topping this thread. so about a month ago i came home and :dog: was limping on his back leg. my GF immediately freaked out since our vet was closed for the weekend and after we took him to the shytty petsmart vet a block away the dumbass there said he would need an $200 x-ray right away (x-rays can't show soft tissue like ligaments even in humans, don't believe the hype) plus immediate ACL surgery which would cost three grand.
he gives us some tramadol and carprofen and we split. i make a vet appointment and they can't see him till thursday. so naturally i said, the dog can still walk, let's explore some other options. conservative management seemed to be the way to go, AKA restricting his activity and letting him heal naturally. i read this website that gave me a lot of good ideas.
Dog ACL Injury-- Is Surgery Really Needed?
anyway, we go to our regular vet who says that bubba actually doesn't need surgery and at worst he had a partial ACL tear because he was able to put weight on the paw just fine by the time his appointment came up.
total relief. he is doing fine now and is walking for miles without even lifting his paw after he gets home. we are still not letting him run which is really hard since he loves it more than anything and we just bought a Chuck-It which is the best goddamn $12 i ever spent when it comes to ball-chasing. i took a week off of work to spend time with him when he'd normally be sleeping and i think that helped a lot too. was nice for me too.
we've been adding glucosamine to his food and giving him bee pollen with his dinner. he seems to be doing just fine and i think he'll be back to chasing balls in about a month.
my little man