Anterior Cruciate Injuries

The most common cause of hind-leg lameness in hunting dogs is an injured anterior crucial ligament, the infamous ACL.

These injuries occur as a result of a quick turn, putting undue stress on the knee joint. Typically, the dog is fine one day and lame the next.

While some of these injuries repair themselves with rest and medication, the vast majority require some type of surgery.

There are several accepted procedures to correct torn ACL's in dogs. They vary from the "extra capsular" ones where the veterinarian tightens up the joint with some type of implant, e.g. heavy nylon thread to the TPLO where a piece of bone is cut off the tibia just below the knee and relocated to correct the angle of the joint and repair the damage. The costs for these procedures vary from several hundred dollars to more than two thousand depending on the difficulty of the surgery.

Hunting dogs with injured ACL's that are not repaired can develop serious arthritis over time that may render the dog too painful for hunting.

Hunting dogs with torn or damaged ACL's should be evaluated promptly by your local veterinarian. Sometimes, the surgery can be performed locally but often these dogs are referred to veterinary orthopedic surgeons. I have a friend who's practice does over 600 TPLO procedures annually! These vets have all the right tools and skills to fix the ACL problem. But, we often repair torn ACL's ourselves locally.

ALL hard hunting dogs with injured ACL's require some type of rehab to get them back in the field more quickly.