This definitely isn’t “normal”, though I can say our red nose (prior to injuring her leg) did occasionally get up limping from laying/sleeping wrong. It makes me wonder if your dog injured the leg hearing that she is only 4 months old. If the limping persists, I’d recommend taking her to the vet ASAP.

Best of luck.

We did get surgery on our dog. We went with the traditional type surgery because our dog was 60 lbs at the time of surgery but she was very heavy for her frame. After surgery (and now) she is a healthy 45 lbs. and has been very active in the years following her surgery.

Our red nose pit that had the surgery used to do the same thing. We’d take her to the beach where she’d run and play for about an hour, then later that evening and into the next day, she’d favor one (or both) of her hind legs. I was told that it was hip/knee stiffness when this used to happen. It’d take a day or so, and it’d go away, every time and she’d be fin afterward. Our veterinarian had given us Meloxicam in the past. Meloxicam is an anti-inflammatory that seemed to help our dog dramatically. The problem with this would be that if your dog does happen to have 1 or both CCL’s torn, then Meloxicam might give your dog a false sense of stability allowing it to further injure its leg(s). Get it checked with your vet and/or get a second opinion to see if the CCL is torn for certain. If it is not, then rest and less strenuous activity would be a good way to move forward.

I’m just researching around the net to better understand the CCL repair and recovery. I have a 9 month old Blue nose Pit Bull who began to favor both of his rear legs. It’s an intermittent thing, as sometime he appears to be fine and then all of the sudden he favors one of the rear legs for a bit and then seams fine again. I took him to have x rays which do not say 100% that he has an CCL injury, but does show some signs of it. Our next step is a joint tap, but the vet says he’s 90% sure he has tears in both knees – not ruptures. Anyway, I’m thinking that we will end up in surgery. Can anyone help me out with how you went about dealing with the recovery part of it. I’m told the surgery is the easy past (aside from cost) and the recovery is the hard part. Kenneth, if you read this; since you have a Pit Bull; how was it for you? My dog wants to run and play as any 9 month old would. Even now he wants to take off and run around the house with destination unknown. I’ve had three Pits throughout my days and have found that they tolerate pain very well. Do you put him on meds to keep them calm? I understand he will have to be confined to his crate for a period of time. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and what joint supplement do you folks recomend?

I’m not a vet, so it’s hard to say. There are positive arguments for each type of surgery. I’ve typically read that the mono-filament method is not intended for dogs over 50lbs. or more due to the strain that they’ll put on the stifle joint. These are questions for your vet that will have to be answered by the activity level of the dog, current weight, goal weight, etc.

Best of luck!

So, I am keeping a close eye on her, but do not want to risk further damage. Would you suggest TPLO, or the older ‘mono-filament’ ligament method?

Thank you -
Mark J Gross