Pookie is an 11 year old, 98 pound dog. He tore his Cruciate ligament in his left knee. The vet said right away he needed surgery and only surgery. Since he is 11 years old I did not feel that was a great option. We came home and did some research on different braces. I was torn between this brace and a custom made brace. In the end, we went with this one because we could have it delivered to us right away and I wanted to get him on the road to recovery quickly to help his other leg from sustaining injury.
The customer service was great, they helped us measure over the phone and walked us through each section. The brace was delivered the next business day. I will say it was extremely difficult to put on at first and the directions were vague. Between my husband and I, when we actually sat down and laid the brace out we were able to get it on.
Before the brace he would not lower his leg at all, holding it up as high as he could. The minute the brace was put on he put his leg down and started to touch his toes to the ground when walking. By day 2 he started to put a little weight on it. By day 5 he was putting full weight on it about 50% of the time. By day 7 he was putting full weight on it 100% of the time. When this happened we changed the rods out. Once the rods were changed we started to do our ‘rehab walks’.
We are now at 3 weeks and doing fantastic! He wants to be up and around as much as he can where before he just wanted to lay down, even to eat and drink. He even tries to run around the yard when he thinks we aren’t looking! We take two small walks a day, nice and slow. His legs shake pretty bad, but he was down for a long, long time so that is to be expected. He is begging us for the walks now instead of fighting us for them. He still walks with a tiny limp, but it is more a limp from having a brace on. I watch his leg closely when walking and he is definitely putting full weight on it. He even will put all his weight on his bad leg to lift his other leg when going to the bathroom sometimes. Clearly the pain is gone!
We are still reminding him to walk and not run. Trying to keep him from overdoing anything, but we are encouraged that he wants to be so active and run around. We still avoid steps, and will have to for another 8 weeks. so we are having slumber parties in the living room right now.
I saw a lot of reviews about how the brace worked for small dogs, so I was leery- but I am very happy to report the brace has done its job and far exceeded my expectations. I will keep updating as we go. I hope this helps you on your decision for your 4-legged children.
I will also say, of note, the customer service has been phenomenal! We ordered the wrong size harness and they overnight shipped a new one free of charge. I have called several times with questions and the vet will answer or call me right back. I have submitted several e-mails and facebook questions and always get a reply. I am sure they are sick of hearing from me and my million questions but I am glad that they take the time to respond. My vet was so against the brace, and only wanted surgery, she has been of no help so I am glad to have the CS at WoundWear.
So great to hear about this success. We have an extremely high string dog and were loathing surgery! This seems like a great option. Can you tell me the company you purchased through?
Best up luck with the baby!
Jessi
Hey Jessi,
I noticed this and i used this same brace as above for my dog. It is the A-trac Brace from Woundwear. They have a soft brace that is different from a lot of the other braces out there that are hard and hinged. My dog did great with it too and she is a medium sized extremely high energy dog. She wore it for about 8 weeks and is now almost back to her old self again. Good luck!
Julie
Julie, how much was the brace?
Yes, it seems to be the a-trac brace from woundwear. I wrote a review about it on here as well. Good luck to Pookie!
Ed K.
Hey Ed,
What was your experience with the brace? I have a mixed breed dog that is only 3 years old and has torn her ACL. She is barely putting weight on the leg and is so pathetic! I do not know what to do, surgery or bracing or what?? I need help and saw this about the brace and would love to know more.
Thanks,,
Stephanie
Hey Stephanie,
I hadn’t thought about these dog knee injury sites since last year because my dog got better, but I thought about it today, and I want to “give back” some encouragement.
I bought the A-Trac brace for my dog last year because he hurt his left CCL. He couldn’t put much weight on that leg. The first doctor suggested surgery and didn’t even mention conservative management. The second doctor suggested a specialist. The specialist said that it could go either way. I decided to go with conservative management first, and started looking into braces. The A-Trac seemed like the best option.
It’s been a little over a year since I got it, and my dog’s leg is great! He hasn’t worn the brace for about 6-8 months now. No surgery needed. You just have to take it slow. Short bathroom breaks. No stairs. If your dog has to use stairs (and you can’t carry her/him), then put a towl underneath and lift up her/his back legs. No running or playing. The brace comes with a suggested walking routine.
The vet recommended cosequin DS (glucosamine and chondroiton) and AllerG-3 (fish oil). I’ve been giving my dog those for about a year.
How much was the brace you got?
Hi Stephanie,
Not sure if you are still wondering about WoundWear’s brace, but here is their blog (which is linked to their main website) blog.woundwear.com/
I hope that it can help your doggy! 🙂
Do you have any pictures of your dog standing while wearing the brace?
Hi,
My male cattle dog tore his left ACL late last year, and due to his age and weight we were worried about him having surgery so our Vet offered a new solution. A medication called Pentosan, you have weekly injections for 4 weeks then monthly injections, he has gone from walking around with the bad leg pulled up to walking on it, it hasn,t cured the problem but it has made his life more bearable, i am now looking for some sort of knee brace just to add more stability.
Thank you for sharing your story about Pookie! My dog, Lacy, tore acl about a week ago and I was horrified! I didn’t know what to do. Surgury? Heal itself? I ended up getting her an a-trac brace from Woundwear and it has been working great! Hopefully it is a partical tear so I don’t have to put her through surgery. Thanks again for sharing and I hope Pookie is doing well!
Check out this website, getprolo.com our vet has been doing this therapy for over 7 years with great success.
Awesome! Thanks, Nick. I make sure to check it out.
That is a great website Nick. Thanks for sharing!
How do you find a vet who does this kind of Therapy?
My shepherd lab mix tore his knee last year. I was really concerned after the vet prescribed surgery and said there was nothing else, unless I wanted his leg amputated. That was horrifying. Fortunately the internet saved the day. Reading countless comments about other dogs having the TTA or TPLO surgeries and the horrible outcomes, kept me searching for a safe alternative. I read about the custom dog knee braces. After reading and talking to brace companies, I ended up getting a posh dog knee brace. The vet told me that all dog knee braces do not work and I would still have to buy surgery, but I read many comments on others that got a dog knee brace instead of surgery and the their dogs healed. I was very happy with the quality of the posh brace. Easy to buckle on. It needed a modification after a skype call. It was modified and mailed back in 2 days. It was great to put on the posh brace and start our dog walks again, and the walks were longer each week. In just a few short months he was walking normally. I tried the GlycanAid for the joints too. Definitely recommend poshdogkneebrace.com and glycanaid supplement to heal a dog’s knee without surgery.
How is your dog after two years? I just ordered the Posh Knee Brace for my Blackie.
How is blackie doing with his posh brace? We’re searching for brace options… several vets have said if the brace isn’t casted from our dog’s leg, it’s not going to work… we are confused.
Thankfully they are wrong. Posh Dog Knee Brace sets up a Facebook/Skype call to walk you through getting measurements and then they use those to make a custom brace. After it arrives, you’ll do another video call to check the fit after sending them several pictures and a video of your dog wearing it and walking. They are great and Inam very satisfied. Blackie is doing very well. Posh will give you step by step instructions for everything and are available for any questions. I went to their website and watched lots of videos and read reviews before making my decision. Best one I made. Highly recommend. I just posted a video of Blackie walking in my backyard with her brace. Search for Posh Dog Knee Brace and Blackie and it should come up. If you decide to get one, please use my name as the referral. Happy to answer any more questions.
One other thing, my vet called today to learn more about the brace so hopefully Blackie’s experience will help another dog heal without surgery