my 14 year old dog has a cruciated ligement in his knee.He is also over weight?

Question

My 14 year old 58 pound baby messed up his knee and the other leg is weak already from being old .He can only take three steps at a time .I took him to the vet today and the vet said that alot of older dogs dont benifit from surgery and he gave me meds and an injection.My dog has never needed pain killers and I am glad that I am just now having to use them .My question is does it get better in time ? Pain wise does it get better? If anyone has any experience with this problem please tell me everything you know.I am not worried about spending money .I would spend any amount for my dog .My dog is really old and I want him to be comfortable and happy .Any advise?I know that this is permanant and the leg will never be the same but will the pain go down?

Today I noticed that my dog had blood in his stools .I think its from the ecostic antiinflamatory the vet gave so I now cannot give him that .I will not use rymadyle unless its the very last resort .I feel really stuck at this point.

Answer 1

Large breed dogs (dogs over 50 pounds) have a lot of problems relating to the cruciate ligament. There are two theories as to why our dogs rupture their cruciate ligaments; one says that they suffer some sort of acute trauma (i.e. running like mad around the yard until suddenly they suffer a tear). The other says that there's an actual structural problem with the confirmation of the bones and their respective slopes that results, over time, in the tear - no particular trauma or injury. The actual tear itself is painful for our dogs, but after that there's not a lot of pain associated with the injury - mostly just instability and difficulty bearing weight.

There are different degrees of tears - you can have slight, partial or total tears. The more severe the tear, the more necessary a surgical intervention can be. The biggest concern with severe tears that aren't quickly fixed is that the other knee - know bearing the majority of weight due to the injury - suffers too much stress and also tears. Suddenly, our problem has doubled and our dog is down in the rear, totally. Smaller tears can mend on their own, with a couple weeks of cage rest and leash walks.

There are two surgical procedures to repair a cruciate ligament tear. One is a traditional repair in which the torn sections of ligament are removed and the new, clean edges are sutured together. The other is a newer producer called a TPLO (tibeal plateau leveling osteotomy). This focuses on a controlled break and re-allignment of a bone that potentially caused the injury because of it's confirmation. The second is more expensive; the first is the more conventional method of repair.

Surgery can be a tough option for an older dog. The anesthesia isn't a concern, but the post-operative recovery can be difficult.

I work in a rehabilitative service at a veterinary clinic, and if you're interested in rehab techniques for cruciate repairs, please email me. I have some information regarding more natural remedies. In the interest of not overloading the page with a longer answer, I'll cut it short here, but please don't hesitate to drop me a line if you have any other questions. I can tell you that these other answers recommending euthanasia are foolishness - a knee injury certainly does not call quality of life into question. Some people can be very ignorant!

Good luck!!

Answer 2

A "Cruciated Ligament?" There is the Anterior Cruciate Ligament, and the Posterior Cruciate Ligament... They allow the knee to flex and extend as a joint, while the Medial CoLateral Ligament and the Lateral CoLateral Ligaments (ACL, PCL, MCL and LCL respectively) allow the joint to only flex and extend but not to torque or bend side to side. In humans (where my experience lies -- not in vet. medicine), the usual injuries are to the MCL and the ACL. They get stretched (tear, but not a complete rupture) and get lax. Usually, and I DO MEAN "usually," they heal and tighten up to a degree. They are never as "Good as New." But people survive and do well with these injuries. As for surgery, one has to look at the age and overall general health of the patient and decide what the quality of life will be with and without intervention. Then add to that equation, the likelihood of survival from the procedure. A 14 y/o dog (I'm guessing it's a smaller dog, the larger they are, the shorter their life expectancy), at 58 lbs... If I were a vet. (and I am not), I wouldn't operate.
Generally speaking, the pain will subside in due time. There will also be the factor of accustomization to both the pain and the laxity. Your baby won't be chasing too many more rabbits, cats or postmen... In time, all things either heal or kill us inspite of what we do. I hope this helps. Give your baby a high protein, low carb treat and a hug for me. Best wishes.

