Discussions

Does anyone have experience with an out side farm dog getting knee surgery ? Larger dog ? What are the pros and cons ? Thanks in advance for constructive comments only please, im not interested in how someone sleeps with their pets.

our pit bull had knee surgery buy Dr. Joe Gray at Grand Valley and he did a great job,3 1/2 yrs and not a problem.

My sister's large outdoor/ indoor farm dog had an ACL repair. The biggest challenge was that he wasn't kennel trained. After surgery, the dog will require weeks of strict rest in order for it to be successful. The poor dog would pant, cry, bark, whine, vomit, have diarrhea, and hurt his mouth and nose trying to get out. The knee surgery itself was done by Dr Murray Moffat in Winnipeg, he is probably the best in the province for orthopedics.

yes it was a lot of care and patience

curlysister said "My sister's large outdoor/ indoor farm dog had an ACL repair. The biggest challenge was that he wasn't kennel trained. After surgery, the dog will require weeks of strict rest in order for it to be successful. The poor dog would pant, cry, bark, whine, vomit, have diarrhea, and hurt his mouth and nose trying to get out. The knee surgery itself was done by Dr Murray Moffat in Winnipeg, he is probably the best in the province for orthopedics. "

How would i acomplish that when no one is home all day,sounds like it would be very hard on the dog,i dont want to stress him out to that point,HE IS an outside dog that refuses to even sleep in the garage this time of year,watching over the yard eventhough he couldnt defend himself at this point, i really cant see kenneling hm for weeks.

Take him in and have him assessed. See if its a total tear, or partial. One of our dogs had a partial tear, and with a couple of months of not letting her work cattle or do any serious running around she formed scar tissue and the knee stabilized. She doesn't limp at all now, but you can feel how the tissue around the joint has thickened . If it's completely torn that's a different story.The surgery does work well as long as a proper length of time is given for recovery.  
 
I second the comment about Dr. Moffat. He's excellent.

Kato said "Take him in and have him assessed. See if its a total tear, or partial. One of our dogs had a partial tear, and with a couple of months of not letting her work cattle or do any serious running around she formed scar tissue and the knee stabilized. She doesn't limp at all now, but you can feel how the tissue around the joint has thickened . If it's completely torn that's a different story.The surgery does work well as long as a proper length of time is given for recovery.     I second the comment about Dr. Moffat. He's excellent. "

has been assessed, and has torn ligaments in one knee, he was limping on one leg when I took him in, but a couple of days later the other one is worse than the first, maybe in a battle or what ever protecting the yard,now both knees are injured, he can hardly move ten feet without sitting down,but refuses to sleep inside. Surgery is likely the best option, im just concerned about the post op kenneling,he will not like it.

Try to start training him now. He may not like it but your the alpha, you tell him what to do. Or it's no good and you might need to find a new farm dog because, your current dog will be no good for anything soon.

Our dog also tore ligaments due to several factors including being told it was possible second knee would also be affected we choose no surgery. Our dogs other knee became affected shortly after. Having the same pain etc you describe. We gave the pain/inflammation meds tried to ice occasionally and she is now able to go for short walks jumps in vehicle etc climbs a few stairs. When she visits the farm she even runs some. But still favours one leg.  
But overall is quite happy.

Lizzy:D said "Our dog also tore ligaments due to several factors including being told it was possible second knee would also be affected we choose no surgery. Our dogs other knee became affected shortly after. Having the same pain etc you describe. We gave the pain/inflammation meds tried to ice occasionally and she is now able to go for short walks jumps in vehicle etc climbs a few stairs. When she visits the farm she even runs some. But still favours one leg.   But overall is quite happy. "

is somthing to try, this guy is 8yrs old, i have been doing as much research as i can, and thers lots to come after the surgery, including arthritis, hip displasia, and more good stuff,then leg number 2,research says it can take a year to get the 1st surgery where the dog can function fully with it, not sure i want to put him or me through all that.

Lizzy:D said "Our dog also tore ligaments due to several factors including being told it was possible second knee would also be affected we choose no surgery. Our dogs other knee became affected shortly after. Having the same pain etc you describe. We gave the pain/inflammation meds tried to ice occasionally and she is now able to go for short walks jumps in vehicle etc climbs a few stairs. When she visits the farm she even runs some. But still favours one leg.   But overall is quite happy. "

meds were you giving ? Thanks

Meloxicam. I believe is its name the vet will have to prescribe it. Our dog needed to get a blood test to get 2nd pres:cription. Recently she has not needed it daily maybe when colder weather comes she will need it more again. Her injury occurred in early spring and it took a few months to recover to the comfortable looking dog she is now.