Fast Running Blog

I have had this lab for 4 yrs and 2 months ago she injured her self. We kept her off the leg for about a month and then she was still so stiff we thought maybe she needed to get out so I started to run her again. She loves to go and knows when I say the word run what is going on and she is up and to the door.   She loved running this last Saterday but seemed like she was in alot of pain the entire time and just would not stop when I tried to hand her over to my husband at the house. I took her to the vet and she needs knee surgery. Because she is so big (98)pds and because the injury is so bad it is going to cost us $2500.00 to fix it. If we don't chances are her other knee will go and she will have no back legs at all.  So dose anyone have any idea's. Basically the way we see it is pay the money or put her to sleep.   I don't know anything about this kind of thing.   Any idea's would be greatly appreciated.     

My wife's family has a beast of a rottie (very big and heavy guy) that has had bad back legs ever since he was a puppy. He has gotten used to not being able to use them as much as he would like. Sometimes you can tell its painful when he goes up stairs, but he is still a very lively and fun dog.

Slow walks are probably better to do than running her, and just like any other kind of surgery, it does not necessarily mean that anything will get fully fixed. You may just want to see what you can do for her to ease the pain each day and see how she handles that for a while. She may not lose all function and you might get to have her around for a few more years.

I saw something about wheelchairs for dogs, or at least for their hind legs.  Kind of like a little cart you strap them into, and they use their front legs to pull them around while the rear legs are on wheels.  You could look into it if the rear legs get worse.

As for the surgery vs. putting the dog to sleep- I grew up with dogs and love them, but I would lean towards putting the dog to sleep if semi-normal life for the dog was not possible without very expensive surgery.  Just my opinion, and I'm sure I may get a few stones cast at me for being uncaring.

As a big animal lover, I'll cast the first stone! ;)

If it was my dog I would pay for the surgery regardless of the cost. That's just me though. My dogs are my kids.

One of my dogs had a version of the CCL (ACL in humans) correction surgery, so I did quite a bit of research online looking at the options.  She's the first dog I've ever had, so putting her to sleep without first picking up a second and third job to pay for whatever she needed just wasn't an option for me (of course, we've also got ferrets and routinely drop big $$$ on their vet bills, so perhaps I'm just nuts).

I'd hazard a guess that the surgery your vet is suggesting is the NTPL.....basically it's patented by the inventor and the surgeon must go thru one of the inventor's certification courses to perform them.  It's typically used for larger dogs because the other surgeries don't tend to last because of the weight.  It involves actually flattening the bottom bone of the knee being repair, so that the top bone doesn't slip off, which is what happens when the CCL ligament is torn (or in our dog's case, just plain gone....three tiny strands left).
The cons of the surgery are a longer recovery time, the expense, and the crowd that says modifying the bone is just plain wrong.  On the plus side, it *seems* to be about the only thing that lasts for larger/heavier dogs.

Other surgeries tend to construct a new ligament with artificial filament or similar material.  There's a couple of varieties, but essentially the surgeon constructs a new ligament like structure to keep the knee in it's place.  Our dog (a ~50 lb pitbull) had this surgery.  The pros are a quicker recovery and lower price, cons are that it probably isn't sufficient for a larger dog and you *must* keep your dog from blowing out his/her new knee by over-exertion.

A friend of my wife had their larger dog repaired using the non-NTPL technique and I can tell that the repair just isn't doing the trick.....it still limps around and often doesn't put any weight on the knee at all.

Doing nothing is actually recommended by some websites online, who believe that strengthening the leg muscles will correct the problem.  As much as I wanted to believe them, I came to conclude it just isn't true.....but rehab after whichever surgery is very important and muscle strength there does help quite a bit.  I try to take my dog for walks or short and *slow* runs, which she loves.   Just not too much too soon.

Just FYI, I also investigated braces......there's many types and kinds but most appear to be a crutch, not a fix.  We opted out of them because we figured they'd get chewed off :). 

Oh, and it is true if you don't get the knee fixed up, the other will likely get worse, often quickly.  Actually, our dog went in for one knee and wound up getting the other knee done instead as it was worse when the surgeon did his tests on it.  After getting the one knee fixed, the other knee seemed to work better and we've been able to hold off on surgery for that one.....I think it was just one would hurt and cause her to put more weight on the other one, which would then hurt and cause her to put more weight on the first, rinse and repeat.

Lastly, getting your dog back down to a healthy weight if he/she is overweight is critical......ours went on a diet and has been on one for quite some time now, which she is *not* at all happy about.  But, since she's lost the weight, most days there's not even the hint of a limp on either leg.  Shame on us for letting her get that way, I know, but she looks downright skinny at her ideal weight. 

Hope the info is useful.  Good luck.

I recognize this response might be late in coming, but I will post it anyway.  We dealt with the same issue with one of our dogs, and ended up doing the TPL surgery when she was 4, and then again a couple years later for the other knee.  She was a large dog too.  I can honestly tell you that it was worth every penny, she resumed a normal life and continued to run until she was 11, and then hiked daily until she passed away last month.  We never had another issue with her knees and the recovery is much easier than the traditional surgery, she was weight bearing within a couple weeks and running a couple months later.  I know the expense is great, most vets will be willing to work with you to defer the costs over time.  I would do anything to save my dog's life, and the quality of life was outstanding, you would never know she had double ACL surgery!