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View Full Version : Dogs who have had ACL surgery/injury



Pembroke_Corgi
11-08-2011, 10:52 AM
I think there are a few other dogs here who have had surgery or injuries on their ACLs. I was wondering what you do to minimize injuries again.

Marta has had two surgeries, one on each back leg. Once in a while she jumps wrong or something and limps on one of her back legs. (I tried buying stairs for the big bed, but she won't use them...) I don't want to totally restrict her activity, but I am worried about the possibility of her re-injuring herself. She has a normal activity level, the only thing I don't allow her to do anymore is go outside with the other dogs...both times she was hurt it was due to rough play.

If your dog has had an ACL injury, do you do anything special to make sure they don't get hurt again?

chocolatepuppy
11-08-2011, 02:59 PM
With RB Lacey, it was basically trying to keep her from running wild with the other dogs. Absolutely no running up steps, (the vet told me that) so a gate was put up at the steps to the basement. A gate was put up on bedroom door so she couldn't jump on the bed. She did some running and playing in the yard for quite a few years with no problem. Sadly, when she was older, somehow, she tore it again and had arthiritis, so it wasn't fixed. She was on pain meds until she just couldn't walk anymore.
How old is Marta?

Pembroke_Corgi
11-10-2011, 06:22 PM
With RB Lacey, it was basically trying to keep her from running wild with the other dogs. Absolutely no running up steps, (the vet told me that) so a gate was put up at the steps to the basement. A gate was put up on bedroom door so she couldn't jump on the bed. She did some running and playing in the yard for quite a few years with no problem. Sadly, when she was older, somehow, she tore it again and had arthiritis, so it wasn't fixed. She was on pain meds until she just couldn't walk anymore.
How old is Marta?

Thanks for the response. Marta is going to be 9 in a few months (which is really hard to believe). It's impossible to avoid stairs entirely in our house, we have 3 flights of stairs inside and the dogs have to go down a flight to get down to the back yard (the back door opens to a deck). But, I'm thinking that I should ban the bed. I don't want to, because Marta loves sleeping on the guest bed, but she could get hurt jumping off. It's been several years since her last surgery, and I hope she never needs another!! I try to keep Marta's weight down (which is kind of hard for a corgi) so she doesn't put strain on her legs, but she will probably get arthritis when she is older because of her problems too. :(

chocolatepuppy
11-10-2011, 07:52 PM
Maybe with Marta's shorter legs, the stairs aren't as big of an issue. Jumping off the bed could be. I had a tough time keeping Lacey's weight down as she couldn't run wild or be walked half to death!
Pawsitive thoughts and prayers for Marta. I hope all goes well. :)