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…
Category: Conservative Management
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…
Conservative Management and Tightrope – Ellie
When Ellie, our 55-pound boxer/pit bull mix, was 3, she tore both ACLs within a couple weeks of each other. Our then vet immediately told us to have TPLO as soon as possible. However, My husband and I took to the Internet to see what we could learn about the whole ordeal. We opted for…
Conservative Management- Sadie
After 16 weeks, Sadie, our 9-year-old Shih Tzu, has started walking with only conservative management! We were told she would have to have surgery for a full tear to her ACL. The surgeon said to give it 8 weeks to see if she would get better. I am so glad I did not give up!!I…
LSS Surgery vs. Conservative Management for Small Dogs – Max
Two days ago Max, our 4 year old very active 18 pound Westie, would not walk when he woke up. We took him to the vet, and they said he tore his ACL and recommended LSS surgery. They gave him pain medication and laser therapy. By the afternoon he was acting normally because he couldn’t…
Moby – Conservative Management
Moby is a 2.5 yr old, neutered lab. About 6 weeks ago, he became leg-in-the-air lame on his left hind leg after an acute injury. This was diagnosed as an acute acl tear or rupture. But in retrospect, I think he was displaying a whole set of subtle symptoms that both knees were in trouble,…
Kona – Double Extracapular Repair
I am very concerned after our visit to the Vet last night. Kona our 72 lb. Lab is needing surgery on BOTH back legs! She was running around a few days ago with the neighbor kids and came back in limping. One knee is completely ruptured and the other torn. Our Vet warned us that…
Conservative Management for ACL – Madam Bijou
One morning, we noticed our Bichon Frise was limping. It was her left hind leg. The limp was noticeable and disturbing. She wasn’t whining or anything, but she wasn’t putting weight on it either. I took her to 2 different vets. Both said it was her ACL and they recommended surgery. It was this site…
Conservative Management – Koko
Koko is a 58 pound Labradoodle. She will be 9 in October. We were told she tore her right CCL in 2009, but we did not do surgery. We kept her activity down and began daily glucosamine and fish oil. Recently, she started limping again with the cold weather. We put her on Rimadyl and…
Conservative Management, Weight Management and Laser Therapy – Hannah
Hannah was diagnosed with a partially torn rear leg CCL one year ago, in May 2012. Now, approaching Memorial Day Weekend 2013, marks the one year anniversary of her diagnosis, and I thought to share her story so others out there know that surgery — TPLO, Tightrope, etc.– is NOT your only option, contrary to…