Lab with blown CCL ligament

[tjhuels]

My big 6-year-old Lab blew out his left rear CCL ligament in March. He had TPLO surgery on it in April, and is now in a 12-week rehab program. Boy, it's empty pocketbooks for me for a while!!

Doc says he has a 95% chance of full recovery and back to pheasant hunting.

Anyone out there had a similar experience? How has your dog done after the surgery?

Tom
Stillwater MN

[Hi Ball]

One of my best friends had his English Pointer go down with such, it cost him close to $1200 dollars the first time for all expenses. Then it happened again the following year. Great dog in the field (neutered male) breeding was just mediocore. I like to see more bone on dogs and not let them get to heavy. He had the dog put down after the 2nd time!

[SeniorCoot]

Me ten yr old BLM had fishline fix done by an itinerant vet when he was six-- fairly long recovery- two ten minute sessions each day for 2-3 wks with frozen peas- kept in house for 4 wks slow recovery with leash walks- a real pain- then lots of swimming BUT worth every cent($900 rather than @3500 for better?? surgery) anyway he is fine- at ten he still acts like two-- runs hard all over farm daily- loves drills, boats, and hunts better than my 7 yr old who had Lymes and now has arthritis etc. Vets said he was probably prone to another blow out on other side but it never happened.
So hopefully your dog will recover the same and have a good 4-5 yrs hunting ahead of him.
OH yea-- my dog is 85# so not a small dog either

[tjhuels]

Thanks for the input, fellas. My dog had his surgery April 30; the TPLO version, twice the price of the fishline, but three different vets said the only way to go for a tall 85-lb dog.

Recovery is coming along. He had a setback after two weeks, went off the pain and inflammation meds and started limping again. Back on the meds for ten days, and immediate improvement which is continuing. Walks, runs, jumps with very little favoring of the leg. Just not a lot of endurance yet (he was first injured in February.)

Each day we walk/run a bit more. Swimming exercises start next week.

Hope to have him back for SoDak pheasants iin October!

TH

[SeniorCoot]

Glad it worked out-- Vets like big $$ just like people docs--

[Greybeard]

My Australian shepard blew hers out 2 years ago doing a quick tight turn running full bore. Had the less expensive surgery. No vet around here does the better surgery. Her leg is ok but not great. We try to keep her from running fast but that is hard to do with an Aussie as she wants to herd everything in sight. She goes on a 3 to 4 mile walk almost every morning. She gets glucosamine chondriton with her supper and an occasional pain pill when she overdoes it. By the way, this old girl was a good pheasant dog - she air scents and points. But I'm not taking her out anymore because of her leg.

Friend's golden retriever down the road blew his out a couple of years back. He did nothing and his dog seems ok - hard to tell it happened except he yelps jumping into his truck. Greybeard/

[tjhuels]

Well, the 6-yr old Lab blew his leg in March, had the TPLO surgery done in April.

Slow, gradual exercise/recovery program over the summer, then three weeks up at Matt Eder's Fox Run Kennel (Minnesota)for advanced exercise/training in September.

Have had him out four times now for pheasant, and he's hunting harder and better than ever. Seems like good-as-new.

Just hope it continues to "take". Vet said any tall dog with a straight knee shape is going to be susceptible to CCL injury.

Keep you posted.

TH

[Hi Ball]

The very best thing you can do for that dog of yours, is feed high protein and make sure you can start to see his ribs sticking out on the side and barely see those two bones above his tail.

To much weight on a hunting dog spells diaster later down the road, your responsibility it to keep that Dog THIN period. You feed him just once a day and NO SNACKS!!!;):)

[blaze]

Whatever ever you do, please don’t give your Labrador any Rimadyl to treat arthritis or inflammation. I gave it to my Yellow Lab 2 years ago, and it nearly almost killed him. He was real close to total liver failure. It all started when I saw him limping and thought he had a touch of arthritis (it turns out that he actually hurt his front leg jumping out of the back of my Jeep).

I took him to the vet, and he suggested that I try giving him Rimadyl. Well within 3 days, he started throwing up and his skin went totally yellow. It cost me $1,200 in treatments and about 2 months to get him back on track.

The vet claims that he never heard that Labradors should not be given rimadyl (needless to say I don’t use that vet anymore).

Here is a link to an article on Rimadyl and Labradors.

http://www.labbies.com/rimady.htm

Mike

[tjhuels]

Lab has been doing GREAT this fall. Have been keeping his weight down, exercise, etc. Had one of his best fall hunting seasons on grouse and pheasant.

So glad I did the $xxxxx surgery. Hasn't seemed to slow him down a bit.

Will keep him out of the deep snow, however!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Tom

[Hi Ball]

I have seen over the years, a lot of family pets, who are hunted on the weekends by their owners. The biggest problem is that the dog does NOT get enough excerise trotting from the kitchen to the bedroom during the rest of the year.

I know some Upland hunters who house their dogs on concrete in a 6 x 8 chain link fence pen and they get out only on the weekend. My gosh peole, those dogs are athlets too! Now being such they need worked at least 3 to 4 days a week. I like to give them an every other day routine, so they can recup properly.

If you don't work that dog in such a way, being in the house or walking the MALL with your is NOT the proper excerise to keep that dog from Blowing out a joint or tendon, whey you do turn it loose to run full tilt in the field. A hunting dog needs to run and get plenty of excerise for at least 30 to 40 minutes during a session, 3 to 4 times a week. Competition dogs get it every day but Sunday usually.;):)