My golden retriever Carly was diagnosed with a CCl injury. My vetnarian gave me a list of orthopedic surgeons. I came home and started researching everything I could about this injury and all of our options.

I contacted several surgeons over the phone and came to a conclusion. The cost of surgery was very expensive and I had read many reviews of dog owners who had decided to opt. for surgery and stated that their dog either re-injured themselves on the same leg or the oppisite leg. I did not want to put my dog through surgery and the amount of pain associated with that.

I decided to try conservative management first. I spoke with the vetnarian and she was very supportive of my decision. I ordered a casting kit from Ace Ortho Solutions and when it arrived at my vetnarians office she casted my dogs leg so that she could be fitted for a custom leg brace. The brace cost about $650. Since the company did not accept care credit my vetnarian allowed me to pay her using the care credit so that I was able to make payments and she paid the company for the brace. It couldnt have worked out better.

It has been approximately 4 months since my dogs injury and she had to wear the brace for about two months. I would leave it on during the day when she was most active and took it off at night. I am very happy that I made the decision to choose conservative management. The surgery is not guaranteed.

I also bought Carly a dog life jacket and let her swim as much as possible with a feeling of security. I purchased a handheld lightweight massage and Carly enjoys every second of it! Also, not to mention that the brace I purchased was waterproof so she could swim with it on.

If you are struggling with the costs I just want to inform everyone that their are other options and resources you just need to do your homework. I hope this will be of some helpful information to anyone who is in the position I was in 4 months ago and had never even heard of this injury before.

Conservative Management and Knee Brace – Carly is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

About a month ago my dog Zep began mildly limping. I took him to my vet. and he prescribed an anti-inflammatory and rest. Zep seemed to improve and then all of a sudden he wouldn’t put his right leg down for anything and had a horrible time getting around and going outside.

While waiting to see if Zep would improve I researched all the surgical procedures and their various success rates. None of the surgeries which I researched showed anything better than a 50/50 chance of a good recovery.

I decided to opt for the A Trac Dynamic Brace because of all the the success stories and this brace seemed to make the most sense when compared to the others. None of the surgeries which I researched showed anything better than a 50/50 chance of good recovery, so the brace seemed to be a good conservative treatment.

From the moment I put the brace on Zep he began to put more weight on his right leg. After 3 weeks he is putting full weight on the leg and even has started to use the right leg when he urinates.

Although I had my doubts because of the severity of Zep’s injury. It has performed beautifully!! WoundWear has created an outstanding product, and has helped me along with excellent technical support when I needed it. It seems to me Conservative Management is the sensible first step for most injuries. The A-Trac Brace is a no brainer. Thank you WoundWear for helping Zep. I now have my best friend back.

I took video of Zep’s process to see if the brace would actually work. Well, it did! I sent it to WoundWear and they put it online!

Conservative Management with Brace for Full Cruciate Tear – Zep is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

I just wanted to add China’s story…she’s another APBT with bad knees. Three years ago she injured her left ACL and I didn’t have the funds or heart to deal with surgery. I opted for the A-trac brace and had great success. She never chewed it or complained about it…there were a few times that I noticed it was rubbing her hair away and/or chaffing her skin so I just cut the toe out of a sock and used that as a protective layer for her skin. After 12 weeks of wearing it she was using the leg without limping and the only noticeable injury/issue was that her leg was a bit atrophied but I assumed that was normal (it returned to normal a month after full use).

Recently China injured her other knee…and I’ve contacted Wound Wear again and plan on buying a brace for her right leg along with another brace for her left, hoping that will keep her from re-injuring it during the next 12 weeks. And just an FYI I know the left brace was still in good shape when I took it off last I just can’t find it. It’ll be interesting to see how she does with two nearly rigid knees.

Here is a picture of China standing with her left side brace on.

Thank you guys you offer a wonderful service. There’s nothing like watching your dog in pain and not knowing what to do. Keep up the good work!!

