You were just playing fetch like you always do and then suddenly your dog begins to hold up one of his back legs and playtime is over. You think that maybe he just stepped on something and check his paw pads but no injury is apparent. Maybe you decide to give it a few days to see if the limping will resolve on its own. Well, the limping did not go away and now you are looking for ways to help your dog.
What do you do?
I recommend that you take your dog to your local family veterinarian to see if a cause of the lameness can be determined. Although there are many causes of hind limb lameness in dogs, the most common cause is a torn cranial cruciate ligament (CCL). This is analogous to a human’s anterior cruciate ligament or ACL which is a term you might be familiar with.
In humans this injury is typically associated with an athletic event i.e. football, basketball, skiing etc.
In dogs, it is more of a wear and tear injury and can even occur when out on a normal walk. The other bit of bad news is that once they have injured one knee about 50% of dogs will have an injury in the other knee within a 2 year time-frame. The good news is that if you take your dog to your family veterinarian and get a diagnosis of a torn CCL there are several options to treat this injury.
If the ligament is completely torn, most dogs over 15 lbs of body weight will benefit from surgery to help stabilize the knee. I perform three of the most common procedures to address this injury which are:
- Extra-capsular suture
- Tibial Plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO)
- Tibial Tuberosity Advancement (TTA)
Due to the wide variety of dog breeds that allows us all to have our adorable pets, there is also a wide degree of variation of the conformation in the knee. The surgical procedure that I recommend is tailored to each dog’s individual anatomy, conformation, and lifestyle. Please visit my practice’s website vetsurgical.net if you would like more detailed information on each procedure.
Dogs with a CCL injury will inevitably get some arthritis in the knee. Surgery to stabilize the knee will allow earlier return to activity and will help to slow the progression of arthritis. I also recommend starting a good quality joint supplement that contains glucosamine, chondroitin, and omega-3 fatty acids to aide in cartilage help and slow down the progression of arthritis.
The road to full recovery generally takes about 4-6 months, but if your dog has surgery and you follow the post-operative instructions the majority of patients are able to return to a full and active life.