Dog help- bandaid on a gunshot wound

[Ronin13]

No my dog didn't get shot- figure of speech. Here's what we know, our 10 year old rescue golden tore her ACL. We're not paying the $2400 for the surgery to get it fixed just to risk having her for only a few more months after that. We're not sure she really has a lot of time left, and the surgery (aside from being expensive) might not be worth putting her through again (she's already had part of her jaw removed due to cancer before we got her). So with the ACL repair surgery out, is there any kind of fix, even if it is kind of like putting a bandaid on a gunshot wound, or is she pretty much doomed to limping around for however much longer she has with us? We've only had her for about 6 months and knew that we potentially only have a few years with her, but we'd like to make her last 1-3 years as comfortable as possible.

[Sparky]

Other than doggie pain killers I don't know.

[Stevensje]

Our 10yr old lab tore his ACL about 3 months ago. We are treating him conservatively, without surgery also. If he was 2 it might be a different story. The fact remains he's a dog not a person. So he's really about 70 years old if he was human. Would you get your ACL done at 70? Probably not unless you where a freak of nature.

Get a prescription for Carprofen. It's like ibuprofen fr dogs. Give it regular for the first couple weeks, then just as needed when he starts gimping around. He usually doesn't need it unless we are camping or he is swimming and splashing around the river and walking on uneven rocks. He will be good as new in a month or two. The first two weeks suck. We where second guessing ourselves. But we waited and all is good.

[Monky]

Honestly if you're not going to het the surgery put him down. At his age if he damages it more the pain will be worse. He's already going to have lost mobility and his other body parts... Hips, other appendages will compensate to make it bearable.

He will start to hurt in more places. You can give him doggie pain meds and they'll take their toll on him as well.

If you're worried about the money just put him down.


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[hurley842002]

Honestly if you're not going to het the surgery put him down. At his age if he damages it more the pain will be worse. He's already going to have lost mobility and his other body parts... Hips, other appendages will compensate to make it bearable.

He will start to hurt in more places. You can give him doggie pain meds and they'll take their toll on him as well.

If you're worried about the money just put him down.


Sent by a free-range electronic weasel, with no sense of personal space.

Agree

[Hoser]

Our Lab tore her ACL in March.

She had never asked me for anything before. No car, no cell phone, no nothing.

A new ACL was the least we could do.

[Bailey Guns]

Our Lab tore her ACL in March.

She had never asked me for anything before. No car, no cell phone, no nothing.

A new ACL was the least we could do.

Yep. They give way more than they ask in return. My dogs are family. I'll do whatever my means will allow to make sure they live a happy life. We've done the ACL thing (or some tendon...forget which) on one of our JRTs. Wasn't quite $2400 but it was close. That one cost me a nice M1A about 4 years ago. But, I recently replaced it (for a lot cheaper than I sold the other one!) Karma, maybe.

[cofi]

Honestly if you're not going to het the surgery put him down. At his age if he damages it more the pain will be worse. He's already going to have lost mobility and his other body parts... Hips, other appendages will compensate to make it bearable.

He will start to hurt in more places. You can give him doggie pain meds and they'll take their toll on him as well.

If you're worried about the money just put him down.


Sent by a free-range electronic weasel, with no sense of personal space.


this get her rimidle untill she is in too much pain then put her down.....she will end up tearing up her other acl soon because its having to do all the work for too limbs now

Our Lab tore her ACL in March.

She had never asked me for anything before. No car, no cell phone, no nothing.

A new ACL was the least we could do.

diffrent view of dog ownership none of our 4 would get 2500$ in surgery i damn sure wouldnt put that into a 10 year old rescue i just got

[hatidua]

I wouldn't bat an eye at paying $2400 for a fix like that. I spent over $7K at the vet last year alone on far less significant issues for two dogs that are over ten years old. Dogs can get costly as they age. If a person can't afford to take care of children, they shouldn't have them....and that should apply to pets as well.

[Monky]

I wouldn't bat an eye at paying $2400 for a fix like that. I spent over $7K at the vet last year alone on far less significant issues for two dogs that are over ten years old. Dogs can get costly as they age. If a person can't afford to take care of children, they shouldn't have them....and that should apply to pets as well.