A-Trac Brace Experience – China is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

Help!  My dog is limping – Could it be a torn ligament?

This guide is a good starting place for anyone looking for more information on dog knee problems, specifically cruciate ligament injury in dogs.  This article will give an overview of dog knee injuries covering everything from symptoms to recovery.

What is a Cruciate Ligament Injury?

An injury to the CCL (also known as the cranial cruciate ligament and sometimes called the ACL) can cause lameness in dogs, and is one of the most common causes of rear leg lameness. The function of the cruciate ligament in dogs is to stop the femur (large bone at the top of the leg, above knee) and tibia (smaller bone at bottom of leg, below knee) from rubbing against one another. When the cranial cruciate ligament is torn or ruptured the leg loses stability because these bones are now free to move back and forth on top of one another, causing friction, inflammation, possible meniscal injury and eventually arthritis.

During activities with a healthy dog ACL ligament there will be tension on the ligament, preventing the femur from pressing into the tibia, creating a sliding motion for fluid movement. If your dog is walking or running with a cruciate ligament tear there will be no tension on the CCL, allowing the bones to unnaturally move together, causing pain, lameness and an aversion to using the leg. The best way to think of this would be to envision the ligament like a rubber band, but instead of holding the bones together, the rubber band is in place to prevent the bones from coming into contact. When the rubber band is snapped, there is no longer a gliding joint in the knee and there is contact between the bones.

Acute vs. Chronic Causes of Cruciate Ligament Injury

Acute injury is generally associated with trauma. If the CCL (also referred to as ACL because of it’s similar function to the human ACL) is injured acutely it will most often be due to improper rotation of the knee and hyper extension. This can occur in many different ways such as a dog taking a misstep off a curb, stepping into a divot, jumping or becoming stuck, using a jerking motion to free him/herself.

Chronic injury of the canine ACL is generally associated with disease, age related degenerative changes of the ligament, excess weight (obesity) and conformation of the knee joint (certain large breed dogs are more prone to these types of injuries due to the way their back legs are formed). In the case of chronic injury of the cruciate ligament, there is very little that can be done to prevent the injury from taking place.

Size Matters

Small and large dogs fair differently with the same type of ACL injury. Studies have shown that dogs weighing less than about 25 pounds can experience a full recovery from ligament damage without surgery. This is not true in dogs above the 25 pound threshold. While dogs over 25 pounds may appear to be improving with conservative methods, these larger dogs rarely return to their full function without any issue. This is not to say that there has never been a case of a medium to large sized dog recovering from a torn CCL with only conservative management, but does demonstrate that smaller dogs have an easier time fully recovering using the conservative approaches.

Symtoms of a torn, ruptured or injured CCL will vary from dog to dog, and depending on whether the injury was acute or chronic in nature. Some dogs with a fully torn cruciate may only exhibit mild lameness, while others with a tear may not bear any weight on the leg at all. This again varies based on the type of dog, their size and whether other structures within the knee (particularly the meniscus) were also damaged. Below are some of the most common symptoms associated with a dog knee ligament injury.

Symptoms of a Dog ACL Tear:

1. Decreased range of motion.
2. Hind leg extended straight when sitting down (this is known as the sit sign).
3. Crackling noise of bones rubbing against each other – the medical term for this is Crepitus.
4. Dog exhibits signs of pain when knee (stifle) joint is touched.
5. Exercise intolerance.
6. Limited range of motion or mobility.
7. Stiffness, limping or unwillingness to use the leg after exercise.
8. Knee joint is swollen and/or hot to the touch.
9. Thick, tight, hard and/or firm feel to knee.
10. When standing will only place weight on the toe instead of using entire foot (called toe-touching). An early sign of toe-touching is to only have weight on one side of the body when standing.

There are other conditions with symptoms similar to a dog ACL injury such as: arthritis, knee sprain, meniscal injury, hip dysplasia, patellar fracture, patellar luxation, myelopathies, lyme disease and others. Please schedule an appointment with your vet if your dog shows any of the CCL tear symptoms listed above.

