How to Care for a Dog with a Torn ACL - Understanding Your Dog's Condition

1. Learn what a torn ACL looks like. The main symptom of a torn ACL is that of a hind limb lameness – that is, he'll be limping on the injured leg. Your suspicions should be increased if your dog has a painful or swollen knee that came on after physical exertion, such as chasing a Frisbee or jumping up wildly.
- However, don't diagnose your pup yourself. It's always best to get a professional's opinion.

2. Take your dog to the vet for a proper diagnosis. While checking your pup's ACL, your veterinarian will need to check the dog for other problems such as fractures, dislocations or a sprain, too. It's possible a torn ACL is just a fraction of the problem.
- Your vet will probably suggest sedating your pup in order to perform an "anterior draw" test, as well as screening radiographs. A positive anterior draw test demonstrates that the tibia (shin bone) slips forward against the femur (thigh bone) when pressure is applied to the lower limb.

3. Carefully consider surgery. There is considerable debate amongst canine orthopedic experts as to whether surgical correction of a torn cruciate (ACL) is essential or not.[2] The argument for surgery is that an unstable joint is more likely to develop arthritis in the long term, plus the recovery time to full function is shorter after surgery than with conservative management.
- Arguments against surgery include: surgery being painful and invasive, the cost, the risk of complications and the fact that a lot of dogs do well without surgical intervention. Complications from surgery can include serious infections that necessitate revisional surgery to remove infected implants, or even nerve damage that may be so severe it necessitates limb amputation.

4. Rest assured that most animals can and will recover normally with time. A majority of animals will recover good use of the affected limb after several months with just conservative treatment. This is especially true for smaller dogs that weigh less than 15kg (33lbs). With your care, your pup will be just fine.
- The recovery time for larger breeds is longer and it can be physically more demanding for a heavier dog to cope with using only three legs for a few weeks.[3] However, recovery is still possible.