Dog ACL / CCL Injury: A Non-surgical Approach

My dog ruptured her ACL in March 2016 and I opted for conservative management as opposed to surgery. I took video of her over the course of one year and documented her progress in a journal.

[joshuabell]

Just got home from the vet with my 1 1/2 year old border collie.
the vet said that surgery is probably the ONLY thing that will work for his CCL tear. We don't have the extra $2500 laying around for surgery, so I totally broke down in the car. I cannot put him down. Thanks for this encouraging video. I will do everything I can to make sure he heals properly.

[iamfunboy]

We did the TPLO surgery just yesterday after a month of no improvement for our dog. I'm confident in her quick recovery, at 8 she has some good years left. Our dog was 98 lbs at the time of injury. She's lost 8 lbs in a month and we are so proud of her. Prayers for Chloe's quick recovery!

[annettechandler]

What a great video, and I hope your beautiful furbaby is continuing to show progress.My 8 year old mutt had a complete acl tear on his right knee. As I was preparing to lift him into my suv for a scheduled vet appointment concerning his knee, before I could stop him, he tried to jump up into the back seat as he normally would. Needless to say, he missed and the pained yelp when he landed back on the ground was heart wrenching. He had torn the acl on his left knee.I absolutely adore my vet. I assumed surgery would really be the only way to go, but she didn't want to go that route. He's on a mild pain medication and I give him an adequan injection once a week. My vet told me that basically she would like to actually build up some scar tissue in the knees which would help stabilize them a bit. I thought that was strange,   but it's working. He no longer does the "bunny hop" when walking or running (though his activity is still restricted), and is generally not in any visible pain.He's about 5 months post injury (he injured the second knee within a few weeks of the first one) and his progress is steadily improving. I still have to remind him that he's injured from time to time, but luckily he's sort of a lazy guy. I'm so, so happy that my vet isn't one of those who pushes surgery.

[fitat]

I declined my vets strong advice to have £3.5 k surgical repair of my 42kilo old tyme bulldogs ACL rupture even though he said she may not walk again because I did some research (im a doctor with 40 years experience) and found no evidence that it was any better than resting and gentle reintroduction of exercise. Sure enough after about eight weeks, she was running around again, almost like normal . a few months later, she ruptured her other cruciate ligament which is not uncommon. This one took a little longer, about 12 weeks, but again she made a full recovery. It’s now been 3 years and she has a full and normal life. I think the shape of her rear legs has altered slightly to accommodate the new anatomy but so glad I didn’t put her through this major surgery .

[andrewlxndr]

It's people like you Steve that make the world-go-round. Thanks for the video, the information and your kindness.

[Bossmanrocks]

Hurrah! My dog is now officially 100% healed. Thanks so much for all the wonderful information you provided.

[constanceconard]

My Dexter’s story is similar. It went from a partial tear to full tear. He is a 90 pound lab mixed, only 3. Injury started in July of 2016. Conservative therapy, followed the rules to a T! Crated when I wasn’t home, leashed when I was, no running/jumping. It killed both of us. Like you I slept downstairs for three months on the couch to be with him. It has been a long slow slow recovery. He looks normal to most now, Runs up and down the stairs, jumps on a very high bed, jumps to catch things, swims, runs BUT it is all in much smaller doses. He used to go for 2-3 hours nonstop, my dog is extremely high energy. Now we go for 2 10 minute walks a day. Maybe once a week I’ll take them to the beach for a longer play/swim, but this is when you can see it the most. He overdoes it… And he pays for it. The difference now is he’s off the pain pills and anti-inflammatories, we did this for about only the first six months. Now he gets by with just a couple aspirins when he overdoes it. TPLO surgery would of been the best, Especially with Dexter being such a young active dog. To be honest I cannot afford it. I am a single mother just got my daughter to college.. There priorities in our family unfortunately. Dexter is about 85% of the Dog I had.. and that’s OK. He is otherwise a healthy dog, he plays, swims, runs, And most importantly is pain-free now. I feel if anyone takes this on, conservative therapy, you still need to seek out a vet to help you with prescriptions and advice. Dexter and I have impressed several vets who doubted I’d get him to where he is with his size, age and activity level. People need to know though your dog will never be 100%. But this could happen with surgery and your dog will still not be 100%.. Plus after surgery 50% of dogs and up with the other leg going within a year! We saw four vets all together..Only one would he even tell us about conservative therapy… All the others said TPLO was my only choice, and it is not! My advice to anybody who sees their dog start limping, start conservative therapy immediately. If I knew everything I knew now I would’ve done this, once it is a full tear there is no complete healing of the animal.

You’ve done really well with your dog. Great video of your journey. Dexter and I are still on ours.. but he continues to improve.

[warriorwoman]

This is an old video but finding it today settled my anxiety a lot. Thank you!

