said that TPLO is more successful in Bulldogs & a better option because of their "curvy" legs. This vet does 5-8 TPLO's per week.

He also told me that w/ pregnancy hormones their ligaments become weak, and that they may tighten up a bit since her puppies are just 8 weeks old. But still recommended surgery as soon as possible. After 2 full days of rest, carried out to potty & back in the kennel or leashed next to me she wasn't favoring at all today which makes me think that it will get better on its own. It's a partial tear, so the hope is that the ligaments are close enough together still to be able to heal.

From what I've read about the brace it allows them to do low-moderate exercise while keeping the joint immobile so as not to do more damage. So she'll be able to gain back the muscles in her legs while resting the joint. It sounds like a good option to me.

funny that this would post today. I ahve a six yo shar-pei who just had the acl surgery about 4 weeks ago now. When his knee was bandaged for the first three days, he was jumpinhg around using hte leg, you name it, then he started to favor it again.. Took him back to the vet and he looked at his knee, said is was very stable, suggested him wearing a knee brace. i
t will cost around $300.00 for it he will have to wear it 24/7.
Has to have it measured especially for him. Taking him back in at the end of the week for a fitting.

n/m

and my bitches leg is perfect now

While I don't doubt that the TPLO surgery is a good procedure, I agree that the older method of rerouting a ligament from the rear of the knee, over the kneecap to support the movement of that joint (basically taking over from the damaged Anterior Cruciate Ligament=ACL) is a good repair, has been the standard for many years prior the TPLO, and is usually about 1/3 of the cost!! Seems that a vet ought to offer both options.

I also firmly believe that "rest" will not repair a torn ligament, it may only lessen the swelling/irritation surrounding the knee joint resulting from the initial injury or overuse of that joint, and as soon as the dog resumes an active schedule the joint will suffer and may actually get worse if the knee cap begins to slip off to the side of the joint, necessitating regrooving of that cartilege in addition to repair of a ligament injury...and of course, resulting in arthritis development sooner in the knee joint. So I truly advocate getting a surgical correction done as soon as financially able, to get the dog healed and back into a normal life-rhythm.

crate rest will not repair a cruciate tear, well not in my experience.I do not agree that Bulldogs need the TPLO surgery, I have had success with the alternative which is a hell of a lot cheaper.

my regular vet who is a repro specialist. She said partial tear and referred me to the orthopedic surgeon who she used when her Mastiff had a partial tear.

So the surgeon was the second opinion. I don't think tears can be seen on xray - all they can say is whether there is any arthritis setting in (i think) But if I do get the brace I'll need to xray to measure the bone for fitting...

I think I'm gonna give it a shot. If she weren't putting pressure on the leg or she seemed to be in pain I'd do the surgery... but she seems fine.

I've been reading about it online all day.

i am going to look into this brace a bit more and have my holistic vet take a look at it, my reg vet surgery surgery lets get him under, i will not do surgery, so thanks for the site

You should try getting a second opinion or maybe a third, dont know to much about her injury but it seems a specialist would know. Have you had any x-rays on her?
Good Luck