What if my dog’s CCL is never repaired?

This, again, depends on their size, breed and a number of other factors. Some dogs without a CCL may do just fine, while others may use the ability to use their leg. One truth for any dog without a supporting knee ligament is the fact that they will be more succeptible to injuring other structures within the knee, particularly the meniscus. The role of the mensicus in the knee is to act as a cushion, and absorb shocks. Damage to the meniscus is serious and typically leads to arthritic change and lameness.

What to Expect During Your First Veterinary Visit for a Suspected CCL Injury

Consultation and Review of Symptoms

Your veterinarian will review your dog’s symptoms and time of onset.  Going through a detailed history will allow your vet to determine if conditions with similar symptoms may be ruled out at this time.

Physical Exam

Walking Gait

Your veterinarian will want to watch your dog walk and run to see how they are balancing their weight and using the affected leg.

Palpation of the Joint

Your veterinarian will touch your dog’s knee to assess the joint looking for signs of:

• Swelling or Inflammation
• Loss of Muscle Tone
• Pain or Soreness
• Range of Motion
• Popping of the Joint
• Fluid Accumulation

Drawer Sign Test

During the drawer test the veterinarian with stabilize your dog’s femur with one hand while manipulating the tibia with the other. If the tibia moves forward, known as a positive drawer because of the way the bone moves similar to a drawer being opened, the ligament is ruptured.   A negative drawer sign does not necessarily mean your canine does not have a cranial cruciate injury, and false negatives can happen if your pet is tense, if the injury is old and if there is arthritis.

Tibial Compression Exam

Another test, similar to the eliciting the drawer sign, is the tibial compression test. During this exam your veterinary physician will stabilize the dog’s femur with one hand, while flexing the ankle with the other. In dogs with a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament, the tibia will display forward motion upon flexion of the ankle joint.  Again, a negative tibial compression exam does not rule out a cruciate ligament injury, and many factors can contribute to a false negative result.

How to Test a Dog for a Knee Ligament Injury

X-Rays for CCL Injuries

Radiographs are usually taken, not to diagnose a cruciate ligament injury (soft tissue damage is not clearly visible on x-ray), but to rule out other diseases such as cancer and hip dysplasia. An xray will confirm the presence of fluid in the joint as well as arthritis, which will help to confirm the diagnosis of a cruciate ligament injury.

Ultrasound for CCL Injuries

Ultrasound may be used to positively diagnose a CCL injury. Unfortunately a minority of medical clinics are equipped to do ultrasound, and many veterinarians rely on the results of the consultation with you, physical exam and ruling out any other conditions by x-ray to make the diagnosis of a CCL injury.

My Dog Has Received a Positive Diagnosis of a CCL Injury – What Are My Treatment Options?

There are two major avenues for treating a dog knee ligament injury – conservative management or dog knee surgery.

What Is Conservative Management?

Conservative management is a non-surgical option for treating cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) injuries in dogs. Depending on the size of your dog, the severity of the injury, presence of other damage (particularly to the meniscus – remember, this is the part of the knee that acts as a shock absorber) and the duration of time since the onset CM may be a good option for your dog. As mentioned above, dogs weighing less than 25 pounds tend to have better outcomes using conservative techniques than larger dogs.

A variety of techniques can be used if you choose Conservative Management (CM) for your pet.

Conservative Management Includes:

“Standard” Conservative Management

• Rest – Your dog should remain inactive during the recovery period, abstaining from rough play, prolonged exercise or any movement that may cause any pressure or unwanted movement within the knee joint.
• Weight Control (and reduction if necessary) – One way to reduce stress on the joint is to keep your dog’s weight under control, and if possible, underweight is better during the recovery process.
• Anti Inflammatory Medications – There are a number of Holistic (ex – Yucca Root) and Prescription (ex – Rimadyl) medications available that can help to make your pet more comfortable as the knee heals.

