I am very hesistant to ask advice on here because I am finding ppl to be very rude towards the person asking for help, but I am hoping that will not be the case here : ) I recently bought a 12 wk old great dane. Before I got her she was taken to the vet for knee inflamation, she had x rays and nothing was broken. Today was her follow up visit %26 it turns out she has what he called R.A.C.L which is a problem with her ligament in her knee. I am not able to find much info on this. He said most likely she will need surgery ($3500) when she is full grown. The breeder offered a refund but as you can imagine my family has quickly fallen in love with her. The vet was short staffed %26 not very willing to talk with me %26 answer my questions. He did say it is very rare for a puppy to get this. She is due for her last set of puppy shots in 2 wks where I plan on taking her to my vet for a 2nd opinion but if anyone has any suggestions or has experienced this I would love to hear your input/advice.
Answers:
Hello,
I'm new here and I'm sorry to hear that people can be rude to those that ask for help, as I joined because I will need a lot of advice for my new puppy that I'm getting in June. Have you ever heard of ARBONNE? A lady who has bred and shown Great Danes for 20years introduced me to the company. It is an all-natural, botanically based personal care product company. She had danes with joint problems and back injuries. She used Arbonne's herbal muscle massage gel and joint formula pills on her dogs and this eased the pain in their joints. The fatty acid supplement has the highest antioxidant and anti-inflammatory levels on the market, it decreases any swollen tissue. These are alternatives to deadly drugs such as Deramaxx and Rimadyl, please do not use painkillers on your puppy without researching the product. I know that these products can help your little one without the pain and expense of surgery. I was so impressed with the results of my yorkie's problem that I published a newsletter. It discusses in detail what these NATURAL products can do for dogs. I can email you a copy if you are interested. Let me know...
I will also ask the lady who introduced me to the products for more advice. She has 20 years experience with danes and natural remedies, she can really help to guide you in the right direction.
Take Care,
S.K. Alexander
You definitely want to have this surgery done, but I'd get a second opinion. $3500 is a ripoff for a cruciate repair surgery. Sorry, hit submit but had more to add.
If you care for your dog perfectly after the surgery (restrict activity for 6-8 weeks, then only probationary activity for another couple months, your dog's cruciate will be better than new). In fact, most dogs who rupture one cruciate will rupture the other side (sorry to say it =/) but a quality cruciate repair for one knee should not cost more than $2000. (If in fact it's a luxated patella, then $3500 is about accurate per knee, but RACL is a totally different injury)
Also, shame on your breeder (no personoal offense), but they shouldn't be breeding dogs with weak knees. Please spay this dog so she doesnt pass on her weak ligaments.
Well technically in dogs it's called a RCCL - ruptured cranial cruciate ligament (ACL is the abbreviation in human anatomy) and if it is ruptured it most definitely will not heal on its own. It's a very painful injury and will cause severe complications if left unrepaired (which I'm sure you won't allow, and good for you. Many dog owners let their dogs limp the rest of their lives, and it's heartwrenching).
And like I said, be prepaired for the other side to rupture as well. Dogs with congenital weakness in these ligaments almost always blow the other side. But the good news is, once they're repaired it's unlikely she'll manage to injure them again. A reconstructed cruciate ligament, whether built from the tendon around it, or replaced with prolene suture, is stronger than even a normal knee ligament.
Also, it is a congenital defect, it's almost unheard of for a 2-month old to rupture the knee in this fashion, the ligaments aren't even fully developed at this age, and neither are the muscles, and the poor girl doesn't even weigh enough yet to put enough stress on it to break it if it were not defective to begin with. Also, our protocol for final DH2P vaccines ends with the 3rd vaccine at 14 weeks as well, and first rabies at 16 weeks. I think the answerer below has a different protocol at his place.
ACL surgery may not even be needed.In some cases it will heal on it's own with rest. It is unusual for a puppy this young to have this problem, but not totally unheard of..it doesn't mean that the breeder is breeding dogs with weak knees, especially in Danes since this isn't really a common problem with the breed...it is more then likely an injury issue. I would also get an opinion from a specialist to make 100% sure it is her knee and not another issue.Also a specialist can give you proper treatment advice %26 options that a regular vet may not have access to.
As for last vaccinations.your pup should not be having her last set in 2 weeks not if she is now 12 weeks old...she should only be having her second between now and then and her third and final between 16 %26 18 weeks.Hopefully she was not vaccinated for the first time before she was 8 weeks old..this is important with all dogs but even more so in Danes. Also make sure you do not give her a rabies vaccination under 6 months of age again very important in Danes.
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RACL stands for Ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament.
It does sound very unusual for a 12 week old puppy to tear its knee - I would get a second opinion. And $3500 for ACL surgery is INSANE! I worked for one of the largest veterinary hospitals in the country and we charged less than $2000 and smaller clinics (that were capable of doing the surgery) usually charge around $1500.
Has the dog been tested for Lyme disease? This is a common problem that causes lameness. There is also a condition (the name escapes me) which very large breed dogs can get as puppies which involves the growth plates of their limbs which can be painful but I believe can resolve with age.
Sorry, but being short-staffed is no reason to not answer a client's questions. Veterinarians know they can make more money by "processing" clients more quickly. You are paying for their time make sure you leave satisfied.
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