My 9-year-old, 90-pound goldie just had surgery today to repair the ligament that holds her knee in place. She will be home on Saturday and recuperating for up to 12 weeks. The vet says no walks, no visits from people or dogs (because she is a puppy at heart and gets very excited about company), no play, no activity of any kind except to do her duty.

If you have experience with this surgery on a large, energetic dog, I'd love to hear from you. Ideas about how to keep her quiet but also avoid lethargy (both hers and mine), how to manage her physically (I don't have another person in the house, and she is too big for me to pick up)...anything.  Thanks!

Boy that's a tough one, I could'nt keep my 17 year old son off his leg when he broke it and now it's healed very wrong.
My border collie had that ligament problem too, twice, but miraculously healed both times. ( although he has arthritis now)
It seems mean but for his own good so he doesn't reinjure his leg- what about keeping him on a fairly long leash- and close, and give him a big big non-fattening bone to chew on?
This is the only thing I could think of- if I had to immobilize my canines- a leash would be the only way because there is no other way they would stay in one place. And a really delicious bone would keep them occupied (at least for awhile!)

Dorsi, I am so sorry to hear about your son, and I wish him well.  It is hard for teens to understand that the choices they make today will have an impact on the rest of their lives.  They are so busy feeling immortal.

Thanks for the suggestion about the bone.  I hadn't thought about a bone, because I caught CinCin choking on a piece of one not too long ago, and haven't wanted to give her another chance to make me fish down her throat to get it out. I think I will try again, but maybe another kind and only when supervised.

About the leash, she has to be on a leash because I live in a town home community where that's the rule. So she will be out of the house only for her necessities.  Meanwhile, I've called my neighbors and asked them to please stay away when we are outside.  My girl is a jumper. She won't jump on you, she just jumps for joy when she sees a human. And that would be the end of the surgery and maybe the other hind leg as well.

Best regards, ST.

As an item of interest, today this thread made google's page 1 returns for the key word phrase "ACL surgery large dog".

Best of luck for your dogs recovery,
I had a very energetic 50 pound dog that once had 75 stitches
that bugger would NOT sit still after 24 hours, I literally had to leash him to the couch, I kid you not-

I would recommend a kennel or crate, or to leash him inside. the important thing is to keep him quiet and bones can help with this too.

I have used herbal supplements on another dog I had - after surgery, I believe it aided her recovery quite a bit. I really liked Tom, the guy who owns this company, because he seemed to care more about my dog - than making a sale to me.
http://www.dogcancerinfo.com/Pet-Health … ts-s/1.htm

Another thing I tried was to take frequent short walks, and put a dog bed next to my desk, ( an leashed him to the desk)
this went on for 3-4 weeks,
good luck!

for dog care, try making a ramp or use a stool as a step to a bed or couch, this way you can easly reach your dog for care and cleaning of wound areas (plus they like it)

ArtCantHurtU, thanks so much for your thoughtful post. 

I checked out the link, and I am very impressed with the range of products and information offered and the layout of the site.  I'll give it a closer look later on today.

The ramp idea is a good one.  CinCin needs frequent trips to the vet for a while, and of course I can't lift her into the car and she's not supposed to jump up or down.  A ramp would help.

Since she is mostly very quiet in the house, I don't think I need a kennel.  Her biggest activity (so long as no one comes to the door!), is to get up to eat and drink, and to follow me around. Once I park myself at my desk, she's right there on the carpet beside me.

Thanks again!

Here are some good links about Dogs having surgery and what aides their recovery.

http://i.nconspicuo.us/2007/03/13/the-r … y-in-dogs/

http://www.wftv.com/greatpets/8185023/detail.html

http://www.botanicaldog.com/products.php?cat=80 (info about a propduct to help skin heal from surgery and hot spots)

www.bchumane.org/articles/20051123_Keep … aysOff.pdf -
this link is a story of a lab that had knee surgery and how they recovered. 

Hope this helps!!   Marisue

Marisue, thanks for the great info! 

I especially found comfort in the lab story (the PDF document), even though the poor doggie blew out the other ligament, and there's a very good possibility CinCin will do the same.  Thank goodness my dog is not as wild as that one!