“Optional” Conservative Management

• Dog Knee Brace – There are a variety of dog knee braces available including the orthopets canine stifle brace and atrac dynamic brace.
• Veterinary Acupuncture – Acupuncture for dogs is available, and can help to de-stress your pet as their body heals.
• Veterinary Chiropractic - A chiropractor can work with your dog to make sure your pet is free from any subluxations or other blockages.
• Physical Therapy for Dogs – Working with a certified canine physical therapist can help to ensure your dog maintains muscle tone and range of motion in the leg following their injury.

What Are The Different Types of Surgery for Dog ACL Injuries?

Dog Knee Surgery Options:

TPLO Surgery (tibial plateau leveling osteotomy)

This surgery adjusts the slope of the tibial plateau (preventing unwanted forward motion) by cutting and rotating the top of the tibia, and keeping it in position with a bone plate (which can be removed after healing).

TTA Surgery (tibial tuberosity advancement)

The TTA surgery also focuses on changing the angles of the bones within the knee joint. In a TTA the tibia is cut and moved forward to create stability. The new position of the bone is held into place with a bone plate (which can be removed after healing).

TTO Surgery (triple tibial osteotomy)

The TTO is a combintation of the TPLO and TTA techniques. It moves the tibial crest forward, as a TTA does, and also adjusts the tibial plateau to 90 degrees, as the TPLO does.

Tightrope Surgery

Tightrope CCL is an extra capsular technique using the lateral suture stabilization (LSS) procedure in conjunction with a material called FiberTape to provide bone to bone stabilization.

Extra Capsular Suture (traditional repair, extracapsular imbrication)

This is referred to as a traditional repair because this was once the conventional treatment for CCL tears. The extra capsular suture uses a strong leader line suture in a figure eight pattern around the knee to provide stability and keep the knee in a normal position.

Fibular Head Transposition (fibular head transfer)

The fibular head transfer surgery utilizes another ligament in the knee, the lateral collateral ligament, to take the place of the CCL. In this surgery the fibula is rotated so that the lateral collateral ligament can perform the function of the CCL.

Dog CCL Surgery Recovery

Depending on where the ligament surgery was performed, your dog may stay overnight to be monitored and receive pain medications following the procedure. TPLO surgery recovery can be different from TTA surgery recovery, so it’s important to follow the recommendations of your vet during the post operative period. Your dog’s sutures will be removed within a week or two of the procedure, and follow up appointments are typically done at 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 12 weeks. Again, depending on the type of surgery done, radiographs may be done during these follow up appointments.

During the 6-14 week period following surgery it is very important to severely limit your pet’s activities. For approximately three months following dog knee ligament surgery your pet should be confined to a crate, small room or enclosed area when you are not able to be with your pet. You will probably want to make use of a dog cone collar – Elizabethan collars or Pro collars are my favorite. Make sure to post operative doggy proof your house and make sure they have no opportunity to slip, slide, jump up onto furniture, climb up stairs or engage in any activity that may damage the healing knee.

While outside you should accompany your dog for bathroom breaks, and they should always be controlled on a leash – you never know when a post operative dog may get the urge to chase a squirrel! You may increase the length of walks during the recovery period under the recommendation of your veterinarian and judging by how well your dog is recovering. I strongly recommend not letting your dog off leash at all during the first few months following surgery just to be on the safe side. Your veterinarian will most likely encourage you to have your pet use the injured limb immediately following surgery, but do not overdo it. Physical therapy during this time can also be very beneficial, and swimming is a great way to ensure your dog gets to use their leg (helping to maintain strength and muscle mass) without engaging in any activities that may be harmful to the knee.

Cruciate Ligament Injury in Dogs is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

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!

A-Trac Dog ACL Brace and Conservative Management – Bayou is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

Dog Knee Brace Experience – A-Trac Dynamic Brace

From the moment I put the brace on, Mya was putting full weight on her wounded leg. Mya wore the brace 24/7 for eight weeks, during which time I followed the rehab protocol to the tee – that is, keeping her quiet, taking her for increasingly longer walks on level ground, then moving to inclines.

