Dog care, symptoms, health issues, and dog health advocacy from an owner's perspective. In loving memory of Jasmine.
Some breeds are more susceptible to CCL injuries and Golden Retrievers are, sadly, one of them. Thank you, Lindsay Stordahl, for sharing Brittni’s story. Brittni’s story I had never heard about knee injuries in dogs until my golden retriever Brittni tore her ACL at age 5. Now I know that anterior cruciate ligament injuries are fairly common in all dog…
Extracapsular Lateral Suture Stabilization (ELSS), or simply extracapsular repair is a surgical procedure that provides stability to a canine stifle after a cruciate ligament tear. A leg with an unstable knee is dysfunctional, painful, and arthritis follows fast. The available treatment options include surgical, regenerative and conservative solutions. The goal of any treatment for ruptured cruciate ligaments is restoring stability…
Luxating patella is the dislocation of the kneecap–the small bone in front of the knee joint. Your veterinarian might recommend surgical intervention for patellar luxation grade II or higher. Kneecap anatomy At the top, the kneecap attaches to the quadriceps tendon and at the bottom to the patellar ligament. The kneecap not only protects the front of the knee. It also…
No, I didn’t get the photo mixed up. Juno is a 96 pound Dogue De Bordeaux, and this is her story. If a big girl like Juno starts limping on her hind leg, you’d think the prime suspects would be a torn cruciate ligament or hip dysplasia–issues that large breed dogs are most likely to get. Luxating patella is something that…
TPLO surgery is well-established and considered a gold standard for treatment of dog cruciate ligament tears. It is, however, invasive and does carry a risk of complications. The thing about Pitties is that they are loving, big, and energetic. The younger, the more energy they have. Though with Cookie, who is a Rottie and coming up on 7, there hasn’t…