Lately, perhaps because the weather is warm, I’ve encountered a lot of people during our walks asking me about Alex’s brace, and I am more than happy to stop for a couple of minutes and chat with them. Do you know what I found surprising? Every single pet parent that asked me about Alex’s brace told me the same thing, “I thought that the only option for an ACL injury was surgery,” to what I responded, “No, that is not the only option”. By the way, I do not get any monetary compensation from WoundWear Inc., what I like to do is talk about the products I buy for Alex and Bella and give you my poin of view, a consumer’s point of view.
Here are some of the questions I’ve been asked:
What is your dog wearing? Is it a brace? Is she injured? Alex is wearing a brace and yes she injured her ACL.
My dog had an ACL injury too, but I did not know about this brace. How did you find out about it? I did some research and read a lot of comments regarding this brace.
Does she wear it all the time? The first few months, she wore it all the time, except when she went to bed. As time went by, once I saw that she was putting pressure on the injured leg, she only wore it when we went out.
Why didn’t you opt for surgery? Alex is 12 years old, and because of her age I wanted to find out a less intrusive way of dealing with her injury.
How much bed rest did she have? At the beginning, a lot. She only got up to eat, drink water, and do her business outside. Some people use a crate, but Alex loves to sleep so I did not have to do that. Currently, she walks twice a day for about 20-30 minutes, but when I see that she is starting to slow down during our walks I make the walks shorter for a day or two.
There are a lot more questions I get asked, but this post would be too long to mention all of them, therefore, what I’d suggest to all pet parents when they have a canine kid with an ACL injury is to ask a lot of questions to the vet. If you are not happy with his answers, talk to different vets, including those that practice holistic medice and do some research. The more information you have the better equipped you’ll be to make a decision for your canine companion. Remember this: you are your dog’s best advocate,
AllMyCanineCompanions 
Where did you buy the brace?
I got it from WoundWear Inc., over the internet. I did some research and although there were some negative feedback, most of the comments were positive. The hardest part is measuring your dog for it. My girlfriend, Cynthia, took the measurements, and when I called to find out how much it’d cost to have it measured at a vet’s clinic, the price was $200 just to measure your dog. If you are detail oriented and believe that you can take the measurements yourself, I’d say, do it. If not, have some one else do it because the brace is a little expensive, but worth every penny. Btw, I do not get any compensation from that company or any other I talk about in my blog. I like to comment on their products and give my point of view as a customer.
Glad to hear Alex is doing ok, poor baby. Prayers for her and you for a quick recovery.
Thanks. She is doing great, but I do not over do it because I want to maintain her active and not in pain. She is very good at telling me when she had enough:-)
{puppy hugs}
Same to you:-)
I’m glad there is another option than surgery. Many thanks for your post, it’s storaged in my “first aid folder”.
Thanks, you are so sweet and funny:-)
Thanks for sharing, I was definitely in the same boat in terms of only knowing about surgical options. Definitely good info to keep in mind, though hopefully I won’t have to use it!
I hope you never have to deal with it. I was worried half to death, but thanks to Cynthia, my girlfriend, we decided to forgo the surgery.
Reblogged this on DoggyMom.com and commented:
ACL injuries – know your options – this is a great message.
You are so right about knowing the options. In my canine massage and rehab practice, I am working with dogs whose owners have opted to avoid surgery, if possible. We use low level laser, massage and other complementary therapies to work with the medications that the vets typically prescribe for the early days of an injury. Braces are another option, of course, and targeted exercise programs are also useful depending on the condition of the dog. Great post!
Thanks a million for the information. Yes, there are many options aside from the brace Alex wears, but many times we, pet parents, do not have all the info necessary to make the right decision for our canine kids. Btw, in the future I will be taking Alex for hydrotherapy, laser massage, etc. For now she is doing great.