Hey y'all, I'm Kevin and just posted my hellos on the new member forum. LOL I signed up to post on the forum because I have a big problem. I got home last night from work and my dog, Missy, an almost three year old chocolate lab, was not bearing any weight on her left rear leg. So I took her to the vet first thing this morning and found out she has a torn ACL on that back leg. The vet told me she needs to lose about 10 lb before she can have surgery. Besides obviously cutting back on her food, how can I get her to lose weight when she has to be confined and can't exercise now. Has anybody ever dealt with this before? Also, the vet gave me three different surgical options. One was a synthetic ligament. I don't remember the other two right now, I'll have to get the paperwork and then post them. I just wanted to see if anybody has had to do this and if so which surgery they used and how good was the outcome? Thanks in advance
Our Airedale Terrier who passed away last year had TPLO surgery in both rear legs. It was quite an ordeal. The strict crate rest for 8 weeks each time was hard but fortunately he loved his crate. The TPLO was the right decision for us. He never had issues after that other than slight degree of Arthritis but Vet said that's normal. You have to be really strict with the crate rest . Only out to potty. We used a towel to loop under his hind legs to hold him up a bit when going out. Also two months of reduced activity. I.E no running jumping or long walks.
Hi Kevin, so sorry to hear of your dog's troubles. Unfortunately your options for weight loss are very limited in the absence of exercise, but you could try extending your dog's meal times by putting her rations in a treat dispenser so that she has to work to get them out. Best of luck with her treatment.