The brace never seemed to bother Mya, and she left it completely alone. I took it off once to wash it and to my surprise, when I put it back on Mya did not at all object!

It has been seven months since Mya stopped wearing the brace and she is doing fantastic! Her surgeon is very impressed – she is completely healed! She is not at all lame and enjoys as much activity now as she did before her injury.

I’m sorry it didn’t work out for Tucker. I can’t really say why our experiences were so different. I feel really fortunate to have found the A-TraC Dynamic Brace and highly recommend it!

To read about Tucker’s experience with the ATraC dog knee brace click here.

A-Trac Dynamic Brace After Two Failed Extracapsular Surgeries – Mya is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

Neva’s story – Tightrope and OrthoPet Brace

Neva is a 5-year old pointer mix. She lives to run, jump and play. During weekend runs at our open space dog park she puts in 10+ miles chasing rabbits to my measly four. She’s never had a health problem since the day I picked her up from the pound, at 8 weeks old and under 12 lbs. Slender by nature, she hit adulthood at 45 lbs and over the last couple years she’s crept up to 68 lbs – still svelte, but not skinny by any means.

In Aug 2010 we were playing ball in the yard and she hit a divet in the grass and twisted her knee. I knew something was wrong right away. She stopped, I ran to her and got her to lay down. She would not put any pressure on the foot and was clearly in pain. She hobbled on one leg, keeping the other high and managed to get inside to rest.

Some quick “Googling” and I found this site and many others – symptoms told me – I knew she’d torn her CCL before we even went to the vet a couple days later. Sure enough, the doc confirmed my suspicion and a week later solidified it with x-rays. (We waited a week before spending xray money to see if she would put more weight on it – perhaps it was just a strain.)

An important aside for anyone considering xrays – have them do the full pelvic as you will only then get to see what else may be at play. In Neva’s case, the news was not good. While only 5, she is showing signs of significant hip degeneration on the right (where the knee blew). The left hip and knee also showed some wear, and the doc said the chance for the left knee to blow was at 80% – which is a bit higher than the quoted 40- 50% for dogs in general.

The hardest part was knowing what to do because it was all starting to seem like a slippery financial slope. My husband and I argued about it for days. We love our dog but at what financial burden do we say “too much” and what are our choices if we do nothing and just let her heal? Nobody could give us a clear answer. User experiences like the ones on this site provided the most insight.

As far as prices, we priced everything. The prices I listed below were those provided by my vet and they save money by being a location where they don’t employ a full time orthopedic surgeon share a traveling ortho with 20 or so other vets in the area. This cuts costs and allows them to still offer specialist care w/o paying for fancy overhead – I think it saved us 1/3rd the cost of going to a hospital directly.

Here is what we ended up considering:

For the hips:
• Hip replacement – torture on a dog and HUGE expense. ($5k/ hip).
• Hip stem cell therapy – supposedly 85% success rate – they simply take some stem cells from the dog’s chest area and place them in the hips and the hips improve magically. This has been used by horses for quite a while but is new to dogs $2250.
• Manage hips with drugs – an 8 week regimen of Adequan shots for dog (you can do it yourself – they don’t even notice) plus daily Glocosomine tabs in food. Then continue the Adequan every month or so. Note on drugs – save over half the costs by buying them online – 800-petmeds.com or I found www.drsfostersmith.com to have good prices. $500+ annually.

We chose: Manage hips with drugs.

Nobody could tell us how bad the hips were and if they had always been this way. She did not appear to be hampered by it and we just weren’t ready to drop a bunch of dough on something we weren’t sure was going to really be a problem any more than any other dog we see at the dog park.

