A-Trac Dog ACL Brace and Conservative Management – Bayou

I used the ATrac canine stifle brace on my 8 yr old husky mix and it worked great! The initial fitting was a bit challenging, but after that the brace was easily put on and taken off. He adapted to the knee brace immediately. My only recommendation would be to shave your dog, especially in the summer – it makes the brace fit better, causes less sore areas, and the Velcro straps last longer and stay clean. however, I had to ‘brush’ them clean weekly. The few sore areas he did develop I treated with non talc baby powder and soon it callused and did not cause problems anymore.

It allowed my dog to move around – our dogs are outdoor dogs on a larger property and I was not able to control his activity while gone – the stabilizers helped, and I was able to wean him off the pain meds within 1-2 weeks using the brace 24/7. Being a Physical Therapist, I followed the protocol fairly closely – making adaptions depending on his progress. When the time came after 3 months or so we began the weaning process using our common sense, such as taking it off on the weekends only and then increased slowly by 1 day at a time. After a total of 4-5 months I felt comfortable leaving the brace off completely, HOWEVER we do not encourage jumping in any way shape or form anymore since we believe it happened jumping in/out of our pick up truck. Now we lift him or use a ramp.

I can only recommend this brace, it did the trick if you follow the protocol and use common sense. It was worth every dime, thank you so much for making something like this available!

6 thoughts on “A-Trac Dog ACL Brace and Conservative Management – Bayou

  1. Jessica,

    I purchased the brace for our golden retriever Jasmine from woundwear.com.
    We are from england and they shipped it to us!

    Jas wears her brace everyday and is comfortable and relaxed while wearing it. We go out for short walks and people are always stopping us to ask about it.
    They are very interested and impressed with its design. Jas has a torn ligament in her left knee and had surgery twice in Feb 2011 to mend
    a ruptured ligament in her right knee.
    I understand that she will probably need surgery on her left knee in the future but at the moment her knee doesn’t appear to be causing her pain or discomfort and that’s important. I do feel that the brace gives her support and confidence and she is walking well.

    The brace has enabled us to look at an alternative to surgery and has given us some control over our decision.
    Sometimes the vet can make you feel that an operation is the only way to treat an injury.
    We are very pleased with the brace and what it has done and is continuing to do for Jas

    Good luck Jessica!

    1. Do you, or anyone here have a video of them putting the brace on? I literally cannot figure it out. Thank you

  2. ORTHOPETS IN Denver Colorado have the best braces I have seen so far I have ordered one for my Labrador who has a torn CCL and surgery was reccomended but were trying the brace along with rest and supplements

  3. does anyone know if there is a used brace for sale. The cost is way beyond my means and do want to care for my dog.

    Thanks.

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