My boy is lame, vet believes it's ACL tear. :(

[BigMevy]

Just saw your post and thought I'd chime in. My Bullmastiff Porter is in a similar boat. I had to go on a business trip back in early November, and the second day I was gone the place I board him called and asked if I'd noticed him limping. I hadn't of course, I'm guessing he hurt it playing with the other dogs.

I kept him restricted in activity for about 3 weeks myself, and as it wasn't getting better I took him into my vet. He examined him and said he suspected it was a cruciate tear, we put him on anti-inflamatory meds and restricted activity again. 2 weeks later and he hadn't gotten better.

I did some research myself, though oddly never thought to check here. I found some of the same sites the others had mentioned. In the end I decided to go with the surgery. Porter is scheduled for the end of next week, so I'll be sure to report back in after a while as his recovery progresses.

Good luck with your pooch, he's a good lookin guy.

 

[NYDDB]

Thank you, BigMevy. Sorry to hear about your guy as well.

Please keep us updated as to his progress and recovery. I hope the surgery is successful for Porter!

 

[danielleconn]

Wow...seeing all of Mateo's shenanigans got me thinking about his acl tear. How is his recovery? I can't believe it was December all of this was happening & reading about his therapy! Did the conservative management route work as you imagined? I don't know what made me think of this and then I had to go digging to find this thread. I am assuming he is well...he is getting into mischief, sweet boy! Loves him!

 

[gilles]

from what you describe it does not seem so bad...give him few days of rest and i believe he will be fine. do not let the vet do harsh manipulations anymore. after a week of rest and limited walking seek another opinion , many vets push surgery for no reason.

 

[NYDDB]

Thank you for asking, danielleconn. It has been awhile, although I think I started a different thread when I started taking Mateo to water therapy. If not, here are some pics from December/January:



He did respond really well to 10 weeks of the therapy--- by the February, he was not only holding his own, but no longer limping. By March, he was running a bit, up and down stairs, and I would say about 90% better than what he was.

I was so pleased; this is what I was hoping for, even though I knew his knee would always be a liability-- and I was so careful not to have him overdo it.

Until....the squirrel happened. We were in the park, I was sitting and talking with a friend, and Mateo was laying down on the grass next to me. For some stupid reason, my hand was not on the leash, and he saw a squirrel and took off like a bullet after it. He zigged when he should have zagged....and came up limp.

I was devastated... Now, we are back to short walks and allowing his knee to heal enough to start some water rehab again.

He seems fine, otherwise, and does put weight on it to pee (lifting his stronger leg), so that's a good sign.

I have also heard that this is not uncommon--and make take longer for the new injury to heal. We will see. At least it happened during the summer, when he slows down anyway due to the heat....

 

[danielleconn]

Thank you for asking, danielleconn. It has been awhile, although I think I started a different thread when I started taking Mateo to water therapy. If not, here are some pics from December/January:

View attachment 54304 View attachment 54305 View attachment 54306

He did respond really well to 10 weeks of the therapy--- by the February, he was not only holding his own, but no longer limping. By March, he was running a bit, up and down stairs, and I would say about 90% better than what he was.

I was so pleased; this is what I was hoping for, even though I knew his knee would always be a liability-- and I was so careful not to have him overdo it.

Until....the squirrel happened. We were in the park, I was sitting and talking with a friend, and Mateo was laying down on the grass next to me. For some stupid reason, my hand was not on the leash, and he saw a squirrel and took off like a bullet after it. He zigged when he should have zagged....and came up limp.

I was devastated... Now, we are back to short walks and allowing his knee to heal enough to start some water rehab again.

He seems fine, otherwise, and does put weight on it to pee (lifting his stronger leg), so that's a good sign.

I have also heard that this is not uncommon--and make take longer for the new injury to heal. We will see. At least it happened during the summer, when he slows down anyway due to the heat....

Oh that's great & bad news...those pesky squirrels! Teasing poor Mateo! I do think you had another thread, as I remember the water treadmill pics but I LOVE the ones of him swimming! He is so cute! I hope he heals fast! It's hard stopping these big dogs exuberance when they find something enticing! Yes this summer heat has slowed Zoe down to a sloth like existence!

 

[NYDDB]

Thanks- yeah, good/bad news kind of thing. But, we have the hot weather in our favor...and time. Mateo becomes sloth-like as well, LOL.

Plus, one of his favorite activities-even before the injury- is to just climb up on a bench and just people watch. So, we are doing a lot of that these days.

 

[sandy stroman]

had a Bull Mastiff about 4 years gone now, had both of his hind knees operated on in Columbia SC by a Dr. Suber, He did wonderful and it extended our boys life 5 years. There are some wonderful Doctors out there.

I really am trying to wrap my head around this. And I feel sunk.

Mateo had been kind of "gimpy" for the past few weeks- no real limp, but wanting to walk slower on our walks. The weather was still fairly warm, so I thought he was simply reacting to the higher temps. But, even as the weather became cooler, he still was a slow poke.

Then I noticed when standing he would put most of his weight on his rear left leg...and also when getting up from sleeping he would limp for a bit.

But while walking, he seemed normal; you wouldn't think anything was wrong. But his gait was off if he went a little faster.

So, I finally took him to the vet today, and after some pretty strong manipulations on both legs, he is fairly certain it's his knee- and most likely a tear (right rear leg.)

He is pushing surgery, but I don't want to go that route unless absolutely necessary.

So, as I plow into research and google, and wait for a call-back from another second opinion...any other experiences and/or advice would be welcome.

ETA: I know this topic has been covered before, and will also do a search on this forum for info.

 

[sandy stroman]

H ad a Bull Mastiff with Interior Cruciate in both back knees. Had both knees replaced in Columbia SC by Doctor Suber. It extended our wonderful boy for 5 years. He was a little odd looking when he got happy because the replacement parts didn't move the same , but his life was pain free for 5 good years.