[hakwrite]

Thank you so much for this video! 5 yrs ago my Dutch Shepherd tore her ACL. I opted for the surgery. The vet pressured me for the surgery. Now she's 13 yrs old and has a half tear in the other leg. This vet didn't pressure me. She said limited activity for the next few months..pain killers and we'll go from there. I looked at alot of videos on youtube with no surgery and yours is by far the best. Thank you so much for this information! I'll let ya know how it goes..

[amandaros]

This is such a similar story to my dog. He is definitely up and down in his recovery which is very frustrating. Thank you for sharing such detailed information. It is rough to see my guy limping and I wish this were a sooner fix but I am thankful for your story and sharing what has worked for you.

[rebeccabee]

I know this was posted 7 years ago, but your information really helped me today! I believe my dog injured her ACL/CCL because she has the same issues as your dog. So helpful to know the steps you took and the healing process. Much appreciation to you for making and keeping the video posted!!!

[karylclemence]

Wow, I am going through this exact roller coaster with my eight-year old Great Dane. This was so helpful knowing I am not the only one. When you are in the moment, you don't know what is the right thing to do. The details you gave were very helpful. Good job!

[llivelaughlovex]

Thank you so much for this video. My dog fully recovered from a CCL tear in her right leg, took a full year to recover. & now just found out that she has a partial tear in her left leg. The vets appointment made it even worse today, which like you said when they stimulate that injured joint, it causes even more pain. This gives me hope again that she will get better again. I’m glad your dog is doing well ♥️

[carlmeibergen]

Thank you for your video and I hope your dog continues to show improvement. I did opt for the TPLO surgery on my first Boxer. She had a full tear on her rear knee when she was 4 or 5 yrs old. As she aged the disability became more pronounced. When she was 8, with consultation from our vet/surgeon, I began researching the TPLO procedure....it was a little overwhelming. Due to my complete trust in my vet, I finally agreed to it. I was expecting 9 months to a year of rehab. I began noticing tremendous improvement in her mobility and ease of motion within the first month. After 3 months of working with her, I allowed her to go off lead for the first time. She looked like her old self, running happily.
I've heard stories from others who did not have the same positive results.
There is a risk to be sure, when performed by a skilled surgeon, the results can be life changing for the better.

[dogmaticcanine]

An amazing video that provides the best information there is: experience and intelligence of a handler towards a complex injury.

[kpa]

Thank you for posting this video. My baby (17 lb) was just diagnosed with a ruptured CCL today. The Ortho surgeon actually recommended the same instruction that you stated (Pain meds, joint supplements, rest, no activity and weight loss). I was skeptical at first by this approach because I wanted her to be her usual self. After seeing your video and your baby's progress, it was very encouraging. Thank you again and I hope you are both doing well today :)

[ajmctradingllp]

thank you so much for your video, it has given me hope because the worst is to witness the setbacks. She seems to get better and then it gets worse again. I am grateful to hear it's part of the recovery journey

[Itsbrettjones]

My first dog had a TPLO on both her knees at separate times when she was 5. She recovered quickly and could run and do everything normal which was great, but the surgery certainly took a toll on her. She passed away earlier this year at 12 years old from a liver disease. Her brother is now suffering the same condition as yours in this video. This time I am doing my best to do non-surgical as well, because he is much higher energy than daisy and it would make recovery very challenging. God bless your journey and thank you for spending all that time to put together such an informative video. You reminded me I'm not alone in this journey and I really needed that.

[barkbros]

Hey buddy, this vídeo really got my hopes up for georgys recovery! Please lMk what supplements you used to help your girl recover from her injury . I hope everything is good and god bless you brother . Thanks once again ❤️

[aspenscript]

Thank you so much for this video. My Yorkshire Terrier had his right leg operated on a year ago. As you said, recovery protocol was reduced excercise, no running or hills, over time building to short 5 minute walks then increase walk duration gradually. About 6 weeks ago, his left leg went. We went to thet vet and Xrays showed it was ACL again. He was booked in for an operation, but we had to delay for a fortnight as their best surgeon was on holiday. By the time we went in for the operation, after complete rest, he was no longer limping and seemed much improved. The Vet, commendably, advised that we should now not have the surgery, and we are now seeing a nurse for regular physio advice and had two weeks of Laser treament to loosen and stimulate his muscles (this didn't hurt him). We are following the same sort of protocol as stated earlier and he is doing so well. We realise now that when previously we had noticed some lameness, and then had rested him until he seemed ok, we were resuming taking him on his normal 3-4 mile walks. This is the big error we made. But now, he is restricted to 5 min walks between 3 and 8 times a day, plus toddling around the house of course. We will gradually build on the walk durations over months and hope that maybe a year from now we will be back to the longer walks, but we will not rush it no matter how 'well' he seems to be doing. We also met a couple with an 11 year old yorkie/russell the other day, and they told us they had done exactly as you did Steve, a few years ago, and now their dog does 7 mile walks regularly! I'm not sure our Yorkie has ever done a 7 mile walk in his life so I was pretty blown away lol!