Does your limping dog have a torn ACL?

A few years ago, on the Wednesday morning before Labor Day, one of my cocker spaniels, nine-year-old Chipper, limped down the stairs. What caused it? All I could think of was that he had lunged at another dog and been jerked by his leash. He didn’t fall over, or cry out in pain. This happened almost every time he saw a dog, so why was he limping?

In two days, my husband and I planned to pack up my dogs with a bunch of camping gear for a trip to the Smoky Mountains to meet friends and family for a hiking trip. Chipper’s timing couldn’t have been worse.

“He’s got a partial tear in his ACL in his right hind leg,” my vet said. “Some dogs get surgery for this, but since he weighs 32 pounds, I think we could just see if he heals up on his own. He needs lots of rest. No hiking trip no walks. If he’s not better in three weeks bring him back.”

Crap. I couldn’t stay home with him; we had been planning this trip for weeks. I asked a neighbor if she would come by multiple times a day to let him out and feed him. I had never left him alone before, but felt I had no choice. I confined Chipper to the kitchen, so he got lots of rest. When I came home four days later, his limp had improved, until my other dogs knocked him over in their excited greeting.

For two weeks, Chipper stayed in the yard while I walked the other  two dogs around the block. He hated the exclusion. By the third week, I let him walk up to the corner and back with the other dogs. He really liked being included, but he still had a bit of a limp and tired quickly. The next week he could walk around the block several times each day with the other dogs. His ACL injury seemed almost healed.

Two months later, the ACL on his other back leg tore. Again we prevented him from walking with us for a few weeks and by the third week he was better. A year later, it happened again. By that time, I knew what it was and didn’t even take him to the vet. Again he stopped limping within a few weeks.

Are ACL tears common in dogs?

I’ve lived with cockers and springers for over five decades, and none of them ever had an ACL tear—until Chipper. Even my agility dog, Cassie, never had a tear.

According to the Veterinary Specialty Center  65% of their orthopedic patients have ACL injuries. Your vet may call it a CCL, cranial cruciate ligament, which is the correct terminology for dogs (while people have ACL injuries). Many people use these terms interchangeably to refer to damage to the knee joint.

Several factors can contribute to ACL injuries, these include:

• Obesity (Chipper was a few pounds overweight).
  • Overfeeding when the dog is young is a factor (my Mom definitely overfed her dogs. Chipper lost 8 lbs. when he moved in with me).
• Lack of exercise (I did try to walk Chipper about a mile a day, but not so much in the summer when it was hot—which explains why this happened at the end of summer).
• Weekend warrior—dogs who get a lot more exercise on the weekends and are couch potatoes during the week (Chipper certainly got more exercise on the weekend).
• Genetics or over breeding (Chipper was a puppy mill dog).
• Lack of noticing subtle symptoms of a weakening knee joint. Dogs do not suddenly tear their ACL like humans do when playing sports. Often the ligament weakens over time and normal activities cause it to tear.
• Larger dogs, especially the giant breeds, are more prone to ACL tears.
• Active dogs also are more often affected.

But you really can’t prevent an ACL tear. Often the dog may tear it from jumping and landing incorrectly, from tripping on the stairs, from getting off your bed, or from chasing a squirrel. Think about it. How often do you feel pain in your knee or ankle, just because you stepped awkwardly?

Symptoms of an ACL injury

1. Lameness is the main symptom. If your dog won’t put any weight on one of his hind limbs, it likely is a full tear. If he is slightly limping, but using the leg, it may be a partial tear. Partial tears often become full tears.
2. Sitting with the injured leg stuck out to the side. It usually hurts to bend the knee.
3. Swelling of the knee joint.
4. Clicking of the knee joint when walking.
5. Your veterinarian may use the Cranial Drawer Test to check the stability of the joint.

Treatment for a torn ACL

Your veterinarian will decide on a treatment plan for your dog based on the following:

• Severity of the injury – ACL injuries can range from partial tears, full tears, or even a ruptured ligament.
  • A full tear or a rupture will require surgery for the best results.
  • Partial tears can sometimes recover without surgery.
• Size of the dog – my vet had mentioned that dogs under 30 lbs can sometimes heal without surgery.
• Age of the dog – a senior dog is less active than a young dog. Young dogs are more likely candidates for surgery to return them to their former health.
• Lifestyle activities – is your dog a couch potato (like Chipper), or an active dog? Active dogs should have surgery.
• Financial considerations—ACL surgery is not cheap.

I was very lucky with Chipper that all he needed was rest, which was fairly easy for a senior, sedentary dog. If I had known about a leg brace back then, I might have ordered him a custom brace.

Some of you may have heard Dexter’s story of his ACL injury from Fidose of Reality. Carol Bryant tried multiple treatments on her cocker spaniel, until surgery finally was required on both rear legs.

Dexter, just like Chipper, tore the ACL in his other leg shortly after his first injury. Many dogs do, since they are using their other leg to compensate for the first injury. It’s reported that 30 – 50% tear the other ACL within a few years.

Whether you use rest, a brace, or surgery, complete recovery of the ACL often takes at least six months.

Fortunately, to date, only Chipper had ACL injuries, maybe it was his breeding.

Below are several sites used in this blog, please check them out for further reading:

 

https://www.petful.com/pet-health/dog-acl-injuries/

https://www.topdoghealth.com/library/orthopedic-condition/articles/cranial-cruciate-ligament-ccl-rupture/

https://www.topdoghealth.com/the-5-reasons-so-many-dogs-tear-their-cruciate-ligament-1203/