For the knees:
• TPLO on right knee – the defacto standard and Cadillac of knee surgeries for dogs. Most vets love this – it works and it’s the #1 financially profitable dog surgery for vets in the nation! $2500 – $3500
• TTA – also high price ,but seemed to hear it was a longer recovery. Not sure I really considered this one.
• Tightrope Surgery on right leg – different approach, newer, less invasive, doc said she’d only had one fail in the time she’s seen it, less expensive at $1500 – $1900
• OrthoPet Brace – on right knee and/or left knee to avoid surgery and let it heal naturally. $850 for one brace including all consults.
• Conservative Management – I tried this for three weeks and she was not really improving.

We chose: Tightrope for blown knee and OrthoPet brace for the left knee for prevention of further tear during healing and long term.

Why did we choose the Tightrope repair surgery?

TPLO seemed like giving a less than perfect dog a single bionic leg – and still suffering from the other bad leg. Giving the dog surgery on the other knee later is something we don’t want to do. So we opted to fix the bad knee now and hopefully pay now to mitigate the high chance of another knee injury later with a future brace. This kept it in the $3k range and gave her the best chance for high quality of life in our opinion. We could have just braced the right leg and hoped it healed, but we did not know if meniscus was damaged and if it was the brace would not help as the dog would not put weight on it. As it turned out the meniscus was fine but we didn’t know until we got inside for surgery. (BTW a meniscus-ectomy – or something like that – is $1500 alone – might as well do the tightrope!)

The results:

Its been 4 days since surgery (Sept 8, 2010). I read a lot of horror stories on here and other places about recovery. But we’ve had none of that. She came home that night, drugged up as a sailor on leave, but she was fine. We have Tapazol for the pain (the patch was overkill), as well as the Duramaxx she’s been on since the injury. She peed and pooped the next morning and continues to eat normally. She is already toe touching when I take her out to go. The brace will be ready next week so I’ll keep you posted on that!

The biggest problem is that dang cone to prevent licking. It makes her nervous and unable to relax. I know how important it is for her not to touch the stitches (which BTW are inside and will dissolve with time) and how fast she can unravel the work. But the cone has caused me to lose sleep. I tried putting shorts on her – she took them off. I’m considering some kids biking shorts next. The vet says none of this works. She is not actively going after it, but I’m worried the real itchiness hasn’t yet hit and will soon. I crate her when I’m gone but put her on the floor next to me while I’m home.

I’ll give an update on how the tightrope is working later, but so far, so good!

Update on Neva – 4 Weeks Post Op:

First, thanks for the note on collars I will DEFINITELY try one next time we have an issue! Luckily we passed that phase w/o incident. That was, however, the worst part!

Its been 4 weeks since surgery. Neva is very active now and the hardest thing is keeping her mellow. I work at home some days and put her in our bedroom when gone. We are walking the block for 15 minutes daily and she is putting plenty of weight on the leg. Vet says she is in 95th percentile which makes me a proud mama but really it was nothing i did – just good luck i think.

I try to massage her leg and she tolerates ice / heat which is recommended by the doc. The OrthoPet brace as helped her to get her gate in order for the “not so bad” leg but we only wear it when out and about. Day 1 of the brace i could tell her using it made her work both legs more which was good.

Right now I am so happy we did the surgery, and feel good about the Tightrope option. It was a quick recovery for her and no real heart wrenching pain.

Thanks for everyone’s story here and i will keep reading.

Tightrope and OrthoPet Dog Knee Brace – Neva is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

OrthoPets is the leader in Dog Knee Injury Custom Made Devices.

If you’re interested in a custom knee brace for your pet – visit our Dog Knee Brace page and fill out the information request form.

In order to be properly fitted for a stifle device, you will need to have your pet’s veterinarian fill out a short form. The form can be viewed as a pdf at the following link – Dog Knee Injury Device Form

Below are some videos showing the success OrthoPets patients have had with their orthotic devices.

OrthoPets is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries

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.

Dog Knee Brace from Orthopets is a post from: Dog Knee Surgery and Ligament Injuries