A dog under 20 kilograms may not be a good candidate for surgical procedures.
To reduce the body weight of your dog, decrease its calorie intake at least 60%. Don’t reduce the calorie intake suddenly, but rather feed your dog smaller portions more throughout the whole day. To minimize any digestive upset, try to ease your dog into the new diet gradually. Make sure to monitor the outcome of your weight reducing program regularly. Prevent giving them processed food that may cause infection to the dog’s joint, instead feed them with superfoods such as oysters, fish oil, and bone broth. Be sure include regular, but non-vigorous, exercise for your dog. The exercise may include walking or running. In the case of a severe ACL injury with inflammation, exercise should be postponed until after you give your dog some NSAIDs to reduce pain. If your dog has a severely torn ACL, specialized hydrotherapy (walking/swimming in water) is recommended. Please consult with your vet to get an appropriate exercise list based on the clinical condition of your dog. Due to lowered pressure on knee joint, your dog will be able to heal its ligament faster.
You should not allow your dog to jump up to catch a ball or Frisbee or to jump out of a truck or off a porch. You can practice a short-leash walk with your dog only.
For using a bath towel, you should cut a large bath towel in half and apply it under the lower abdomen of your dog. By applying upward pressure, while holding both ends of the towel, you can help your dog walk. Commercially available athletic bandage can also be used for this purpose. If you use a recycled jacket, you should cut the sleeves so that the jacket fits on your dog’s abdomen.
Commonly used NSAIDs are oxicam derivatives (Meloxicam). They are used for different types of muscle and skeletal pain. The commonly used doses are: Meloxicam (Trade: Melovet ®-5mg) @ 1ml/25 kg, Firocoxib (Previcox®) @ 2. 27mg/lb/day (5mg/kg), Carprofen (Rymadil®) @ 2 mg/lb/day. However, drug availability and legislation may vary in different countries. In general, low doses and short term usage is very safe while higher doses used long term use can cause some side effects. If your dog is suffering from side effects like vomiting, lethargy, depression or diarrhea, stop the drug treatment and consult with a veterinarian.
Aquatic walking or swimming will increase the muscle strength of your dog. You may find some veterinary hospitals that have these facilities, including special tanks and whirlpools for hydrotherapy. Some other practices of physiotherapy can be helpful, including cryotherapy, laser therapy and neuromuscular electrical stimulation. [2] X Expert Source Ray Spragley, DVMVeterinarian Expert Interview. 19 August 2021.
Braces are often made with hard elastic materials and set up in between the femur and tibia to prevent unwanted movement of knee joint. Dogs that are advanced in age or too young for surgery are often the ideal candidates for an orthopedic brace. Braces can provide an alternative when the surgical treatment is not affordable for the owner.
Sit to stand. On a floor with good footing, ask your dog to sit and tuck the knee as close as possible to the body. Then ask your dog to stand as slowly as possible thus causing it to put weight on the affected leg. Do 5 repetitions 3 times daily. Weight shifting. On a floor with good footing, with your dog in a standing position, rock the pelvis so that weight is forced on the affected leg. Start lightly first and increase force as your dog becomes more comfortable. You can actually apply enough force so that your dog takes small sideways steps to each side. Do 10 repetitions 3 times daily. Unilateral weight bearing. Lift the unaffected limb off the ground. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds. Move the foot around and put your dog off balance if he/she tries to lean on your hand. Another way to do it is to tape an object (like a pen) under the uninvolved foot to force full weight on involved side – only do with supervision. Circles and figure eights. While on a leash, get your dog on your left side and then walk in tight circles and figure of 8’s. This encourages weight bearing on both legs and increases strength and balance.
Prolotherapy is primarily used to treat joint pain, and has been shown to increase joint ligament strength by 30-40% in humans. Clinical results using prolotherapy in dogs and cats appear to indicate the same response. As the tendons and ligaments grow stronger, and more capable of supporting and maintaining normal joint stability, the pain is alleviated. Prolotherapy is a possibility to consider when dealing with a partial tear, particularly if your dog is older or could not undergo anesthesia.
It is important to know that even if the symptoms resolve, there might be a chance of developing secondary complications like arthritis. Arthritis is a non-reversible change in the joint, and delayed or partially healed ACL injury can increase its severity. Moreover, your dog will favor another leg to bear the body weight instead of affected leg. It may (in more than 50% of cases) cause the gradual rupture of another ACL.