Answer 3

not sure what kind of breed your dog is for 58 pounds, small or large? but if he is over weight then yes he will benefit from what ever weight you can get off of him. but the draw backs to that is you can't exercise him so you have to cut back food. with the age of your dog surgery isn't reccomended for a few reasons, the older a dog is the worse it is to put them under for surgery. dogs at this age don't recoup well. your dog is essentially in human years approx 98 years old. the pain doesn't get better, may get worse. imagine trying to do knee surgery on a grandparent, just doens't do well. draw backs with giving your dog pain meds is over time there can be other reactions. kidneys, liver, stomach etc. not sure what kind of overall health your dog is in, but you may want to look into eventually sparing the pain of your dog. I know that this is hard to even think about, he's the love of your life, I know mine are. but we are their caretakers and have to make these kind of decisons and it's sucks. take care and good luck

Answer 4

I hate to tell you, but as old as your dog is, the pain might go away for a little while only to return. I would also talk to your vet about what you can do about the weight problem. If he is carrying less weight around, there is less pressure on the knee. I hope he gets better!

Answer 5

Some dogs do recover from ACL with activity kept to a minimum.
this is an excellent supplement to help relive his pain and promote healing> http://springtimeinc.com/product/94/2

You can read the letters,and they are legitimate..
I hope your vet hasn't prescribed Rimadyl for him. Many vets do, and it is really dangerous for many older dogs..

I understand that hydrotherapy is good for this, if you by chance have a jacuzzi or swimming pool

If the brand of kibble that you feed has a formula for weight loss, that would also be beneficial for him..

Answer 6

My dog hurt his Cruciate ligament also a while back and my Breeder advised against the surgery. I actually made him move as little as possible to keep him off his leg, a crate worked well. and I changed his food to a good food that had Glucosamine in it. it worked wonders.
you can also get it in pill form I think, check out your local Pet stores.
Glucosamine is for the joints so try it.

Answer 7

You can get your dog on Science Diet r/d (to lose weight) j/d afterwards for arthritus, see if your vet can get you Synovi G (help with movement), Rimadyl (Carprofen) for pain/help with movement, Adequan shots.
You should go over every option with your vet. He is in pain, but some of the treatments above can help "manage the pain and problems". The weight has got to go, but him not being able to exercise makes it more difficult to succeed.
If you see him suffering, think to yourself, and I trust you will know what to do.
My thoughts are with you.

Answer 8

I had similar problems with a dog of the same age and it only got worse as she got older. I advise putting them down, if the dog has been good to you then is it fair to keep it alive if it is only suffering and miserable?

Answer 9

See if you can get him to loose a few pounds and go to Wal Mart and buy some Glucosamine/Condrotin pills (for humans but can be given to dogs) and they will help. It normally does not heal on its own but the G/C may help. It is an anti inflammatory.

Answer 10

My 13 1/2 yr old Rot/Chow mix had his problems with hip displasia (hips bones too large for his hip socket. . par for the Rotweiller breed at any age) and and was in pain. After about 6months on Rymadil I saw little difference in the way he moved around. . .he was getting slower and slower and it took him forever to complete the circle process to lay down and I could hear his hip "crunch" as he did finally lay down. . You could almost hear him say. ."This is gonna hurt".
With winter approaching and knowing how winter causes bone pain to worsen at times I realized that I had a decision to make.
Did I want to keep him alive just to see how much longer he would live (dogs this large usually don't live past 8-9yrs so he had really made a milestone by making it to 13 1/2)? Did I want to keep him alive to make me feel better? Did I want to let him die peaceable and respectfully without any further suffering. . . . YES!
Just because you can't see all of the outward signs of pain,the animal feels it and it really cuts down their quality of life.
While your dog may seem to be doing alright,the question is. . Is he really having the quality of life that he should really be having?It was time for me to face reality and let my "Charlie" go because I sure as ^#*^%#* didn't want him to lay down one day while I was at work and pass away without me there holding him as I was able to do when we made our last visit to the Vet's.
I have memories and pictures of "Charlie" and for a dog that was so large and 3yrs old when I got him,I could not have asked for a better protector,better company and better pet. He was one wonderful friend who provided so much joy in the lives of me and my children.
He was one of a kind and I do not regret the decision I made.

With your dog being overweight there is alot of strain on his old heart and on his joints and this is not good.
Becasue of his age,his healing process is going to be slow and even more hindered by his extra weight. (Ask your vet.)
All you are doing at this time with the pain meds is managing his pain but in the end,the animal is still in pain to some degree and there is going to come a time as with humans that the need for more pain meds is going to increase and at that point,how much is enough and how much is going to be too much and still allow good quaility of life?
At this point I think you really need to think about the things I had to think about and consider that letting him go MAY be the best thing you can do for him.
At the age of 14,the suggestion of Glucosimine is probably not going to help. He should have been started on it several years back in order for it to be of help to him now. Chances are that at this age,he will not live long enough to benefit from it.


God Bless you and the decisions you are going to be faced with in the days to come.