Pulled ligament in knee

[J]

Our 7 mo australian labradoodle had two bouts of yelping and pain with her back left leg, hopping on it. Our vet says she pulled a ligament in her knee and must stay quiet for at least two weeks for it to heal. She has pain meds and we've been keeping her quiet, no walks, swimming, playing etc. Minutes ago she reached around to bite her tail and started yelping in pain again. I ache for her and hate to see her going through this. Has anyone else had this happen with their puppy? Will this be a recurring problem now throughout her life? Thanks.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

We had this happen with our Sophie when she was just over a year old.  As you can see in the photo we kept her in an ex-pen.  We did this for I believe 4 weeks the first time it happened.  Sophie is the apricot one.  Sister Lucy would occasionally want to go in and just lay with her.  She injured it a couple other times after this one, but this one was far worse.  After she was about a two we never had any other problems.  Ironically Lucy is the one that ended up with a torn CCL and surgery!  I would say if you have an ex-pen use it.  Just put her on leash to go out to potty.  Otherwise, in the pen.  Sophie never yelped in pain tough.  She would just not put weight on it or toe tap.  We were even encouraged not to use the pain pills unless absolutely necessary as it would just mask the pain and she would reinjure..  If the yelping continues I might consider a trip back to the Vet for more extensive testing.  So sorry your baby is going through this.  I hope you have Pet Insurance  :o(

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

Lucy looks so much bigger than Sophie here!  Did she grow faster?

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Lucy ended up about 20 lbs heavier than Sophie!  They stayed close until about 8 or 9 months and Sophie slowed way down and Lucy kept going.

[Adrienne]

Sorry to hear this.  I hope that your Doodle makes a full recovery soon.

[Karen and Bridget]

Our lab did this when he was just about a year old.  We kept him restricted for several weeks and he recovered, or so we thought.  He ended up having surgery for a displaced patella at age 3 1/2 and according to the vet, it was probably caused by bone on bone wear after the initial ligament injury.  I'm not sure if or how we could have prevented the bone on bone rubbing, but I just want you to be aware of it.

[Kyoko]

Ouch! I am so sorry to hear about the injury!!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am so sorry.  As suggested I would keep her in an ex-pen or fastened to a leash near you; pottying on leash too.  The more she rests it, the better chance it has to heal.