of her discomfort almost immediately. It didn’t eliminate the problem, but it made notable improvements.
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Read moreI’ve had dogs all my life, but I’ve never seen this so I was taken aback. Essentially, the ligament that holds the knee from slipping out of joint and buckling the leg tears or ruptures. My dog’s ligament was ruptured so when she walked, her knee gave out on her–making it very awkward, uncomfortable, and very painful.

My vet who is exceptionally quick and accurate at diagnosing problems told us that if we ever wanted her to walk normal again, that she’d have to undergo knee surgery. There were no other options. He told us it wouldn’t heal on its own. I think he said it confidently, too, because he knew a new ligament would never re-grow. He told me that they would open up her knee, and put a new man-made ligament in between the bones to hold the knee in place. It was like a big, thick suture that would stay there permanently. He then told us she would walk in about 10 days.

Since my dog was 15, I was a little leery to put her under anesthesia, but the vet said she had a good chance of pulling through without any complications–though this was major surgery.

We scheduled her surgery, but I had strong reservations. I knew my vet was good, but I also knew he was quick with a knife and that he always took the most invasive steps first–which I don’t agree with. Naturally, though, aggressive steps equals more money, and this surgery was expensive. He quoted us between $1200 – $2000 for the knee repair depending on what he found when inside.

[Are you wondering why I didn’t read the vet better? Well, it’s real simple. When I go to the vet, I get emotional for a variety of reasons. When my emotions get involved, my lie-dar gets jammed and is useless to me, and at the vet I am not good at reigning in my emotions! I write about that more here.]

With that, I searched and searched online to find other people who were in my shoes hoping to find people who found alternative solutions, but I found nothing. Every website I found said that you should subject your dog to surgery or they would never walk again, or if they did it would be with a serious limp and arthritis would soon set in.

I also saw that while most dogs took their first steps in 10 days, they wouldn’t walk normally for 2 to 3 months. For the first 10 days, they needed help to get up and relieve themselves. They needed a nanny, so-to-speak. Worse, it took most dogs two to three months of healing time to return to normal. My vet forgot to tell me these details!! I was a little annoyed to say the least.

But I just wouldn’t give up. I know the body heals itself and doesn’t just crumble so I kept on looking. I finally found one website by a vet who I have read many times before. His name is Dr Mike Richards, DVM. He was the only vet online that I could find who spoke out, and gave a differing opinion. He said he has seen many patients have the surgery and many who did not because they could afford it, and to him, the outcomes were nearly identical.

That was all I needed: One guy to say it would be okay if we didn’t do the surgery. I canceled it 24 hours before it was scheduled. I was nervous, but I knew I could always change my mind.

It was a blessing for us, too, because the day before surgery, my dog stopped eating and when we took her to the vet we found out her liver was in serious trouble, and she would have likely died on the table had we proceeded. She became desperately ill (though she has thankfully pulled through!).

Two days after her scheduled surgery, I happened to talk to a neighbor about it all and he told me about his dog who I had known in the past who now lived with his ex-wife. He told me she had the exact same problem, and they never did surgery and she walked just fine. He told me his vet never even recommended the surgery. He assured me it would heal on its own.

I knew I made the right decision.

After that, I went home and kept reading, and low and behold I found several websites (one, two) by dog owners just like me who questioned this surgery. These are people who have let their dogs heal on their own naturally, too, and amazingly they heal just as fast as they do with surgical intervention!! These websites caution that not all dogs recover, but give them 2 months and see if there is improvement. If there is none, surgery may be the best option, but many dogs heal on their own, so why not try it?

What the body does is create scar tissue where the knee goes out of line and that scar tissue eventually gets big and strong enough to hold the knee in place. It makes the sense.

Max, whose dog Tigger ruptured ACLs in both legs at once, told us to limit my dogs activity until the pain subsided for her, and then to let her walk on her own, without straining on a leash. We did just that, and within a month, she had dramatically improved. After eight weeks, she was amazing. She was totally normal after three months.

She injured her leg in March and by June, you’d never would have known anything was wrong with her.

She is now 16, and if she turns wrong, she does throw out her leg, and it gets tender for a few days, but if we let it rest, she returns to normal within the week. She still believes she is a puppy so she pushes herself much more than most dogs her age. Mind you she jumps wildly, runs and plays and still thinks she is a youngen!

We are 100% satisfied that we never took such serious and invasive measures. They were totally unnecessary and we saved more than $2,000, but most importantly, I believe we saved her life!

So if you ever find yourself in this position–trust your instincts. Don’t let fear scare you into a decision. You always have time. You can always change your mind, and just because someone says there is only one solution, check it out for yourself. You might find a whole new world of information, if only you care enough to dig. Had I not done this, I would have lost the nine months with my doggie, and we’re still counting. Her liver is recovering, and she is as happy as ever. Every day I am thankful to spend it with her!

I do think this surgery is a huge money-maker for vets so be careful. My vet said my dog would never walk normal again, and was he wrong!

If you encounter this problem, feel free to contact me, or Max. Max seems to be very knowledgeable on the subject and keeps his website updated. Thanks, Max, for all your insight and support. You made a huge difference to my dog’s life!