Aid 4 Animals (Gabi), thank you so much for responding with this excellent information and advice.

Tomorrow will be 1 week since surgery.  Yesterday's checkup and bandage removal at the vet went very well!  Cin is "toe-touching", there are no fluid pockets or infection around the incision, and her spirits seem good.  Stitches will come out next week.

Now we are in for the long haul, right?  "Strict rest" for up to 45 more days.

The ramp is a necessity, and I will take care of that before we have to get back in the car for next week's vet visit.  I've been using the "Bottom's Up" rear end harness and also the beach towel sling to get her in and out of the car (no, I can't manage the lifting myself, so my neighbors and daughter have been helping).  But the ramp is what we really need. I think it would be less stressful for her, and give me more independence.

You are so right about it being the hospital's job to get her in and out of the car.  I wish I could take those wonderful assistants and technicians home with me to help on this end!

I did talk with the vet about Benedryl, but when I described Cin's overall behavior and the close, quiet environment she's in, he didn't seem to think she needed it. Her "activity" issue is triggered only when she sees another human or dog.  She would need the Benedryl only for those occasions, and dosing would be difficult or impossible to time effectively.  However, I will talk to him about it again, because the round-trip to the vet's is about 2 1/2 hours, she seems to be stressed in the car (panting, whining), and when we get to the vet's it's hard to keep her calm with all the dogs and people around.

I so admire the excellent work you and your fellow professionals perform.  Your matter-of-fact approach, technical expertise, and compassion are helping me get through this.  I can be an emotional wreck about this dog, and just watching the staff at the vet's go about their jobs in such an expert way is very calming to me. A heart-felt thanks to all of you!

Along with all the advice here about keeping CinCin quiet I would highly recommend putting her on a calorie reduced diet food (if you haven't done it already). Medi-Cal or Science Diet both have excellent weight reducing formulas.

If a dog's cruciate ligament fails on one side due to regular wear and tear as opposed to a major injury or accident then there's a 30% chance the cruciate in the other knee will fail also.
One of the ways to help prevent this is to keep your dog on the lean side. The less weight your dog carries, the less stress on the ligament.

This can be difficult with certain types of Goldens.
I'm sure the Vet already talked to you about this but it doesn't hurt to repeat it. With CinCin on strict bed rest, you'll definitely have to cut back her food drastically. The great thing about the diet food is that it is really filling for the dog to eat but contains less calories.

Also once the period of strict rest has ended CinCin should be put on a physio routine. Her muscles will be weak and less supportive of the knee (on both sides). Gradual exercise and targeted exercises for cruciate repair should be done to ensure as successful a recovery as possible.

We used to see so many cruciate tears when I worked in the Rocky Mountains. It became almost a routine surgery. The dogs had so much extra stress placed on their knees running up and down the steep mountains that the ligament would eventually fail.

Good luck with her recovery!

Oh and honey has a natural sedative effect on dogs. If you need a little extra help calming her for the car ride just lace some bread in honey about 30-40 minutes before you leave.

RFox, thank you so much for adding your expertise to this thread.

You are so right about Cin needing to lose weight.  She lost 15 pounds since I adopted her a year ago, and she has at least another 10 to go.  I noticed that her appetite is about 75% of what it was before surgery.  She is on the Science Mature Adult 7+ foods, but I'll talk to my vet about making a change.  I'll also talk to him about targeted exercises, and do you have a resource about these exercises that you would recommend?

I like the honey tip.  I bet she'll like it too!

Again, thanks so much!

We've had to give Simon Benadryl sometimes for his allergies, and it really helps him calm down.
I hope the injury heals well, like I said Simon injured both his legs at different times, and I have an ongoing battle with my husband about Simons weight (dad likes to feed him lots of treats) which is harder on his legs.
Good luck with your furbaby.

Sally's Trove wrote:

RFox, thank you so much for adding your expertise to this thread.

