German Shepherd Dog Third Degree Anterior Cranial Cruciate Ligament Tear, 1 of 8.

I now believe, this is may have been the first day of the injury, Feb 1, 2010. This is the first of eight videos of my 10 year old dog Tyson. He was diagnosed by a Vet with a Third Degree/completely severed Cranial Cruciate Ligament of the Knee (known as the Anterior Cruciate Ligament in humans). I noticed him limping, took this video, then took him to the Vet. You can see it in his right rear leg, specifically his knee. The dog was sedated, the Vet did the Sliding Drawer Test to his knee, and had his hips x rayed. His Cranial Cruciate Ligament is completed severed, third degree tear. It will never grow back since it's completely severed.

I'm not sure how or when he injured himself. He did not scream when it occurred. His injury could have occurred as he was jumping in the back of a small truck or on top of a concrete platform approx 2 feet high. Some of the signs I can see:
1. Limping in rear legs.
2. Walking on the top of his toes, injured side.
3. Unable to bear 100% of his weight on his injured side. Appears that he is putting 5-20% of his normal weight on it.
4. Unable to bear weight on his injured side when he lifts his healthy leg to urinate on a tree.
5. Leg appears weak and wobbly at times.
6. Knee area appears to suddenly shift midstride when he walks, sits or lies down. This is the Tibia sliding forward on the Femur.
7. When he sits, he bears weight on his healthy buttocks and sits with his injured knee laterally to his mid line, known as a frog sit. I believe that is a strong indicator of an ACL tear.
8. He sits and lies down more frequently.

My opinion is that when a dog is injured like this, just like a person, it DOES NOT heal quickly. It takes months or years and is never going to be the same. The dog needs to be medically retired from moderate to heavy play. I have NOT had surgery on the dog. His knee is weak, unstable and prone to collasping. I do not allow him to run, jump, play...If I had a pool or access to a lake, I would allow him to swim as much as he wants since his bad knee is not bearing any weight when he swims.

I received Tyson as a 5 year old from the original owner. I noticed in the past few years that when I would throw a tennis ball for him to run after, ocassionally both his rear legs would slide out from under him as he tried to grab the ball in his mouth. Sometimes he would come back limping so I stopped playing ball with him because I thought he was going to hurt himself.

Would like to hear from other dog owners who have had a similar knee injury to their dog. See the latest video of him, video 8, which is approx 10 months after injury here and you'll see he's limping much less but the knee is still unstable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSz0YSJ-MB8

Healing options are:

1. Leave injured side alone and greatly reduce dogs activity level. In other words, the dog cannot walk the same distance or do the same activities as before the injury. This is the method I am choosing at this time.

2. Lateral Sutures, $2,000. Knee is opened, fishing line type material is used to hold knee together.

3. TPLO, $3,500. Knee is opened, Tibia bone is cut, wedged open with plates and screws and allowed to heal.

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[500Knives]

And finally, if all else fails and you're pinched for money, find some old scrap gold jewelry you don't use anymore and sell it. You might be able to create a fund for the animals medical needs that way. Or, you can turn to an organization call Pet Samaritan. This group will pay for an emergency need of animal care and deal directly with your vet. They're a great org so donate to them as a charity because that's the best thanks they could get! Hope this helps someone.DO NOT LET THEM SUFFER!!!!!!

[sanfranciscobay]

@500Knives If somebody offered me $4,000 for free if I would take Tyson in for surgery, the answer would be NO THANKS. I don't want him to go through any moderate or major invasive surgeries which could make him worst and the suffering he would have to endure while healing. He's fine the way he is.

It's very simple. You just medically retire the dog from all moderate play, never encourage them in jumping... Walking and swimming is fine.

Tysons pushing 11. GSD average life is 9.75 yrs.

[500Knives]

Sorry to hear about Tyson but glad you have retired him at least from strenuous play, especially at his age and while he's healing. If you cannot afford the surgery, have you considered phys rehab where he might get some water therapy and massage? Also, you could ask for a referral to the local vet college in your area where they might be able to run better tests on Tyson and have more treatment options.

[sanfranciscobay]

@500Knives I don't want Tyson to be handled anymore. He's got a 3rd degree tear of his Cranial Cruciate Ligament in his knee. Nothing else can be done for him. He's fine. I'm not putting him through any surgery at $2,000-4,000. I don't have the money to afford water therapy and the 55 degree water around here is too cold for me and maybe Tyson also. I use to manage swimming pools, health clubs...so I'm very familiar anatomy/rehab and weight training/swimming for therapy. Again, Tyson is fine.

[TrueDominguez]

a truck ran over my dogs leg or foot, when it happened she was howling n crying i carried her bck 2 the house n when she can walk but limps idk if the truck ran over her leg or foot or hit it or what i just know shes hurt, cant take her 2 the vet, so what can i do at home 2 heal her injury its not bleeding or nything but she limps any advice anyone?

[sanfranciscobay]

@TrueDominguez Look for swelling when compared to the uninjured side. How bad is the swelling? Where is the swelling? What part of the leg?

Swelling means blood vessels are broken. The worse the swelling, the greater the injury or damage to blood vessels.

[500Knives]

cont...And no offense to pet owners, but BEFORE adopting any pet you need to assume the responsibilty of understanding that the dog will depend on you for Lofe, shelter, food, clean water, of course. But in that budget you should also consider lifelong health insurance for the dog in the event something really bad goes wrong. Google it. This can help waylay the extreme costs of surgeries.

[sanfranciscobay]

@TrueDominguez The howling and crying you state, is a good indicator that is was a moderate to serious injury. How much, how long did the dog howl, cry for?

Can you shoot a video of the dogs leg and maybe of the dog walking/limping and post the link to the video here?

What kind/size of dog? Shorhair, longhair...?

[sanfranciscobay]

@TrueDominguez Is the leg deformed when you compare it to the uninjured leg?

Your dog could have broken bones, severed ligaments...might heal on it's own, or might get infected and your dog could die.

Dogs have many small bones in their front and rear feet like us.

If the dog is limping, the dog should rest. No playing, jumping...

Why can't you bring the dog to the Vet? If you cannot afford the costs, try to see if you local Animal Shelter has a volunteer group who assists those without money.

[sanfranciscobay]

@daddyvic007 The running action when both back legs recover forward at the same time is called "Bunny Hopping." How's your dog doing?