+1000


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[Rabid]

Did you get any X-rays done? Some dogs can recover, being a bigger and older dog the chances go down though. Stevensje is right, you need to get it some dog specific pain and anti-inflammatory meds and restrict its movement for weeks. Do some research and decide what needs to be done.

[Ah Pook]

There is a place, in Boulder, that makes leg braces for dogs with ACL problems. I've heard people having good limited success (not 100% recovery).

Prolonged use of Rymadil can damage the liver.

[Great-Kazoo]

Glucosamine helps diminish the pain and assist with the hip area. You need to do it daily, 1 with am feeding, 1 @ pm feeding.
Sooner or later you need to decide waht's best for your pet, vs what's best fro you.

[rtr]

Get the surgery.

[Flatline]

Use some dog specific analgesics for a few weeks and she how she does(there are veterinary narcs you can get, it doesn't have to be only NSAIDS) . It's possible that her pain may diminish as inflammation reduces, especially if it's only a first or maybe a second degree tear.

There are people who walk around with torn ACLs that don't get repaired and have a good quality of life (they can't run or ski but that's not everything), in the same token there are people who are severely debilitated both in mobility and pain without repair. I don't see why a dog would be any different. She may be fine in a few weeks (shy of not going on hunting trips or on hikes in the mountains with you) or she may need further treatment. Just make sure she doesn't suffer.

[RonMexico]

My sister and brother in law are at the doggie ER today also..... Lola has had two ACL tears, hip surgery and now an infected tooth today. They have spend 15 k on this dog but they say she is apart of the family. If you stop shooting, drinking and going out to lunch I bet you could pull the money together in a few months

[GilpinGuy]

Man, what a tough decision. I'm sure you'll do what you feel is best for you, your dog and your family for the long haul. It's a very personal and serious decision.

I had an 8 year old Golden who got spleen cancer. The vet told me "We can do surgery and see what happens...that will be about $3K. Frankly, I think we'll find more cancer in there and you'd just be putting him through a bunch of needless pain. I would just treat him as best you can and spoil him until you know it's time to put him down." 3 weeks later it was obviously time. He passed in my arms as the doc gave him the shot. It was one of the toughest day of my life, but I feel that I did what was best for him in the long run. I give the vet a lot of credit for being honest with me too.

[twitchyfinger]

I have a three year old Irish wolfhound 110 lbs who just had surgery a week ago for a torn ACL. Cost 4k but that was due to them having to use 4 instead if the normal 2 very expensive hardware screws. I agree with Bailey Guns in that my dogs are family and there is nothing I would not due for them! Couple things I was told that I was not to happy about was that almost 20-30% of dogs develop an infection to metal hardware and therefore has to be removed which costs more. The other is that a torn ACL a degenerative disease especially in larger animals and there is also a 40-50% chance that the same thing can happen to one of their other legs also. Think it's going to have to be a judgment call on your part ad to what choice you make. You're doing a great thing though getting all the info you can make that decision. My thoughts and prayers go out to your furry family friend!!!

Here is a good read on the subject: http://www.petwave.com/Dogs/Health/ACL-Injuries/Treatment.aspx

[TheBelly]

If the dog is a member of the family, then treat it like one.


The most difficult thing I've ever had to do was to put down my 13 yr old lab mix, Lilly. She had cancer (hemangiosarcoma) and surgery would not improve her quality of life. The only option was steroids to ease her suffering. That made the decision pretty easy.... But no less difficult.


If there was anything that I could have had done to improve her life, I would have done it without question or hesitation. She was a member of our family.

If this was a child, what would you do? Remember, whatever you do for the least of God's creatures.....

[Cylinder Head]

I wouldn't bat an eye at paying $2400 for a fix like that. I spent over $7K at the vet last year alone on far less significant issues for two dogs that are over ten years old. Dogs can get costly as they age. If a person can't afford to take care of children, they shouldn't have them....and that should apply to pets as well.

+2

[GilpinGuy]

OK, let the flaming begin....

Man, I guess some folks on here got some fat bankrolls. To "not bat an eye" at a $2400 vet bill, you must have some heavy cash on hand. $7,000 last year alone? I'm not bashing you if you spend the cash - good for you if can do it and are willing to do it. My guess is most of us can't. Maybe I'm wrong.

I just got a relatively simple procedure done on MY OWN lousy toe for Christ's sake and I'm scrambling to come up with the cash to pay for it.

