American Bulldog Message Board

corepwn · Curly-Coated Retriever Joined: 26 May 2009 Posts: 27

Well, my pup (8mo, almost 9mo) managed to injure himself while playing with another dog.

He was running back and forth (one on each side of a fence, both being playful) and as we were leaving noticed that he started to limp on his "driver's side rear" leg.

I checked the leg over and while going through it's range of motion, he put it down on the ground and started walking/running like nothing ever happened.

That was two nights ago. The next morning we found that after he had been crated to sleep, when he got up in the morning and we brought him out, the leg was lifted again. Repeat the range of motion exam, and bam. He's seemingly fine.

This scenario has happened basically every time we have to crate him for several hours. Once he's out, he's fine, but once rested, he lifts it until we extend it by hand. He hasn't made any whines or complaints, and doesn't seem to mind us manipulating it at all.

So, tomorrow he sees the vet to get their opinion. I'm hoping it's not incredibly serious or life altering for him.

Masterbully · Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:12 pm Post subject:

Good luck with your pup....ABs are very ''pain tolerant'' so it is very good for him to see a vet. Keep us updated and I hope that all will be ok for him Wink

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corepwn · Curly-Coated Retriever Joined: 26 May 2009 Posts: 27

Good news is that this morning when we brought him out of his crate, he didn't have a limp/lift at all, and we didn't have to massage/manipulate him.

He just came out and acted normal!

He's still going to the vet for their opinion, again, hopefully it's not just his pain tolerance taking over.

corepwn · Curly-Coated Retriever Joined: 26 May 2009 Posts: 27

He's seen the vet, and the prognosis is a partial tear in his ACL.

He's getting a shot (not sure atm, girlfriend has him at the vet), and then an anti-inflamitory that we give him daily for the next month. He's not allowed any activity for the next month besides eating and using the bathroom, as any additional tearing will lead to surgery.

This sucks, but hopefully he heals up real good.

I imagine I'll need to reduce his feed level a little so that he doesn't gain a bunch of weight while not being able to get any exercise. Poor guy. =(

Laylasmom · Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 10:17 am Post subject:

That's yucky news, but I'm sure, with time, he'll be fine. There have been a few others on this board that have been through exactly what you are now, I'm positive they can help you out w/any suggestions. Good luck and keep us posted on his recovery.

corepwn · Curly-Coated Retriever Joined: 26 May 2009 Posts: 27

The hardest part of this right now is keeping him "calm" and making him take it easy when I bring him out of the crate.

He's 88lbs, and doesn't seem to realize or care that he's injured, 90% or more of the time since he can bear weight on the leg. So when we go out to go potty, the lil' monster still wants to chase after papers blowing in the fields and be a puppy.

This is MUCH harder than it would seem.

rjconn007 · Japanese Chin Joined: 07 Aug 2009 Posts: 9

Kana had the same exact diagnosis, my vet said she will eventually need surgery no matter what. But we have kept her mellow for several months and recently started swimming her in a friends pool. It seem to have helped but she still has a "three step limp and then back to normal" once in a while. At this point we have decided to let her play more and enjoy life and if we need to have surgery so be it. I cant keep her in a crate all her life. So I would recommend 6-8 weeks of crate, then slowly increase activity over the next few weeks. That's really all you can do except surgery and add the glucosamine and hyaluronic acid. I have read that MSM is counter-productive in this situation so try to find glucosamine only.