My 12-year-old (best estimate of his age) Bordie-Collie mix (and breed) injured his CCL on 5/11/21. He is about 50 lbs. I adopted him from the Humane Society 8 years ago. We were able to get in to see the vet within a few hours of his injury and a CCL tear was diagnosed based on the “drawer test.”
The recommendation was extracapsular surgery. Having had a previous dog–large mixed-breed dog that died within 2 weeks of TPLO surgery, I was reluctant to have any surgery done, that experience, plus Tedy’s age and early kidney issues led me to explore alternatives.
I told my vet I wanted to try conservative management and also consult with a canine physical therapist. They were supportive and gave me a referral and a prescription for Gabapentin. We saw a Canine Rehab Specialist on 5/26 and she said that Tedy was NOT a good candidate for physical therapy (they have water treadmills, etc.) because he was too stressed in a “clinical environment.” She felt it would be counterproductive. She also did NOT recommend the extracapular surgery.
The physical therapist is sending me information about better supplements, at-home range-of-motion exercises and we discussed cold/heat therapies. She also recommended Adequan injections and acupuncture. I will be exploring those things, as well as getting x-rays to see how much arthritis is currently going on. The therapist supported CM and said older dogs often do better at home in familiar settings, and that I could work toward getting him as mobile and pain-free as possible for as long as possible.
Tomorrow will be 3 weeks since his injury, and we’ve just been going outside in the yard every few hours for him to pee/poop (about 10 minutes each time). He is walking better on the leg, and his personality has been coming out much more, especially this past week. This morning he was very energetic and kept going to the garage door to go out instead of the back or front door.
Prior to his injury we were going for short car rides to various places in the subdivision for walks. I figured I’d try the car and see how things went. He did use a ramp and I used a supportive sling too. He got in the car OK and then in and out when we got to the subdivision clubhouse area. He was THRILLED to be out and exploring one of his usual areas! After 10 minutes I took him back to the car (against his will…he would have kept walking) and we went home. He has been more “hoppy” this afternoon, but his mood has been good and he is still walking/putting some weight on the leg. Even holding his “good leg” up sometimes when he pees. I think the in/out of the car and riding in the car/balancing is a bit hard on the knee.
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We’ll keep it to the backyard tomorrow and I’ll see how he is. I would love to be able to take him for some regular, brief walks in the neighborhood. Unfortunately our driveway is VERY steep, so walking up and down it is not an option. I’m going to keep restricting activity for the next five weeks (that will make 8 weeks of CM) and expect and hope to see continued improvement. I’ll update!
Update–Tedy is a little more than 9 weeks since the injury and is doing GREAT! He began going up and down the stairs in the house nearly 2 weeks ago and is going on three walks a day (relatively brief due to the heat and not wanting to overstress his leg).
He’s had a few acupuncture treatments so far and is taking a few new supplements. He is acting more and more like his “old” self, and I’m so happy I explored alternatives to the surgery.
Update–Tedy is a little more than 9 weeks since the injury and is doing GREAT! He began going up and down the stairs in the house nearly 2 weeks ago and is going on three walks a day (relatively brief due to the heat and not wanting to overstress his leg).
He’s had a few acupuncture treatments so far and is taking a few new supplements. He is acting more and more like his “old” self, and I’m so happy I explored alternatives to the surgery.
Hi! Wondering what supplements you used? Thanks!
Hi. We gave him Dasuquin Plus (I think it’s called Advanced versus Plus now). It’s a vet prescribed formula. The acupuncturist also had him on a liquid nutrient formula for several weeks too.
While he recovered well from that injury with not even a limp, he developed canine dementia in 2022 and I we had to let him go this past August. I’m glad his last few years–until the last month of his life–were good ones. I wish the best for your pet.
He also continued on the Gabapentin for his arthritis, and I put fish oil (canine formula) on his food every morning. Thankfully he loved the fishy taste!
Hi Gayle! I have an 8 year old male GSD that just got diagnosed with a partial ACL/CCL tear. He puts a little bit of weight on the knee and has a slight limp but they recommended TPLO surgery as well. With it being so small of a tear I was wanting to explore CM first! I’m so happy I came across your page and I am so so so sorry for your loss of Tedy. Did you try the Adequan shots? If so did they work? Also, what kind of exercises/regime did you do at home for Tedy? I know my pup will definitely be “clinically anxious” and I’m up for the challenge to get him better at home. How long did you do restrictive rest before beginning exercises/short walks? Thank you so much for your input.
Hi Mary,
I think a lot of vets recommend surgery as the first course of action. I’m glad I sought advice from other vets that felt other options were not just worth exploring, but were likely to have better outcomes. Tedy did recover fully from the ACL injury, and his later mobility issues were tied to arthritis versus the ACL issue. Like your dog, he was putting a bit of weight on very soon after the injury and limping on that leg. The rehab vet that recommended the holistic vet (who had practiced for years as a “regular” vet) gave me information about conservative management, but I learned a lot from sites like this too.
I moved a mattress downstairs that first day and I blocked the stairs so that Tedy would not attempt them. We camped out downstairs for about 8 weeks, with me limiting his activity. I got a sling to put under his back legs when going up/down the few deck stairs. For the first few weeks, we just went outside in the backyard for very brief walks (on a leash with the sling for support on the stairs/as needed) for him to do his business. I used a heating pad a few times a day on his joints, and an ice pack immediately after our trips outside. There were also some stretching/range-of-motion exercises that I did with him for the first month. He started acupuncture a few weeks after the injury, a few times a week for a few weeks, and then once a week, and then every other week the last month. We did the acupuncture for about three months until he seemed to have fully recovered. It really seemed to help, as did the liquid supplement and the Dasuquin Plus/Advanced. I didn’t have him do the shots since everything else seemed to be working well. After a few weeks, using a ramp and the sling for in/out of the car, we started to do brief walks (10-20 minutes each) in the neighborhood and he did great–and was VERY happy to be out of the house and in someplace other than the backyard! Within three months he was pretty much back to normal, and though my original vet said that without the surgery he would ALWAYS have a limp, he had no limp at all. I know conservative management isn’t for all dogs/all cases, but it was the right choice for Tedy. My thought was that if it didn’t work, surgery could always be an option. What they don’t often talk a lot about when recommending surgery is that the recovery/rehab from the surgery will last for weeks too. Whatever you choose, I hope your GSD has a great outcome!
Also…the Gabapentin helped with pain (and he stayed on that as his back and hip arthritis worsened. There are other pain meds that are used more often–Tramadol is one, I think–but because of his kidney issues the Gabapentin was the better option for him.