Cruciate Ligament tear!

[Paul Schumacher]

Our 8 mo. old Zoe had a little too much fun playing with other dogs at the park today.  She wiped out hard and came up limping.  Just got back from vet, who is 80% sure she has a partial tear in cruciate ligament.  For now, she is on anti-inflammatory medicine and rest (no running, no stairs, no off-leash) until we reevaluate in 2 weeks. 

Has anyone dealt with this in their doodles?  Specifically puppies?  We are hoping to avoid surgery, and at her age, surgery isn't an option yet anyway.  She isn't finished growing.  Hope to hear some who have encountered this and had successful recovery without surgery.

Thanks!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Great news!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Great news Paul!  Fingers are crossed for continued good health for your beautiful girl!

[Camilla and Darwin]

Great news and thanks for the update! Hoping that everything continues to improve!

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

So very happy for the great news!!!!!

[Leslie J]

Glad you are having success with non-surgical treatment for Zoe. The article was great- we restricted Cocoa's activity for a long time after her partial tear (we still are cautious about letting her get too active) and we have also seemed to avoid surgery. Thanks for posting this very informative article.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Sorry for Zoe- hope she heals soon.

[Paul Schumacher]

Time for another update:

It's been over 6 months and Zoe is normal.  The only linger effect is sometimes a popping in the knee (which she doesn't notice) when she sits.  Our vet and my online research says this is normal as the new scar tissue that formed in the joint to hold everything in place is what causes that noise.  I've been told with time it will happen less frequently.  Already, it has decreased some.

We have let Zoe run free at the dog park and off leash in yards and she seems completely healed.  Of course I'm still nervous at any given moment her ligament could get re-injured OR her other ligament could get injured (the stat I've seen is ~80% of dogs with a CCL injury wind up injury the other leg within a year because of the added weight and stress that falls on the healthy leg).  I keep an eye out for any limping or reluctance to move in any way after vigorous activity.  But we are finally letting her just "be a dog" again.  

For anyone considering trying the non-surgical approach, remember the following:

-the smaller your dog is, the higher likelihood of success without surgery

-when you decrease your dog's activity, remember to decrease food intake accordingly so your dog doesn't gain weight

-our vet actually advised us that being a little underweight while the CCL is healing is a good thing because it's less weight and stress on the joint

Good luck!!

[Sheree Small]

I was just reading about your Zoe's injury last year. I wondered how it has resolved. I also have a Zoey, she is a 16 month 48 lb golden doodle and very active. She started limping and holding her left rear leg up a couple of weeks ago. I took her to a vet last week and was told partial cranial cruiciate (anterior cruiciate) tear and to rest her 4 weeks. I will be seeing her regular vet tomorrow, but am curious how your pup is doing. My Zoey is still limping or not weight bearing when she first gets up, but as she moves around acts pretty normal. I am fearful a surgery is needed and it is awfully hard to keep her calm. Even a doorbell elicits a bolt up and across the room. Then there are the zoomies..... Thoughts? Thanks, Sheree