My beautiful 5 month old lab puppy developed lameness a couple of days ago, yesterday she was sedated and x-rayed at the vet and unfortunately they have come back with the diagnosis that the left cruciate is completely ruptured, probably due to cruciate disease (as opposed to an acute trauma). She has a great working pedigree, and I was hoping to train her as a gundog and possibly a trialling dog, so this is a blow. The vet will be referring her to an orthopedic centre, but as she is a pup her bones haven't yet fused so the standard solutions may not be possible. I'm researching options, but would be very interested to know if anyone has had any experience of this ? Thanks
Re: Cruciate ligament disease in a puppy - anyone had any experience ? So sorry to hear this - poor pup I think JulieT has experience of treatment and rehab for ruptured cruciate when her Charlie was quite young (although not sure from the same cause) and I'm sure she'll be along soon
Re: Cruciate ligament disease in a puppy - anyone had any experience ? I'm sorry to hear about your puppy. Julie will be able to help with advice I'm sure. Charlie ruptured his cruciate. I think he was about 8 months.i think Charlie's cruciate was caused by trauma but I'm sure pre op and rehab will be similar. Julie waited until Charlie was 12 months before he had the op so his bones were fused. Good luck
Re: Cruciate ligament disease in a puppy - anyone had any experience ? So very sorry to hear this. Yes, Charlie ruptured his cruciate at 8 months old. He is a show line dog but a keen retriever so I was also hoping to continue my gundog training with him - the good news is that this has been possible. I don't know whether Charlie's injury was due to trauma or was inherited - the surgeon was unable to tell - and there may be no real distinction in any event as a trauma may be the thing that just shows up a weakness, which for the trauma may never have caused a problem. It is really, really bad luck and unusual to experience this in a puppy under a year old though. Obviously not unheard of, but rare. I did wait until Charlie was 1 year before having the op - to allow his growth plates to close- it was a difficult time, with months of restrictions. When we got to the op, there was also a tear in his meniscal cartiledge, and we will never know whether that happened at the time or was the result of activity after the cruiciate damage but before the op. Pre op, all we could do was prevent any further muscle wastage, which we did through a programme of physio, hydro and slow lead walks. Post op, we took his rehabilitation hugely seriously, a 6 month programme before he slowly moved back onto unrestricted exercise. Some vets say this can be done in a shorter timescale, but mine said a longer timescale gives much better results. Now though, I have my dog back. He is behind on his training, obviously, but has no sign of lameness or stiffness or discomfort. He is slim and fighting fit and has few restrictions. He will develop arthritis in the joint in time, that is inevitable - hopefully in a long time though. I guard against this with supplements, plenty of swimming, and so on. I could restrict him more, but decide not too as I would rather he lived a completely full and happy life, than a slightly longer one but less full of fun and doing the things he loves best. There is a high chance - statistically - of him rupturing the other cruciate, although the more time passes, the better his chances get that won't happen. Happy to answer and questions, or if you want any names of surgeons, vets and rehabilitation centres that I used, drop me a PM. Here he is fetching his dummy - 7 months post op. https://www.flickr.com/photos/123706979@N04/15301757360/
Re: Cruciate ligament disease in a puppy - anyone had any experience ? Thanks so much for your reply, he's looking well ! What type of op did Charlie have in the end ? I would pm you but can't see how to do it (sorry) although I'm up in the North West.
Re: Cruciate ligament disease in a puppy - anyone had any experience ? Charlie had a TTA rapid. I spent ages looking at the different options, and taking to my own vet (who is an orthopedic specialist himself) and the orthopedic surgeon who carried out the operation. I was convinced that the TTA had some advantages over the TPLO, and the TTA rapid was less invasive (but there is little to choose between the TTA and the TTA rapid). My vet spoke to the makers of the TTA cages, who said that it was possible to carry out a TTA on a dog before the growth plates had closed - as the titanium cage of the TTA would provide support across the growth plate. But in the end both the vet and the surgeon said "if it were their dog" they would wait. The surgeon in particular thought that the open growth plate would introduce another area of weakness, in addition to the area of bone that is cut to alter the angle of the knee (so the cruciate ligament effectively become redundant), and this would increase the risk of mechanical failure. So I waited. It wasn't an easy decision, and it will be a harder decision for you with an even younger dog. I believe the three factors that are most important to give the best chances of a full recovery are: swift diagnosis and strict restriction of exercise before the operation; the best surgeon you can find; and a careful and slow rehabilitation - do it by the book. I really wish you the best of luck with this. I know you are in for a tough time. The only thing I can offer you is that my dog is now truly as fit as ever, I honestly cannot see that he has any pain or discomfort no matter how much exercise he does, and we got through it in the end. It did put his training back, but we are catching up.
