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Welcome to August! This months newsletter will
include an article about Cruciate Ligament
Injury In Dogs, Tips To Be Prepared For An
Emergency,
and
the monthly trivia question. Remember we love
input on the newsletter so any recommendations or
suggestions of article topics are very welcome. I hope
you enjoy the newsletter and I thank you for your time!
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Cruciate Ligament Injury In Dogs
A torn cruciate ligament is one of the most common
orthopedic injuries in dogs. Dog and human knees
are very similar and knee injuries commonly occur to
both during athletic activities.
Large breed dogs
such as Retrievers, Rottweilers, Dobermans and
Akitas often injure themselves while hunting, or
chasing a ball or frisbee. Smaller pets, like a
miniature
poodle or cocker spaniel can get injured after jumping
up in the air to get a treat or toy. There may be a
genetic link in some
breeds to knee ligament injury.
If your dog starts
to limp, take him/her to the veterinarian for an
examination. Most often there is a history of sudden
rear limb lameness and pain and the pet will often
just toe touch with the affected leg. Your veterinarian
will develop an
individual treatment plan based on a dog's fitness
level, extent of the injury, level of pain, and stability of
the
joint. Unfortunately, surgery to stabilize the knee is
usually recommended for dogs weighing over 20
pounds with a cruciate
ligament injury and the cost can be $500-1000 or
more.
Surgical recovery is a slow process
requiring the dog to be quiet with no running, jumping
or playing. Restricted activity is limited to
bathroom break leash walks only for 6 to 14 weeks.
The good news is that a dog will often go back to
normal use of the leg after surgery and post surgical
therapy. The bad news is that the dog might at some
point injure the other leg and require another surgery
and will most likely develop arthritis.
After surgery it is important to keep your pet on a
good quality joint supplement such as Synovi G3 or
Cosequin and they may also require pain medication.
There is no
known way to prevent a cruciate ligament injury,
however overweight pets are at a much increased
risk so yet another good reason to keep your dog fit
and trim!
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Thank you for your time and I wish you a fantastic
month! We constantly strive to provide the best care
for your family pets and exceptional service to our
clients. I offer appointments while parked locally at
Discount Pet Store on Gull Road and offer
neighborhood and individual house calls as
available. If I can be of sevice to you, please give us a
call at 731-PETS to schedule an appointment
for your pet today. If you refer a friend or family
member to our clinic, both of you are entered in our
2008 referral prize drawing. Our next drawing is
December 2008. Please see our website for more
information on our prize drawing. Our previous
newsletters can be found on our website. Thank
you!
Sincerely,
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Return to the Visiting Vet Newsletter Archive Page 
Trivia question for August:
What is the weight of the biggest zucchini on record?
The first client to
CALL us with the correct answer will win a $5
credit to their Visiting Vet account. Good Luck!!!
July question: What year were sparklers
invented? 1880 Pat S. answered our July trivia
question first and received $5 credit to her Visiting Vet
account.