# Anyone with cruciate ligament after care experience?



## blacksabbeth (31 May 2012)

My poor puppy dog has a ruptured his cruciate and also damaged another ligament in his knee(i will get the piece of paper to spell it).We got to wait 12 days for surgery as its quite extensive the damage hes done bless him.I am just after a heads up to get myself prepared i was told by the vet to buy him a crate as he will be on 6 weeks strict rest with only going out for a wee.At the moment hes on 20mg metacam once a day until surgery.Any help much appreciated and please share your experiences.


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## ladyearl (31 May 2012)

Poor pup! One of my customer's had to have this op for her lab and yes she was restricted in crate for at least 6 weeks (I've a feeling it was longer) plus her other leg went and she had to do same on that one. Funny thing was (and maybe it's 'cos she was a laid back Lab) She just seemed to accept this was what it was. Lots of distractions like chew toys etc. But obv food had to be kept under control with the lack of exercise.

Good luck!


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## ILuvCowparsely (31 May 2012)

Yes My dog ruptured his cruciate ligament , he had a band in his leg for a year which gradually dissolved.  Really helped him but he has  hip displacia too so he is lame sometimes.


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## CAYLA (31 May 2012)

Strict rest now and ppost op, and it you are going to use a crat (which is the best tool for strict rest) then introduce it now if he has never used one as it takes time. Place it up, chuck a big cover over it and offer up lots of goodies in there, all his meals, buy a few kongs in relation to his size and get some kong recipees and get freezing and stuffing start him of gradually letting him go in and out of the crate as he chooses, then start shutting his door only when you are in the room and make sure he has a kong or a large raw bone to gnaw on as a positive association.

I have nursed 3 cruciates now and one was an arthrodesis (lots of arthritis) in the area so she was very very sore afterwards, lots of swelling and strong meds, the first few days are the worst and you have to make them comfortable, you will possibly get some whinging and restlessness.
Get a buster collar and get him accustomed to one of those (stop him chewing his stitches out) buy a user friendly one off line and let him wear it for random periods and again offer up a distractor (kong) chew/'bone.

It's strict rest in the beginning literally bed to toilet, then you can start to lead walk and when you vet gives you the go ahead hydrotherapy is the best way to get those muscles built up again without weight bearing exercise.


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## Cinnamontoast (31 May 2012)

Which surgery is he having done? My boy had the tibia plateau levelling op, pretty epic as the bone is basically sawn almost in half and reshaped. He had six weeks strict rest in a crate, which he didn't mind, thank God. 

When taking him for a wee, I used a halti to ensure he didn't pull and strain his leg and used a towel as advised to support him when he cocked his leg (he refused to squat). 

Unfortunately, once one goes, the other is quite likely to also go (although as yours injured his as opposed to genetic, you might be lucky but compensating for any length of time could be bad for the 'good' one) and the insurance might say pre-existing condition after the first one goes. My boy's second one went soon after the first. 

Best advice is to throw supplements at him (green lipped mussel, glucosamine, chondroitin, turmeric-last three are main ingredients of seraquin/cosaquin), bring back to normal walks super slowly, always warm up lots first, keep him off the floor by buying a raised bed kuranda.com or the like. 

Mine after the op, flying springer:


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## twiglet84 (31 May 2012)

My rottie had her cruciate repaired in dec 2010 after getting off the sofa completely 10/10 lame. There are different techniques to repair but because of her size she had the TPLO surgery and has been perfect ever since, was amazed at how quickly she recovered and started weight bearing, remember the aftercare is as important as the surgery. You can try treating with rest and anti inflams, weight control is very important also. xx


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## blacksabbeth (31 May 2012)

Aww thanks everyone ALL fab fab advise and very much appreciated i promise ive ordered a crate and bought him a super comfy bed which hes laying on already i thought maybe a bit of his own smell might help a bit  some of the pics especially yours leviathan


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## blacksabbeth (31 May 2012)

blasted phone!!basically at the moment the vet just told us he will have a replacement and a graft from the muscle on his leg?we dont know too much until we take him back.Cinamontoast your dog looks great in that picture!!But thank you all so much i have just read everything out to my partner to what everybodys said and he also says thank you to everyone for the great advice.xx


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## pookie (1 June 2012)

My boy after his TPLO surgery in 2007  At the time he slept in a crate each night and whenever we were out anyway but I kept him out of there with the plaster on for obvious reasons  He recovered really quickly and is now a happy and healthy 8 year old.


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## UnaB (1 June 2012)

My lab had the TPLO surgery after she ruptured her cruciate chasing a bunny   She was 6 when she had the surgery i believe, she is 11 now and doing great on it.  We dont allow her to jump unless unavoidable, she has a ramp for getting in and out of the car (partly because she's an old girl too, we used to just lift her in and out) and she has sensible exercise regularly.  We had to lead walk her for about 6 months once she was able to be walked again as she had a habit of tearing off down the fields which obviously wasn't ideal.  She has calmed a lot in her old age!!

I think the immediate aftercare is most important though.  We gave Chloe an entire room and she slept on a spare double matress on the floor so she didnt have to jump or climb into a bed and it was plenty big enough for her to get comfy on.  We put lots of blankets around the room so she could lie comfortably anywhere.

The last couple of years as she's been getting older, we've been having the plate checked every 6 months or so.  She had some xrays taken a couple of months ago just to see how its all doing and the plate is still perfect, and theres not even any arthritis in the leg which is fantastic.  Im really pleased with how she's coping with it 

11 Years old and still does a brilliant GSD impression


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## blacksabbeth (2 June 2012)

Aww unab your dog is lovely and once again great advice from both of you.I now know the name of the ligament i will write it out as spelt on the paper-Levi has been diagnosed with a ruptured cruciate and extensive damage to his medial colateral ligament and to discuss surgery options which we have done.From what the vet said it will be with a band in his knee with muscle graft from his leg and from what he said it will eventually breakdown and the graft will support(hopefully fingers crossed).He has his new crate coming on monday and we bout him new toys yesterday so as soon as arrives i will take all the advice and introduce him to it and take each step from there.Hes been brilliant bless him despite being in pain and at the moment giving me cuddles on the settee.  but thank you everybody  all of you have been brilliant and thank you for shareing with me and levi all of your experiences.xx


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