Question:
: Hi, I've read this column enough to know that you don't give medical advice, how about advice on dealing with a medical condition? Snoopy, our 3 year old female, would SOMETIMES limp and yelp in pain, and the next moment run and jump as usual. After tests and xrays, it was confirmed that Snoop has a torn ligament in her rear knee. Prognosis: It may heal itself with a month's rest, if not she will require surgury.
: We are trying everything to keep her calm: crating her when we are gone (she was crate trtained, but we haven't used it in two years), picking her up to put her on the bed, carrying her outside (so she doesn't take her customary leap out the back door - over the mat and down 5 steps!). Despite all, we cannot get her to calm down and are concerned that she may have to have surgery. Any tips? Thank you.
: Katy
Response:
Hi Katy,
Usually when a vet says "a month's rest" for this type of injury, he means TOTAL REST. This means crate all the time, except when being held or carried outside to go potty on a very short leash. The ligament will not heal if she is using it, even just to walk around the house. (Yes, it can be done; my Jacks crate rest was 8 weeks!)
That said, if you have not seen an orthopedist for this problem, please do so as soon as possible. If this yelping and limping has been a problem over a period of time and/or you can not pinpoint the injury that may have caused it, it is most likely a larger problem called Patellar Luxation (you can use the search to find more reading on this from the forum). This is a fairly common condition in dogs, and much more common in small dogs than large. Just tearing a ligament is an injury you should have immediately recognized, and it would not come and go, would not be SOMETIMES. It is much more likely, the ligament is stressed to the point of near tear from over-compensating for a bad knee. Anyway... I wouldn't put of seeing a specialist for a COMPLETE diagnosis. Vets are great, but they are not all specialists in orthopedics.
A specialist will also give you very specific instructions on healing, exercise and rehabilitating the problem. Follow those to the letter.
Heather