Look, I get that we all love our dogs and would do "almost" anything for them. The guys who are posting that you shouldn't have a pet if you can't spend "whatever it takes" on them to get them fixed are way out of line IMHO. So only rich folks who can spend $3,000 at a moments notice should have dogs? Please......

Dogs are NOT kids. They're pets. Yes, they are a very special and big part of our lives but they are not humans. If my dog gets sick (and he has and will again - he's 15 yo now, thanks to my awesome care for him) I will not bankrupt myself to give him a few months or even years to live, especially if it means he'll be limping around or in pain the whole time. That's not how dogs are supposed to exist.

Dogs are happy when they are prowling around the perimeter, making sure the coast is clear, playing with you and the kids, guarding the house at night, etc. Laying around lame is not what they want.

As an adult, I've put down a dog and it was an emotional, traumatic experience. I wept for him as he slipped away in my arms. I did it because it was necessary (mortal) and/or financial (way too expensive to try to fix). Either way, I felt it was the right thing to do at the time.

As a pet owner you have to put things into perspective, even if it's hard as hell to do at the time. OP, make your decision based on what you think is right for you, your family and your dog. Don't be "guilted" into doing something you think isn't right for for you and your family.

[00tec]

OK, let the flaming begin....

Man, I guess some folks on here got some fat bankrolls. To "not bat an eye" at a $2400 vet bill, you must have some heavy cash on hand. $7,000 last year alone? I'm not bashing you if you spend the cash - good for you if can do it and are willing to do it. My guess is most of us can't. Maybe I'm wrong.

I just got a relatively simple procedure done on MY OWN lousy toe for Christ's sake and I'm scrambling to come up with the cash to pay for it.

Look, I get that we all love our dogs and would do "almost" anything for them. The guys who are posting that you shouldn't have a pet if you can't spend "whatever it takes" on them to get them fixed are way out of line IMHO. So only rich folks who can spend $3,000 at a moments notice should have dogs? Please......

Dogs are NOT kids. They're pets. Yes, they are a very special and big part of our lives but they are not humans. If my dog gets sick (and he has and will again - he's 15 yo now, thanks to my awesome care for him) I will not bankrupt myself to give him a few months or even years to live, especially if it means he'll be limping around or in pain the whole time. That's not how dogs are supposed to exist.

Dogs are happy when they are prowling around the perimeter, making sure the coast is clear, playing with you and the kids, guarding the house at night, etc. Laying around lame is not what they want.

As an adult, I've put down a dog and it was an emotional, traumatic experience. I wept for him as he slipped away in my arms. I did it because it was necessary (mortal) and/or financial (way too expensive to try to fix). Either way, I felt it was the right thing to do at the time.

As a pet owner you have to put things into perspective, even if it's hard as hell to do at the time. OP, make your decision based on what you think is right for you, your family and your dog. Don't be "guilted" into doing something you think isn't right for for you and your family.
I agree. A lot of the above is the reason I didn't want a dog (or cat). Of course, I got veto'd by the wife on the dog, and dread the day when he has problems that an older dog inevitably has. She is EXTREMELY attached to him, and it would devastate her to lose him.

I dealt with the pain of losing a long term pet as a kid and decided it wasn't for me. I adopted my parrot about 4 or 5 years ago. With any luck, she will out live me.

[Aloha_Shooter]

Our (society's) perspectives on pets have changed over the years. I doubt many people would have given even a second thought to the idea they should spend 1/10 or 1/20 of their salary on surgery for a pet, especially one that was the equivalent of 70 in human years. Out of curiousity, I'd like to flip the question. I'm sure many of you would willingly spend $2400 or 7000 out of pocket (none of this Obamacare nonsense) for ACL surgery on Grandma but how many of you would put her down because her hips were hurting? What would it take for you to consider putting Grandma down?

[cofi]

comparing your grandma to a dog is a stupid argument

[Stone83]

There is a vet at "The Max Fund", named Dr. Uhmloff (Not sure of the spelling)

He is an ACL expert- he'd give you good/honest feedback

[ChadAmberg]

Our (society's) perspectives on pets have changed over the years. I doubt many people would have given even a second thought to the idea they should spend 1/10 or 1/20 of their salary on surgery for a pet, especially one that was the equivalent of 70 in human years. Out of curiousity, I'd like to flip the question. I'm sure many of you would willingly spend $2400 or 7000 out of pocket (none of this Obamacare nonsense) for ACL surgery on Grandma but how many of you would put her down because her hips were hurting? What would it take for you to consider putting Grandma down?


