Little Gifts Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 This kind of injury seems to be becoming more common. In all my years of dog owning I've never had a dog with the problem. So am I doing something differently with my animals to negate this or have I just been lucky? None of my current dogs are into extreme sports (besides zoomies) but I have previously had big time jumpers. My current pack are more in to gentle jogs so they can stop and sniff but I've also had marathon bolters that you have to drive after in the car to round up. I haven't always been as knowledgeable about quality diet but would say I've only ever had one slightly overweight dog. I've owned mainly medium sized dogs, with a couple of large breeds thrown in. No giants. One thing I have always done though is regular massages. Rather than just pat my dogs I use the time to massage and stretch out limbs or spines or whatever. Could this be making a difference? Two of my current dogs are big stretchers but I wouldn't say any of my other dogs have done it as much. So could there be a reason or is it just luck? I know numerous dogs of the same breed as two of mine that have needed this surgery at a youngish age and I'd love to avoid it for mine if there was a way to minimise the risks. Thoughts????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory the Doted One Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 We have seen what I would deem a lot of torn cruciates, across varied breeds and crosses. Often older or middle aged dogs, often jumping off furniture or just doing their thing in the yard (zoomies etc) My theory, unfit dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 There are many things that I consider to be risk factors when I see young dogs Straight stifles. Dogs that like to turn and break/skid Overweight, particularly when growing up! Some I believe might be genetic- even if it is just allowing dogs with straight stifles to breed or slightly loose patellas. It is a chronic inflammatory condition so perhaps there are more processes causing inflammation? Dogs do not get as much free running. I also think its difficult to determine if it is actually becoming more common. This isn't exactly an unbiased group of dog enthusiasts. And I would also like to think that more people are taking pets to the vet and actually having it diagnosed rather than the dog going lame then 'coming good' without ever seeing a vet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 That's very true about more people seeking vet treatment rather than just taking a 'she'll be right' approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brookestar Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 There are definitely more people going to the vet, rather than simply saying she'll be right. It is also about unfit dogs. The amount of dogs who are walked only on weekends, or who get a walk around the block each day and then are suddenly let loose in the park on the weekend. They have not built up to the required strength needed. It is about the surfaces they are jumping on and how fit they are to begin with. Being overweight is a big one, especially while they are growing, it puts extra pressure on growing joints that they cannot cope with. Stretching and massage are good for all dogs and athletes do it, so to say it would not benefit dogs would be very wrong. I know that I know when I have not stretched my dog, she is very different and I can tell the difference that comes from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pjrt Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 (edited) Purely anecdotal, but among the rolling client base of approx 300 mainly smaller dogs I have dealt with over 28 yrs of dog grooming I would actually say approximately the same , or slightly decreased incidence of cruciate luxation/ injury/ repair. I see many dogs with luxating patellas that never do a critical injury. Some of them have surgery because of the severity of luxation, while others just live with a hop skip gait. Others that have no apparent issues or what appears a low grade luxation do critical injuries requiring surgery. There does seem to be certain contributing factors, but overall I don't think I have noticed an alarming increase of luxation or injury among the thousands of small dog I have handled. There are a couple of breeds that seem to be far more prone to problem knees issues, but my flame suit isn't rated high enough.... ETA..... Oh, I forgot, I also see a lot of dogs with crucial ligaments....... Edited March 5, 2015 by GrufLife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Gruf I had to check and make sure I hadn't named the thread wrong! I felt it was 'crucial' too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pjrt Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Gruf I had to check and make sure I hadn't named the thread wrong! I felt it was 'crucial' too! When I correct people I smile and say..." well, it is crucial, but is actually called cruciate ......" So many dogs taking magic medicine called quarterzone too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Ooooh how could I forget Age of desexing and the number of dogs being desexed may change both HD and CCL incidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Gruf I had to check and make sure I hadn't named the thread wrong! I felt it was 'crucial' too! When I correct people I smile and say..." well, it is crucial, but is actually called cruciate ......" So many dogs taking magic medicine called quarterzone too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canisbellum Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Jonah doesn't get on beds or furniture is on the lean side and gets 1 to 2 hours of off lead exercise a day with lots of running in the bush on weekends. He goods a good quality diet with lots of joint supplements. Went to work 1 day and he was fine. Came home in the evening and he had a torn cruciate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airedaler Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Ooooh how could I forget Age of desexing and the number of dogs being desexed may change both HD and CCL incidence. I've seen several articles recently indicating that juvenile de sexing may well have a negative impact on cruciate ligament damage, among other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Jonah doesn't get on beds or furniture is on the lean side and gets 1 to 2 hours of off lead exercise a day with lots of running in the bush on weekends. He goods a good quality diet with lots of joint supplements. Went to work 1 day and he was fine. Came home in the evening and he had a torn cruciate. I was thinking about Jonah when I wrote this CT. And Mbili. And my nephews SBT who has just done his second one. I've heard of so many pei in particular that have had the problem in young, healthy dogs. It's worrying. Tempeh is a jumper (on furniture in and outside but not on people) and she never actually uses the steps in my house (prefers flying over them up and down) but she is also big on stretching and having her muscles massaged and stretched out, so I'm hoping that helps. She likes to run around a lot at home but not so much on walks - she prefers to stick by my side rather than follow scents like the others. She is very lean - all muscle really. She seems like a risk factor but what to do to avoid it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*kirty* Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Shar Pei have very straight back legs so I imagine that would put them at greater risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karly101 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 There is a genetic component. Most of the dogs I see that do it are overweight too so keeping your dog as lean as possible will help. Apart from that you can't really avoid it as such - sometimes illnesses can also cause the ligament to degrade. Fortunately I've seen many many successful surgeries to repair it so it's not one I'm hugely worried about. As long as surgery is done relatively quickly otherwise the joint can become quite damaged and also puts a lot of strain on the other leg. Yes it'll be $$ but outcome is generally good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flame ryder Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Is ligaments like cartilage...same? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now