Dog TPLO surgery

[RachelV]

I just decided that the "Health, Fitness, Injuries & Recovery" forum encompasses non-humans as well, so am starting this thread here. ;)

I just found out that my dog's tweaked knee is almost definitely a partial CCL (the dog ACL) tear, and so she'll likely need surgery. I think the reason I am not freaking out about this much is because it seems like the surgery (called TPLO) works quite well, and she'll be back to normal in 3-4 months? Like it will be quite a pain for 8 weeks or so, then a little bit of a pain for another 8 weeks, but then she'll more or less be back to normal.

I have to do some planning around the travel I have planned this winter and at what point in her recovery the kennel is comfortable having her (and think about when I'm comfortable with the kennel having her), but otherwise I don't see why I wouldn't do this sooner rather than later so she's back to being a hiking machine by the spring.

Has anyone else had this experience? I'm particularly interested in how things went if your dog had a minor tear and you waited a while to have surgery, especially if your dog is very active. Or if you waited a while and ended up not getting surgery at all, though with Lark's level of athleticism I'm not sure that's really an option, honestly.

Here's a horrifying picture of her leaping after snowballs after she tweaked her leg, but when I thought it had gotten much better, and had no idea what kind of injury she had. I'm really lucky I didn't make it much worse. She just loves snowballs so much!

 

[Skier31]

Yes, my dog had TPLO surgeries on both legs. We went the vet at CSU in Fort Collins. Well worth it.
The hardest part was keeping her quiet for 8 weeks. I bought the largest crate I could find so she could not jump while I was gone. It was not nearly as bad as I thought. They have a good pain protocol. If you have the option of using the laser after the surgery, pay to have it done. It keeps the swelling down. I was also told to do it as soon as possible as that reduces the possibility of them damaging the other leg. My dog limped for awhile before her diagnosis. I kept going back to the vet and they thought it was arthritis. I wished I would have had the surgery done sooner. My dog was 10 when she had hers done and she lived to 18 and never limped again. Feel free to reach out if you have more questions.

 

[Christy]

Our Linus had it, our foster dog Manny had it. Absolutely there is the challenge of keeping them quiet and busy, but it's doable. Food puzzles, X-pens, crates, baby gates. We got extra sedatives during the crate portion to keep them snoozy--Linus in particular was an extremely energetic dog--then we spent a lot of time in our small office with the door closed with them, then just baby gated them in whatever room we were in when they were in a bit more mobile but not up to full speed. IIRC we kind of fudged it on the crate time--our office is so small that being uncrated in their didn't permit a whole lot more movement but I think they were happier and we felt less guilty about all the crating. Oh we spent lots of floor time with them too. Manny healed and then needed surgery to extract a foxtail from his leg so we got to do 2 surgeries with him before he was adopted.

Floor time with Manny in 2012 (thus the poor cell phone camera quality)



Manny got to be the face of the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation auction and on all the invites because the foundation paid for his surgery.

 

[ilovepugs]

Spencer had it on both hind legs. After the surgeries his gait was a bit funny but it didn’t stop him from living his best life. His recovery was just gradually longer walks. 3-4 months seems about right.

 

[RachelV]

Thank you all, that all sounds manageable. I am def going to ask for sedatives for the first week or two... I can't imagine another way to keep Lark chill enough.

Followup question as I try to plan this around winter travel: is there a point in the recovery where you would have been comfortable keeping your dog in a kennel? A good kennel with qualified staff (all dog trainers in this specific case), not, like, a camp bow wow run by teenagers. ;)

 

[skivet]

I’m so sorry for your pup. TPLO surgery is a great option. The thing about cruciates in dogs is once they tear one they are at a much higher risk of tearing the other one as well, especially in an active dog. They don’t know they are injured. For that reason if this were my dog I’d be worried about delaying too long. Not sure about the kennel question. I’d worry about slippery floors. If your dog gets excited during boarding (mine goes nuts) then it may be hard for others to keep them quiet. Can you look into a pet sitter that comes to your house? Also for recovery, swimming and hydro therapy can be great. Might be something to inquire about with your vet. More and more vets are offering rehab like this with doggy water treadmills.

 

[KayOss]

Our golden mix was 10 when he had it done; the sedatives helped for the first few days then he ripped off the fentanyl patch and decided he was "good." If Lark is accustomed to being crated, then staying with a reputable kennel that will just spend time and gentle walks - maybe even the vet. (I know it's hard to kennel an active pup but when it's for their best interest ...). And if you have access to canine PT, I recommend it. We did the water-treadmill for 2 sessions which was a gamechanger, and also laser therapy (I swear by laser for myself!). Post surgery, will be flat walks, stretching and massages - Healing vibes to Lark!

 

[SnowHot]

Give your girl some extra love from the Pugs!

 

[Sparky]

Hey Rachel! So sorry to hear about Lark! Spicolli busted his ccl back in 2020 when he was a spry 14 killer of a jack. Came in from the rain, chased a toy on hardwood floors… We did the surgery a few weeks later and though it was hard to watch him through the recovery (see sad pic attached!), he was so great after. And yes they say when one goes the other is likely, though Spicolli’s other went not til two years later. At 16 and finally slowing down quite a bit, we chose not to do the surgery then and opted to manage his pain instead and he was ok. Lark is still relatively young so I’d say do it so sooner than later so he can run around and chase those snowballs again this winter! Good luck with it!

 

[ski diva]

Just seeing this, Rachel! I know zilch about dogs and have nothing to contribute on that end -- just wanted to say how sorry I am that he (and you) are going through this. Good luck and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

[RachelV]

Well, surgery consult on Wednesday and it sounds like they have availability to book pretty quick. I'm not planning to travel at all over the holidays and have the option kennel her at my vet so it looks like this surgery might already be 8 weeks in the rear view mirror by the time I show up in Utah for Diva West. We'll see!

 

[VickiK]

Best wishes to Lark and a speedy recovery!

 

[RachelV]

Surgery scheduled for December 2! Looking forward to having the worst of the recovery behind us before we roll into the truly good part of ski season.

 

[Amie H]

Good luck to your pup and happy healing!

 

[Verve]

Riley wishes Lark a smooth surgery and quick recovery. From one snowball-loving pup to another

 

[ilovepugs]

Best wishes to Lark on her surgery!

 

[RachelV]

Well, I have officially manifested the funnest early season in years by scheduling Lark's surgery for tomorrow. You're welcome, Summit County skiers.

 

[RachelV]

She is off. Picking her up at 9am tomorrow. Sorry Lark. I promise this will have been worth it 12-16 weeks from now.

 

[Jenny]

Ohh, poor baby!

 

[RachelV]

Well, Lark has arrived in her home for the next 2 weeks. Could be worse. Good light, easy pee access. Surgery went great.