I guess that'd just depend on your family now wouldn't it. My wife would sell her parents to drug experimentation trials just to get funds for a new toy for our dog. And today I'd wipe out my bank account to pay for the dog I had to put to sleep a year ago yesterday.

But there are limits to what you can spend based on how much money you have. That's just life, and that's Ronin's question. So here's my answer. Honestly look at how much you could afford to spend, and then get a second opinion on both treatment and cost. I've noticed that prices vary a lot between one vet and another. Dogs and people have gotten hurt for millions of years without surgery, and it may be manageable with just meds and making sure to take it easy.

Either way, you will feel bad. If you spend all the $ on the surgery, you'll feel bad for spending it. If you don't, you'll feel guilty. There isn't an easy answer here, just do the best you can afford to do, and no matter what, make his remaining time as good as possible no matter the decision.

[mtnhack]

I wouldn't bat an eye at paying $2400 for a fix like that. I spent over $7K at the vet last year alone on far less significant issues for two dogs that are over ten years old. Dogs can get costly as they age. If a person can't afford to take care of children, they shouldn't have them....and that should apply to pets as well.
Absolutely agree!!!

ps, ask a vet not a bunch of gun enthusiasts on the fucking internet

[Great-Kazoo]

Our (society's) perspectives on pets have changed over the years. I doubt many people would have given even a second thought to the idea they should spend 1/10 or 1/20 of their salary on surgery for a pet, especially one that was the equivalent of 70 in human years. Out of curiousity, I'd like to flip the question. I'm sure many of you would willingly spend $2400 or 7000 out of pocket (none of this Obamacare nonsense) for ACL surgery on Grandma but how many of you would put her down because her hips were hurting? What would it take for you to consider putting Grandma down?

IF my grandmother OR ANY FAMILY member was terminal AND euthanasia was Legal. We'd weight the quality of life vs the level of pain and do as necessary. There comes a time as i mentioned before. You must do what's right for your companion vs. what you feel is right for you. How much pain and suffering do you want any one or animal to go through, just to satisfy your own issues?

In another post a board member complained about the "cost' to deal with their dog's UTI and other issues. He felt the animal shelter and foster home could have done more or caught thses issues earlier.
YET he acknowledges the pet was not taken to a vet for 6 months after adoption! ! ! Everyone else is at fault? ?

[mtnhack]

IF my grandmother OR ANY FAMILY member was terminal AND euthanasia was Legal. We'd weight the quality of life vs the level of pain and do as necessary. There comes a time as i mentioned before. You must do what's right for your companion vs. what you feel is right for you. How much pain and suffering do you want any one or animal to go through, just to satisfy your own issues?

In another post a board member complained about the "cost' to deal with their dog's UTI and other issues. He felt the animal shelter and foster home could have done more or caught thses issues earlier.
YET he acknowledges the pet was not taken to a vet for 6 months after adoption! ! ! Everyone else is at fault? ?Exactly!

Pre-diabetic symptoms are easily identified during REGULAR wellness exams and blood work.

And hell yes, euthanasia should be an option for the terminal.

[Stevensje]

Trust me, you are not burning any bridges by treating it conservatively and waiting. If he is suffering three months from now your decision will be easy. He is still in the inflammatory stages of healing. Two to three months from now you will know how bad the tear is and how it affects him and your family. Remember, Most Vets and MD are salesman/business men also. They have to make a living as well. The more surgeries they do the more money they make. Maybe spending $4000 is not necessary. I sell implants that go into people and most screws are $12 bucks. But the hospitals mark them up 300 to 400%. And you wonder why healthcare is out of control. The greasy hospitals that are building new hospitals like crazy. But it's the $12 screws fault.

Get a prescription for Carprofen. It's like ibuprofen fr dogs. Give it regular for the first couple weeks, then just as needed when he starts gimping around. He usually doesn't need it unless we are camping or he is swimming and splashing around the river and walking on uneven rocks. He will be good as new in a month or two. The first two weeks suck. We where second guessing ourselves. But we waited and all is good.

[kwando]

Call planned pet hood about the cost of surgery. I know several people that use them and it was close 50% off the cost of their regular vet.