My 17 month old pup completely severed his left rear ACL and underwent TPLO surgery a week later. Surgery went well and the incision healed without any complications, the doctor was pleased when we went for a follow up appointment but he seems to be very slow to recover. I’m concerned about his other leg and any other possible complications resulting from him not using the repaired leg. He is a big boy and has lots of energy even medicated with Trazodone. He wants to move everywhere at a pace faster than he can walk on all fours so he essentially hobbles on three legs instead of using the fourth leg to walk. He can move quicker on three legs so he does. He can use the repaired leg and when you make him walk slow he will use it every step but he doesn’t want to go slow. He should be further along than he is in the rehab and i really want to get the weight back on that leg before he damages the good one. Any tips or tricks from anyone who has gone through this ?
I’d chat to your vet about working with a veterinary physiotherapist or rehab specialist. It’s either painful or he’s in a habit of not using it, I’d say. If you can make use of swimming that’d be helpful too.
Thanks Oberon, I’m gonna try to find a physiotherapist in my village. The Problem is where we live. Also being in Canada in December kinda puts swimming out of the question as well. I don’t think he’s in pain, I’m leaning more towards the habit of not using it but how can I know. He’s fine with range of motion. In my experience dogs don’t show their pain but if they are hurting they will put their chin over your hand when you manipulate a painful area or lick you. He just gets into a scent in the garden and wants to take off and start tracking. It’s funny cause he wasn’t as bad with this until I started playing “find it”. I guess I woke up his nose. Lol
Sorry to hear your pup had to go through the TPLO. What recovery protocol did your vet advise and how long has it been since his surgery? My dog (now passed) had two TPLOs and the recovery time for each was six months. First month was standing only five minutes per day (essentially to wee) and tethered/crated in the house, second month 20 minutes standing/walking per day and progressed very slowly from there, with full on activity not allowed until the end of the six months. It seems from other people's experiences here that my surgeon's protocol was very strict and not the norm for today (this was over 10 years ago), but it did work. On the other hand, my dog tore his second ACL shortly after the six month recovery for the first TPLO was completed. Horrible. My surgeon had warned me prior to the first TPLO that most dogs who tear one knee usually tear the other. On the bright side, once the full year of recovery for the two TPLOs was over, Brogan did great. He always had a funny little swagger that he didn't have prior to the surgeries, but didn't develop arthritis and got around just fine on what I called his "fake knees" until he was a grey oldster. It was something I never regretted because the surgeries gave him years of happy, active life.
Do any of you other guys remember another member mentioning "wraps" to help with limb awareness? I had a little search and it looks like Lauren and Penny, though I am sure I cam remember discussing this elsewhere. Here is a link I found https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/hind-limb-awareness.5932/#post-82756 Its about putting something on the ignored leg to make the dog more aware of it to encourage its use. Physio would be your best first point of contacts. And swimming is good - at least hydrotherapy, which is inside in the warm, and involves someone with a knowledge of canine movement disorders to help make best use of the pool.
Our previous lab BJ bust his cruciate at 9 years of age. He was still a hurtler at that age and the vet told us, chances were that he'd do the other one as he would put so much strain on it. He said the only way was to allow lead only exercise for 6 months which with a lot of struggle we did. We were lucky, the other cruciate never bust and BJ made a full recovery. It was hard work but we devised various other games at home to keep him entertained as he seemed frustrated by the lead at first. He did eventually accept lead only walks thank goodness. It was a LONG 6 months. Good luck with finding a way to get your boy through this without damaging the other leg.
Definitely a need for some physiotherapy. Swimming is good as long as it is in the form of f hydrotherapy under the care of a qualified canine therapist to ensure proper leg movement.
Just had his 6 week post op x Ray and check up. It’s healing slower than expected. 6 more weeks of restricted movement. Not happy about the rehab support. It’s next to nil. The doctor gave me a website to go view and to print of their rehab schedule. We did that but it’s quite aggressive compared to some of yours and now here we are. He also mentioned one of hips is loose in the socket.
I am so sorry, not the news you wanted to hear at all , and also very sorry that you don't seem to be getting the support you need .
Oh @Johnny Walker , so sorry that things are not going in the right direction for you and Duggan, I can only commiserate. Not good at all that you are not getting the support you need. I know you are very far from your vet, but is there anywhere else you can go for help or advice?
I am so sorry that you have to face another 6 weeks of rest and rehab, I can empathise as had to rest a 16 week old puppy and he was almost 8 months before he could be a 'normal dog' (his problem was broken elbow). Would he be able to have hydrotherapy?
I haven't been on this forum for a long time but browsed and saw your post. My dog ruptured his first ligament at 8 months, and his second at 2 years. I've been through it. You should not be letting your dog walk at the pace he wants to walk at. Not in the house or garden or anywhere else. Your dog - particularly if he is a very excitable dog - should be in a crate or on a lead ALWAYS. He should be walking slowly under your supervision to make sure he uses each back leg properly. If you can get him into a doggy treadmill - with a physio behind him in the water to make sure he uses each back leg properly - so much the better. You should completely restrict him unless he is walking slowly, on lead, using each back leg properly. This is a LOT of work but it's what you have to do to ensure a proper recovery and a full unrestricted life for your dog. You have to do those 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10...20...30...40..mins of walking x times a day (as your vet recommends - and sack your vet if he can't tell you what your dog needs) and have EVERY step right. Any slacking in the routine and your dog suffers. Any jumps, any slips, any haring about - all will set him back. As for drugging your dog to keep him quiet - really? What nonsense. I defy anyone to come up with a more bonkers dog than mine - you just have to work at it - kongs, clicker training, hydro, new experiences on his few minutes walk - just put your mind to what might interest your dog through this awful time. I know it's not easy - boy, I so know it's not easy, but it's just got to be done.
No doubt at the time your vet was saying what he thought was right....but what he said is now known to be wrong. The chances of rupturing the second ligament are nothing to do with the recovery process of the first ligament. It's because the weakness in the ligaments is genetic. It is correct known as Cruciate Ligament Disease - it's a genetic disease that causes long-term degeneration of the ligament. (It is also nothing to do with the conformation of the leg, another red herring).
I agree with @JulieT that the risk of blowing out the other cruciate isn't to do with the TPLO recovery, it's to do with the fact that if one knee is disposed to tear, so is the other. It's about how your dog is built, which is genetics. I'd be more concerned about the lack of protocol and support you seem to be getting from your surgeon. As I said in my earlier post, I realise that my surgeon was SUPER conservative, but it worked. And that was really five minutes standing per day for the first month - essentially that's just the time to hobble outside and wee 3-4 times a day. Otherwise he needed to be crated or tethered 24 hours a day. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty bad for my poor dog, though he was a champ and luckily a very calm boy by nature. Then it was 20 minutes on lead (only on lead) walking the second month and progressing by an additional 5 minutes per week until full activity at six months. Again, the whole thing was really, really tough, but I can't emphasise how much it was worth it in the long run. I hope all goes well for you in the next six weeks and you find some better rehab support that you're happy with.
@Johnny Walker JulieT speaks with experience of 2 very successful rehab periods. You will get no better advice than this and that of Emily_BabbelHund.
Sharing here post opt care from week 1 to 12: https://tplonashville.com/recovery/restriction-recommendations/
