# Cruciate Ligament Jack Russel



## polaris2582 (Jan 19, 2011)

Having just been for an X-ray and a palpating/manipulation etc session with a local vet (not my regular trusted vet) I have been told my two year old Jack Russell Terrie (Eevee) has burst her cruciate ligament. I was recommended surgery as the only option for her.
I was not told how severe or to what extent, only that the vet thought that was the problem. Just looking for any opinions in anyone who's been through this. We're getting a second opinion from our normal vet who I trust beyond measure, but it doesn't look good.
She is in no pain under normal and heavy exercise, running jumping, and careening round the place like any two year old JRT should. She does use the leg, lightly, and can jump just as high as always, she does hesitate before jumping, but doesn't seem unwilling to do anything she wouldn't otherwise.
The injury did not follow an accident or event at all, she simply suddenly started holding her rear right leg off the ground. Throwing her ball for her slowly across the room right now I can see she uses both legs to chase, but only one to return. Her foot also sits slightly (barely noticeably) to the side when she sits.
When I make her walk to attention, at my heel very slowly, she uses all four legs with a barely noticeable limp.
Could this be anything else? She is in no visible pain whatsoever, or visibly held back. She has been limping continuously for about six weeks, first vet visit suggested a sprain and to bring her back in a month if it wasn't better.... Hence slight mistrust for current vet, over old one.
She's on meta am daily and I've been advised to seek surgery options, I am however hesitant to do this if there is a better option. She is fully insured and no expense is too much in he recovery, so if anyone can offer any advice I'd be more than great full. She's my pride and joy, and the only thing she genuinely loves to do is chase her ball as hard and as fast as she can. I don't want to see her lose that.


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## Muffu (Nov 8, 2014)

My dog had the same problem but due to a fall on the stairs. Began with limping and after 2 days during a walk his kneecap slided sideways and i had to put it back with my hand.

The surgery is very easy however the postop is not. My dog had his leg plastered for 3 weeks and i had to help him each time he was going to the "toilet".

If you say your dog is limping for 6 weeks maybe the ligaments are not burst? Did you ever saw her kneecap move sideways?


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## polaris2582 (Jan 19, 2011)

Muffu said:


> My dog had the same problem but due to a fall on the stairs. Began with limping and after 2 days during a walk his kneecap slided sideways and i had to put it back with my hand.
> 
> The surgery is very easy however the postop is not. My dog had his leg plastered for 3 weeks and i had to help him each time he was going to the "toilet".
> 
> If you say your dog is limping for 6 weeks maybe the ligaments are not burst? Did you ever saw her kneecap move sideways?


I have started a new thread on this if you'd like to join there. It has a slightly different theme  discussing treatment and options and diagnosis now I've had time to do some more research  
She has had no trouble with her kneecap at all, just holds the leg in the air. When she "does" walk on it, she doesn't have a limp.


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## Solo (Dec 23, 2006)

Smaller dogs do their cruciates in all the time and more often than not can be managed non-surgically (pain relief if needed, restriction on jumping etc) - just be aware that it's more likely that she'll end up with osteoarthritis in that stifle joint at a later date due to uneven wear and tear.


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## polaris2582 (Jan 19, 2011)

Solo said:


> Smaller dogs do their cruciates in all the time and more often than not can be managed non-surgically (pain relief if needed, restriction on jumping etc) - just be aware that it's more likely that she'll end up with osteoarthritis in that stifle joint at a later date due to uneven wear and tear.




As an update on this.... For anyone who may ever find themselves in a similar position, we are now weeks on from the original injury, and she has progressed brilliantly, I canceled the surgery, and I'm glad I did.
She uses the leg approximately 70% of the time now! while there is weakness in the knee it has never slipped! none of the joint has! or kneecap either. She limps when she's just woken up, and lifts it for a few steps every ten steps or so... In the beginning she would not put it down at all. When the foot is on the ground there is no visible limp.
As an idea, for the first 8 weeks of this injury there was no visible improvement at all, the foot never touched the ground. None whatsoever, then within a week she had progressed to 50% normal movement, a fortnight later she is at 70% and seems to have stalled a little for now. I am continuing gentle, regular, often and very light exercise including swimming, slow walking to heel, no running jumping etc, very very tight exercise regime. I have also put her onto a joint supportive kibble and have been adding extra calcium, and joint supporting oils to her diet, I'll get a list up later when I remember all the names.... She has put on a little weight, but as she's always been so crazy hyper this is a good thing for her, bringing her above "skinny" and into "normal". I cannot stress enough how important it is to not let your dog do ANYTHING in this situation, the minute I cut her exercise down to zero she started showing visible improvements, now we are building back up and strengthening the appropriate muscles she is maintaining well, and improving marginally. Three times she has taken a mad turn and run round the garden like an idiot burning off excess energy, with me worrying like mad but unable to catch her, this hasn't done her any harm though.
Her attention span is virtually zero, obedience is near nill at times and she has been a grumpy little rat at times, but she has gone from being a super high energy dog to a bed bound dog overnight.... I don't blame her and we're finding ways to keep her busy that don't involve tearing every toy to shreds... I look forward to the day I have my well exercised, happy, calm and terribly obedient Jack Russell back!!!


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## polaris2582 (Jan 19, 2011)

One month later and we haven't improved much, however endurance has shown a good deal of improvement. After a walk the limp is no more noticeable than before. I'm starting to wonder if it has in a small way become a habit at times as much as a symptom. Keeping her from jumping and running is a nightmare though, I'm just about mad with trying to find low eneregy games!!


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