You are so right about Cin needing to lose weight.  She lost 15 pounds since I adopted her a year ago, and she has at least another 10 to go.  I noticed that her appetite is about 75% of what it was before surgery.  She is on the Science Mature Adult 7+ foods, but I'll talk to my vet about making a change.  I'll also talk to him about targeted exercises, and do you have a resource about these exercises that you would recommend?

I like the honey tip.  I bet she'll like it too!

Again, thanks so much!

Unfortunately, I don't have a resource on hand for the exercises. I don't work in Vet Hospitals anymore. If you have any Hydrotherapy clinics in your area these are great for exercise post surgery. They provide muscle exercise without any weight bearing problems.
Any exercises should be cleared with your Vet and begin after the mandatory rest period of course.
Hydrotherapy is great for weight loss too!

To all of you who have contributed so much knowledge and heart-felt caring to my question, here's an update.

Cin is doing well.  No infection in her incision, and she's putting a little more weight on her operated knee every day.  She will get her stitches out this Thursday coming, and I am looking forward to a good prognosis.

Meanwhile, the challenge is always there to keep her quiet, and to get her comfortably into the car.

Aid 4 Animals, you suggested a "jury-rigged" ramp.  You were so right in your thoughts about what a commercial ramp costs...for the size of my dog and the height of my SUV, we need an 84-inch ramp, costing about $200.

My cousin had a great suggestion.  She said, find a place like a wall or a hill where you can back the car up and get the dog in that way.  Well, I found that place, only about 50 feet from my front door.  And my neighbor just happens to have a steel bar reinforced piece of wood (about 20 inches wide) that her dad made for her doggie to go up and down short steps (this doggie also had ACL surgery).  We will use that piece of wood to bridge the gap between the "hill" I have found and the back door of the SUV.  Thank you Aid 4 Animals!

RFox, I found a hydrotherapy clinic only 6 miles from my home.  I've talked with them, and we'll set up a program after Cin's stitches are out and she gets the OK by the vet.  By the way, Cin HATES water.  It's a thing from her childhood.  She's a retriever, but she will not put even a paw in the water, and hates sprinklers and hoses.  The hydrotherapy folks will work with that fear.

Things are looking good right now, thanks to the help of all of you!

Warmest regards, ST.

Update on Cin's Recovery...

It's now been a little more than two months since surgery.  Her checkups are good, she walks funny (with her knee pointed outward), but all is going as expected and the outward turning is common, according to the vet.

We started taking 5 minute walks, two times a day, this past Wednesday.  Cin is eager for this time out, but she also stumbles from time to time.  Not to worry, says the vet.

Taking rides in the car is still not an option, even with the hill and the rigged ramp.  I can get her into and out of the car here, but if we have a destination away from home, she must remain in the car, unless we have a vet tech or two who can lift her out.

Her progress is so good, the vet says, that the 5 minute walks, increasing to 10 minutes next week, should do the trick down the road. No hydrotherapy needed.

She's been more or less housebound for two months, and that will continue for another six weeks.  But you know what?  It's all worth it.  She's getting better, continuing to lose weight (she's now down to about 83 pounds, from 105 just a year ago, with at least 5 more to go), and her spirits (and poops and pees) are excellent.

What I need right now is a groomer to come to the house, yes, a house call!  Cin hasn't had a bath in months and still does not have the stamina to stand for an hour for a bath and a blow dry.  But she has a mat under her right ear that has to be removed by a professional.

Anybody know a groomer who makes house calls around Doylestown, PA? 

Again, thanks so much for all of your thoughtful comments and suggestions.

One more thing, RFox...the vet says the chance of a cruciate tear on the other leg is about 60 percent.  So much to look forward to!

Sad case, but I would still have small amounts on interaction, but make sure your Goldie stays lying down or w\e position is best for it. Physically moving it up and down the stairs would be complicated if you can't lift it lol, that you need to get a friend or something to do.
O well, best of luck with the recovery for it ^_^

thranax, you hit the nail on the head!  Small amounts of interaction.

Cin had two small interactions with people today, both of which were very good.  No jumping, no rearing on her part, and so, no stressing her knee. 

Thanks for your support.  Cin and I both need it.