Oreo's mom Posted September 14, 2004 Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 We were playing couch potato fetch last night when Oreo got hurt. He spun away to catch his ball and dislocated his knee. He cried out and sat immediately and then limped heavily. There was a noticeable gap or crooked area in his knee. For about 30 minutes he didn't put any weight on that leg. We paged my husband who came home to check Oreo out. Meanwhile my daughter and I kept Oreo still and massaged his leg. Eventually the gap went away or straightened out and Oreo was ok. Is this a common occurence for BCs? I've read a little about hip displasia but don't remember anything about knees. Does this first incident warrent a trip to the vet? Is this likely to continue to occur? Would it help to supplement with glucosamine? Would this rule out agility competition? I would appreciate your thoughts and advice. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted September 14, 2004 Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 I would take Oreo to the vet. The vet should be able to tell if the cruciate is torn, and may be able to tell if there's a partial tear. For either case, the vet can give you advice on getting the knee healed and preventing re-injury (or in the case of a partial tear tuning it into a full-blown torn cruciate ligament). The dogs I have known that have been diagnosed wit a partial tear (inlcuding my own dog), were only intermittently lame after the initial injury. In the case of one of my trial dogs, careful rehab as enabled me to trial her again without resorting to surgery. Cruciate tears are common in the breed only as they are common among human athletes--that is, super active, athletic, fast-moving and turning creatures place a lot of strain on joints, and so tears do happen. I believe this is part of the reason that cow hocks are not considered a problem--the changed angle of the leg created by a cow hock enables fast turns with less strain on the stifle and other joints. Anyway, Oreo's problem may not be her cruciate ligament, but especially if you want to do any sort of sports with her, it wouldn't hurt to have a vet check her. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oreo's mom Posted September 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2004 Thank you, Julie, for your information and suggestions. Oreo has an appt to see our vet tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oreo's mom Posted September 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2004 Good news from the vet. It appears to have been a strain or sprain - no permanent damage. We are to limit Oreo's jumping activity a little (and our jumping class starts this Saturday). Other good news is Oreo has lost 3 pounds since his last visit. The bad news is he should lose 6 more (which would bring him down to 50 lbs). We find out tomorrow if Lucky comes to live with us. A dog to race around with should help increase Oreo's activity levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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