I have a very active 4 1/2 yr. old Boxer/Rott mix. I adopted her when she was 6 months old from the animal shelter here in Bozeman, Mt. It was Love at first sight! I was suffering from severe depression/servere anxiety disorder at the time, and when we met she put a smile back into my heart and life – I guess you could say she saved my life and I saved hers!
About 4 months ago I noticed that she was having severe difficulty rising from a sitting position, and also just sitting down, and she was favoring her right rear leg. I thought she just ran a little too hard, as she also has a very stong prey drive. She also loves to run (man can she ever go). I took her to our vet, and he thought just a mild knee sprain at that time.
However, she has pogressively been getting worse, and now it has turned into both rear legs. We have since seen the vet for a third time last month and he has now said more than likely she has a partial ccl tear in both of her knees. I was devasted to hear this news, and I have cried alot of tears watching her struggle, and not be able to run or even get up on her own.
I have her on Tramadol for the pain, and high doses of Dasuquin daily, my vet also wants her on 10,000 mg of fish oil too. He has said she will more than likely have to have surgery if she tears her ccl’s all the way, and I just do not have the 4,000 dollars to do this at this time. We are hoping and praying that this CM will work for her.
So far she is doing a little better, as long as I do not let her run AT ALL, and have to keep our walks short. Needless to say, she seems to be getting more and more depressed as the days go by, as she is not happy if she cannot get out and run off some of her high energy. It breaks my heart, but I know that it is for her own well being – I just hope that she understands that too!
I will keep you all posted on her progress. Thank you everyone for all of the stories, it has really helped me in dealing with this setback. I wish all of you and your doggies a healty recovery!
One last thing – I forgot to mention the surgery that my vet wants to perform is the Tightrope, I am going to be getting at least two or more opinions before I do make that decision if it comes down to that.
Perhaps you could invest in a stifle brace. It’s not as cost-prohibitive and it stabilizes the joint and keeps it safe also.
Hi there – not sure if you are checking this, as I notice the last post was back in Feb. Wondered if you’ve considered or tried Glyde? We are using this supplement with our mastiff cross.
We also give her fish oil capsules.
Another thing suggested to us is gold bead implant therapy for ongoing pain management.