We have a wonderful Corgi named Lucy who will be turning 2 years old the first week of December. We picked her up from a breeder with a good history. She is pretty active at home with her step-brother Corgi Charlie, but at the dog park she doesn’t like to play; shes an explorer. At…
Category: Non-Surgical Options
Injury Misdiagnosis – Lucy
Our 8-year-old Goldendoodle Lucy was at our dog boarder while we were on vacation and we received an email that she had injured herself running while off leash. We picked her up a few days later and realized it was much worse than what they had described; she was trying to walk on 3 legs,…
Treatment Options – MacDuff
MacDuff is an almost 15-year-old terrier mix who weighs 21 lbs and is very healthy but 2 weeks ago he injured his back right knee and we’ve been told he needs a unilateral TPLO for $5,000 with an estimated 8 weeks of recovery. I initially said yes but then started wondering if that would be…
Surgery vs. Conservative Management – Sophie
Three months ago in February, my Scottie Terrier, Sophie, tore her CCL. She is 22.5 lbs and 7 years old. She had x-rays and saw two different vets, one being an orthopedic who recommend the band surgery. He manipulated it and said it was completely torn (not sure if he can really tell?) Anyway, I…
Conservative Management with Lupus – Kaylie
My 9-year-old 64 lb Kaylie became critically ill in June 2015 and was diagnosed with canine systemic lupus (which acts very much like human lupus) but luckily I found a wonderful internal medicine vet who is very knowledgable in this area. Through immunosuppressive drugs–Prednisone and Imuran among them–she has been in remission since mid-summer 2015,…
Beginning Conservative Management – Jackson
I joined this community because my 3-year-old Lab, Jackson, was just diagnosed with a partial cruciate ligament tear. The vet receommended surgery, and said it didn’t need to be done right away, but eventually it would. After going home upset at the though of putting my poor baby under the knife, I began researching other…
Conservative Management Success – Annabelle
I cannot praise this website enough and thank you to everyone who has contributed. I feel qualified to give my 100% endorsement to using the conservative management method because I have experienced both TPLO surgery and opting out of surgery and following the CM method. There is NO WAY that I would ever recommend the…
Surgery vs. Alternative Treatment – Dhani Doberman
My dog has been favoring a back leg for months, but not been lame. He was playing, landed on my other dog, and yelped. At the time I thought it could have been a muscle strain, so I kept him on the lead for two weeks but to be fair he wasn’t lame! I took…
Conservative Management – Deana
The following is a story from an owner that was derived from an email exchange: My 11-year-old miniature poodle has an ACL injury to her rear left leg from chasing a squirrel. Her vet said I should take her to an orthopedic specialist for his opinion. He felt, however, that at her age this might…
Veterinary Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine which involves inserting thin needles into specific points on the body. This technique has been used in China for thousands of years to treat a variety of illnesses and is a key component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The original theories of TCM assert that needling certain points…