This is one of the questions that I receive the most – “I have a very active dog, how do I keep him/her inactive during the recovery process”. To be honest, there is not a simple answer. Active dogs are like active people, they get stir crazy when they’re confined to a space for a prolonged period of time. I’m one of those types of people, so I can definitely relate and totally understand what our dogs may be going through during the recovery process.

In talking with our veterinarian, and after going through this experience first hand, I can tell you that trying to keep an active dog inactive is not an easy task. There are basically 3 options that you have which can be used together or independently of one another.

• Cage / Pen
  Restricting a dog who usually has free reign in the house or in the backyard is difficult, but the thing you have to keep in mind is that it is entirely for the good of the dog. The pen allows you to restrict your pets movement; if there is not enough space to walk/run around, your dog will most likely just lay down (hopefully). Our dog had a hard time adjusting to being in penned up, so we ended up using sedatives. Here are some great options for pet pens and cages.
• Sedatives / Sedation
  We had a very hard time accepting this method, but when it comes down to it, movement and activity can cause your dog to re-injure its knee or damage the work that was done during the CCL surgery. Our veterinarian subscribed sedatives to us, but we were reluctant to use them at first. After the first day and a half of whining and standing at the door of the pen, we decided to start using the prescribed sedatives and it was the best thing that happened, for us and our dog.
• Diet Restriction
  We used diet restriction for 2 reasons. Firstly, our dog was overweight and that was a large part of the reason that she tore her CCL in the first place so the diet restriction helped to serve as a weight loss “tool”. Secondly, consuming less food will result in less energy, so your dog will more than likely be less active. Try it sometime, eat 25% less calories one day than you normally would, chances are that you’ll feel a bit lethargic.

When it comes down to it, none of these options are ideal, but when all is said and done, they do help to keep the dog from re-injuring itself after surgery, and they can also help to recover faster.

The following items don’t necessarily help keep an active dog inactive, but they can help contribute to joint health which in-turn will help your dog once it begins its “rehab” and gets to get back moving:

• Cosequin DS Double Strength Chewable Tablets, 250 Count
• DVM Resources SynoviG3 Soft Chews, 240 Chews

Related Posts

• Treatment and Recovery of Torn Knee Ligament in Doberman Pinschers
• Dog Knee Surgery Costs – Cost of Repairing a Torn Dog Knee Ligament
• Canine Knee Surgery on Both Knees at the Same Time

Though this wasn’t our first choice when dealing with our dogs ruptured cranial cruciate ligament, Conservative Management (or Conservative Treatment) is a non-surgical option of CCL treatment that should be considered by all dog owners prior to surgery.

Consider the human knee for example, you’ve all probably heard of torn or ruptured ACL’s (meaning the ligament is entirely severed), and you’ve also heard of partially torn ACL’s (meaning the ligament is still intact, but has definiate damage. Now, let’s consider a pro athlete, surgery will be necessary for either case – torn ACL or partially torn ACL. However, let’s say we have a 40 year old man with a desk job who doesn’t do too much physical activity. Surgery would be the best bet for a torn ACL, however he could probably get through the rest of his life with a partially torn ACL, and using a brace and conservative management in situations where any further damage to the ligament could occur.

The same hold true for dogs, however, the unfortunate thing is that we don’t have the option of giving a dog an MRI, which will actually show the extent of ligament damage. With dogs, we can have an x-ray, and we can have veterinarians check for instability (drawer movement), but we will not not for sure if the ligament is completely torn, or just partially torn. This is where conservative management comes in. Depending on the size of your dog (conservative management is typically not an option for large dogs – 40+ lbs), the amount of instability (drawer movement) in the stifle (knee) joint and the amount of lameness your dog displays in the injured limb, your veterinarian may recommend conservative management rather than a surgical procedure.

For conservative management, these principles must be strictly adhered to, otherwise the stifle joint will be unable to recover naturally:

1. Weight management / Diet control – Here are some weight management dog foods
2. Complete restriction of movement in the beginning, along with rest
3. Use of anti-inflammatory medications

Weight Management is not only something that will be recommended in the case of conservative management, but it will often be recommended following surgical procedures as well. Our dog dropped 1/3 of her body weight after surgery through diet control and weight management.

Rest & Restriction is required to allow the knee joint to heal in any way if its going to. This process can take 4-8 weeks, and at the end of this period, if the dog is still exhibiting lameness in the limb, surgery might be the best option. During this period, it’s a good idea to keep your dog in a crate or pen. We actually ordered these two plastic pens for Roxy during her recovery.

Anti-Inflammatory Medications can be used in combination with weight management and rest & restriction to help remove the swelling in the limb and let it recover. Here are some natural and over the counter anti-inflammatories that can aid in conservative management.

Before beginning a conservative management regimen, it is always best to contact your veterinarian and have the CCL injury professionaly diagnosed. After seeing a friend of mine try conservative management with a Labrador, I’d recommend seeing a vet ASAP after the injury.

Related Posts

• The Use of Supplements for Conservative Management Rather Than Medications
• Cruciate Ligament in Dogs, Canine Cranial Cruciate Ligament (Crucial)
• Tightrope Surgery in the Treatment of a Dogs Torn Cranial Cruciate Ligament