Dog Knee Brace from Orthopets

A reader of Dog Knee Injury has graciously offered to share her dog Fargo’s story and share their experiences with Conservative Management. When Fargo’s owner first contacted me in February, 2010 she wrote:

“Our 11-year old yellow lab, Fargo, tore his ACL on February 4, 2010. I called the vet and he asked, “Did he go outside as a four-legged dog and return as a three-legged dog?” Which explained it precisely. We considered surgery, but, after days of research, I read about the extreme failure rate of surgery and it scared me. I stumbled upon a website called tiggerpoz.com that made so much sense. It recommended Conservative Management so, with great hope, we tried that for two months. He seemed much better as time went by, but then he would end up back at square one for some reason. I must confess we considered euthanasia because Fargo’s quality of life was not good. I went back to tiggerpoz’s website and found information on a fantastic knee brace from Orthopets. The info and videos on their website are amazing. So, I am ordering a stifle (knee) brace for our dog tomorrow. My vet or I will make a cast so the brace fits perfectly. I’ve been in touch with the owners themselves by email and they are very quick to get back to me and seem very caring. I cannot wait until Fargo can go for walks and go swimming again.”

Fargo has since been fitted for his Orthopets brace, and received it on 4/23. His owner has reported that he seems to be doing well with the brace, and the pictures below are of Fargo wearing the brace. I was unsure how the brace managed to stay up without being strapped to the dog in any way, but Fargo’s owner said that the brace stays up because of the velcro straps above the hock and around the knee – there are also auxillary straps on the thigh.

Think your dog could benefit from a custom dog knee brace from Orthopets?

Fill out the information below and a representative from OrthoPets (yes, they really are as great as everyone on this site claims them to be) will contact you. Don't forget to tell them Dog Knee Injury sent you!

  • Helpful information includes:
    - Date of onset
    - Symptoms
    - Last veterinary visit
  • Please Note -

    In order for OrthoPets to serve your pet best, you will need your local veterinarian to sign off on a referral form and/or provide measurements for a cast molding. The cost for the custom made brace is between $600-$700 dollars.

    A representative from OrthoPets will provide you with more information on this when your inquiry is recieved.

16 thoughts on “Dog Knee Brace from Orthopets

  1. Oh, I love those braces. Talked to the guy extensively, they really seem to know what they’re doing. I think these are the best braces out there.

  2. I;am interested in knowing the cost of the knee brace for my dog. He is 70 lbs. and is a mix lab and shephard.

    Thank you,

    Phyllis

  3. My husband and I would like to know what the cost of the brace is as well as what would be required to having the brace fitted for our Rhodesian Ridgeback/bulldog mix. Her name is Chula, weighs 56 lbs and will be 7 in October.

    We are seeking an alternative to surgery and would like get as much information as possible in regards to how other dogs have responded to having the brace.

  4. I would like to know the cost of the brace and where to get one. This surgery can only be preformed by two Animal Clinic’s in our area and the wait time is five weeks. Our Boy dog is going crazy being limited with his sister.

    Thanks!

  5. I hope that the people in the above posts have discovered Orthopets.com and followed through. They are fast to respond. The brace is somewhere between $600 and $700, depending on whether you’ve already had exam and x-rays done elsewhere. Costs include a tutoring session on using it. The February 2010 issue of Whole Dog Journal has an excellent article on cruciate ligament injuries, surgical options and conservative treatments. That’s where I learned of Orthopets. They also list excellent supplements to aid healing. Most scary, they mention a study in Journal of the AVMA (Jan 15, 2005, vol 226, no.2, p 232-236) which found fewer than 15% of dogs who have surgery regain normal function, and overall improvement in TPLO patients was only 40%. For the money, seems like results from conservative treatment have at least as good a chance, for a lot less cash in these hard times.

  6. Hi, could give us an update on Fargo’s condition? Did the brace from Orthopets work? I am considering this brace for my Bernese Mountain Dog. I’ve done quite a bit of research but have not seen any posts from owners AFTER using the brace and after completing rehab with their dogs. I’m interested in knowing how the ligament has healed and if the dog is able to return to normal activity without the brace. I’m also interested in knowing if you used Adequan to help the joint heal as that has shown to have impressive results and I would think it would be beneficial for this type of injury.

  7. I learned about OrthoPets on a show called Must Love Cats… I have a Great Dane and I was wondering if you have the size to fit him. You are right,Steve, the price does sound outrageous but compared to the $1800 per-leg surgery down where I live, it’s a great price.

  8. Seem pretty inexpensive for me compared to 3800 which I paid for my mastiff, now he needs his other leg done, but can’t afford another surgery so this might be my only option

  9. Well, it IS cheaper than surgery 🙂 If Jasmine was older at the time of her injury we might have opted for the brace also. Given her age and activity level we decided to go with the surgery.

    Btw, OrthoPet is quite famous right now, their patient – a dog with 4 prosthetic feet made the news 🙂 I had a long interview with the founder and he really sounds like they know what they’re doing. I’m very impressed with their products.

  10. I have researched many companies and ORTHOPETS seems the best choice by far!! I have ordered the casting material and my vet will make the custom fitted cast then it gets sent to orthopets where a custom fitted stifle brace will be made and shipped to me I cant wait! I have great faith in ORTHOPETS

  11. I have a very active pitbull 8yr and bought another brace system. unfortunately i don’t think it will work long term because it is only put on during leash walks and off while I’m at work. It slips when she pee’s or sits, which will cause harm to leg knee or back hip. It is also rubbing her hair off in less than a few days. They said to crate her or confine her and keep her quiet. ya right!
    This company above said I could leave it on while not being supervised and helps keep knee aliened throughout the day,off while at rest pm. note my dog dose not chew and with the extra expense i think it might be worth it. has any one had any experience with it or neg

  12. I am very interested in this brace as an option, but all I am seeing is it’s use on medium size dogs. I would like very much to see a couple of reviews from anyone who has used it on a big dog. Our dog is lean and 140 pounds, very athletic but somewhat aged at 10 years.

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