Dog's torn ACL?

Question

My Springer Spaniel has been diagnosed with a torn ACL. He's young, less than 2 years old. My vet said he may heal on his own, but that in a couple of years the pain will come back and it'll be worse. He really recommends having surgery within the next 2 weeks. My mom wants me to forget the surgery and let it heal on its own (my dog lives with her since I got married, so she has to care for him except for vet visits and expenses). My dog stays outdoors and is VERY active. I'm not sure what to do! Any suggestions? Should I do the surgery now, or wait to see if it'll heal and hope it doesn't get worse later on in his life?

Answer 1

We had a similar situation with our Jack Russell Terrier. We made the decision based on a couple of things...

1.) the dog's personality - she's very active and jumps around a lot - she just wouldn't be the same if she lost her springs
2.) future health of the dog - we were told the dog would eventually be OK without surgery, but would be slower, and more likely to develop other problems
3.) cost - $1400
4.) age of the dog - she was 3 and likely to live to 12 or older

It's a very expensive process, and will require a lot of your time and effort to care for the dog after his surgery (for several weeks). But our dog is almost 100% after the surgery. Though she still will very occasionally feel something and pull up the leg again.

We're glad we did it. Because we can tell it still bothers her, but only very little. Before the surgery, she walked on just 3 legs and whimpered if you touched her.

Answer 2

Well that's a bit weird. Torn cruciate ligaments may heal if assisted with anti-inflammatories, but I wouldn't say just leave it to heal on its own? Sounds weird, perhaps a second veterinary opinion is in order?

Damaged ACLs have a high probablity of rupturing good and proper if left, and then the dog won't be able to use it's leg at all, and will HAVE to have surgery.

I would ask the vet about anti-inflammatories, or get a second opinion, just leaving the leg does not seem like the way to go. Get anti-inflammatories now and you may be able to avoid surgery altogether, but I doubt you'll avoid surgery by just leaving it.

Chalice

Answer 3

I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/4p1q5

She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.
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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.

Answer 4

My dog tore her ACL and surgery was recommended. I went to another vet for a second opinion; rather than surgery, she had a soft cast (I believe it's called a Robert Morris, but not positive) put on the leg. It healed well. She does have arthritis (which is well managed with glucosamine) and I have to limit intense activity - if she turns too quickly she yelps and limps for a bit. Otherwise, her leg is great.

Consider a second opinion. If that vet says surgery, too, it's the way to go.

Answer 5

It could potentially heal on its own, and it could potentially heal badly. I would try for the surgery. Talk to your vet about doing the surgery on a budget. Some vets are very flexible and are more willing to work with you when the animal's best interest is at heart. Good luck!!!
Edit: Instability in a joint like the knee can later on result in arthritis. It ends up being a costly and painful problem.

Answer 6

Your dog is very young and has much time left in life.
A springer is a very active breed.
Personally I would opt for the surgery. Several of my clients have ahd it done and gotten wonderful results. The dogs are back to normal and doing very well. One person had to have both of her dogs rear legs done. The dog is doing great and has for the last three years. He is a very active dog and runs quite a bit with no issues.
His recovery from surgery was only a few weeks and he is great now.

Answer 7

Surgery is not always the only option. You could ask your vet about a brace. My dog tore her acl about a month ago and I ended up getting her an A-Trac brace from Woundwear. Although her leg is not fully healed yet, the brace has been making an incredible difference and I am hoping her leg will be healed up soon. Hope this helps!

Answer 8

Even if it "heals" on its own, your dog's leg will never be the same. The healing is a slow, and often painful process. I would recommend the surgery.

My parent's fostered a Rottie who's owner let the leg heal on his own, it got to the point where the dog had a signifigant limp. If you can, I would get the surgery, I think its worth it.

Answer 9

Get the surgery, that is VERY painfull. And KEEP HIM INSIDE!!!!