# What ACL, CCL, Crucial Ligament Custom Canine Knee Brace review of which one to buy?



## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

I am sorry that your golden is having problems. How old is she?

Usually a complete tear will not heal by itself. I am not familiar with braces and I really don't know anybody who had their dog wear a brace after knee surgery for the rest of the life to protect the knee. That does not even make sense to me. To me a brace would most likely weaken the surgery knee instead of letting it heal and built up the muscle mass, but that is my opinion.

My Golden had TPLO surgery when he was 8 1/2 years old, no problem whatsoever and he recovered nicely from it and he did not tear the other knee's ACL. Often it is written, dogs with one torn ACL will tear the cruciate ligament on the other knee within 12 months. I really don't believe one can generalize every dog in that respect. 

Anyway, I am a big believer in surgery, so I am no help with braces.

Good luck to your fur baby.


----------



## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

So you'll believe a retired vet you read about online but not trust one that can actually evaluate your golden girl? I'm sorry, but that makes no sense to me. I have a great relationship with my vet and see it as a partnership in taking the best possible care of my goldens. He is more than willing to look at outside literature I bring in and more than willing to refer us to specialists when needed--I so wouldn't deny my golden treatment due to someone trying to hock a product on the Internet with a marketing gimmick at discrediting licensed/practicing vets' expertise.


----------



## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

My 9 month old puppy tore his ACL. We've seen the best board certified orthopedic veterinarians in San Diego, Calif., and all of them agree for our situation, surgery is best. We've researched conservative management and even consulted to buy a brace for the 3 months before surgery to "protect" his knee from additional injuries or worsening the injuring. All the vets (whom I trust based on word of mouth, personal experience and my own research) tell me that bracing the knee post surgery will inhibit rehabilitation and make it harder on the dog. 

They've also told me that IF the knee restabalizes (idk if that is a word) by building scar tissue around the joint, most dogs will re-tear it. 

Bear will be getting a TTA or a TPLO surgery in August once he turns a year old and we have less risk to his growing bones. 

I hope your girl gets better, whichever method you choose. If would recommend you get a second opinion before choosing one treatment over another.


----------



## Goldendancer (Oct 22, 2008)

SheetsSM said:


> So you'll believe a retired vet you read about online but not trust one that can actually evaluate your golden girl? I'm sorry, but that makes no sense to me. I have a great relationship with my vet and see it as a partnership in taking the best possible care of my goldens. He is more than willing to look at outside literature I bring in and more than willing to refer us to specialists when needed--I so wouldn't deny my golden treatment due to someone trying to hock a product on the Internet with a marketing gimmick at discrediting licensed/practicing vets' expertise.


Thanks. Are you aware that most all vets have these things called WEBSITES, which "HOCK" their services? If you cannot respond without an attack, suggesting we do not care for our Golden, FIND ANOTHER THREAD!!!!! How incredibly RUDE you are!!!! Now go get ALL your [cancer] shots from your vet, who HOCKS shots! Jim


----------



## Goldendancer (Oct 22, 2008)

cgriffin said:


> I am sorry that your golden is having problems. How old is she?
> 
> Usually a complete tear will not heal by itself. I am not familiar with braces and I really don't know anybody who had their dog wear a brace after knee surgery for the rest of the life to protect the knee. That does not even make sense to me. To me a brace would most likely weaken the surgery knee instead of letting it heal and built up the muscle mass, but that is my opinion.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for your kind words!!


----------



## Goldendancer (Oct 22, 2008)

cgriffin said:


> I am sorry that your golden is having problems. How old is she?
> 
> Usually a complete tear will not heal by itself. I am not familiar with braces and I really don't know anybody who had their dog wear a brace after knee surgery for the rest of the life to protect the knee. That does not even make sense to me. To me a brace would most likely weaken the surgery knee instead of letting it heal and built up the muscle mass, but that is my opinion.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for your kind words! So sorry you lost your gorgeous Baby. Someday, you'll see Toby again! <3


----------



## Goldendancer (Oct 22, 2008)

Brave said:


> My 9 month old puppy tore his ACL. We've seen the best board certified orthopedic veterinarians in San Diego, Calif., and all of them agree for our situation, surgery is best. We've researched conservative management and even consulted to buy a brace for the 3 months before surgery to "protect" his knee from additional injuries or worsening the injuring. All the vets (whom I trust based on word of mouth, personal experience and my own research) tell me that bracing the knee post surgery will inhibit rehabilitation and make it harder on the dog.
> 
> They've also told me that IF the knee restabalizes (idk if that is a word) by building scar tissue around the joint, most dogs will re-tear it.
> 
> ...


Hope your little baby does well!


----------



## Goldendancer (Oct 22, 2008)

An Update. We have been busy researching CCL ACL Crucial Ligament Orthotic Canine Knee Braces versus Surgery.

Many other FORUMS had much more info on CCL ACL Crucial Ligament surgery versus Medical Orthotic Knee Brace.

Many have had their dogs go thru the ACL CCL Crucial Ligament surgery, and would never do it again, due to infections, resurgery, TPO brackets or screws were not medical grade that the vet used and corroded in the dog and killed the dog, screws not inserted properly and broke inside the dog, infections, a lot of complications were listed, too many to list all here. etc. 

We visited and spoke with numerous veterinarians. We read the Vet Trade Magazine where 1 in 3 dogs with ACL CCL Crucial Ligament surgery had serious complications. But an alternative is not offered by most vets, as surgery is the most profitable.

The many dog owners that had had some dogs go thru ACL CCL Crucial Ligament surgery, then on their more recent dogs that tore the ACL CCL, The 2nd time around they tried the Orthotic Knee Brace, and said the results were the same or better with the Knee Brace over surgery. And many said they would not do the surgery again. They would always opt out of surgery and go with the Knee Brace regardless if the dog had to wear it for 6 months, 9 months, a year or for life.

We found a veterinarian who specializes in ACL CCL Crucial Ligament surgeries but uses the Brace for dogs that cannot go thru surgery, too old for surgery, or the owners do not have pet insurance, or cannot afford surgery. This vet has tried numerous Braces on patients that could not do the surgery, and has had success with the Knee Brace, and does agree it is a great alternative and is much safer than surgery. And if it doesn't work, the dog can wear the brace for life each day, or opt for surgery at a much later date. 

Hope this helps for others when their dog tears the CCL ACL crucial ligament. Over a million dogs a year will tear their CCL ACL Crucial Ligament. 

The CCL ACL Crucial Ligament surgeries are a billion dollar a year business for Veterinarians so that is why they don't want to try alternatives, they would rather sell you on surgery, regardless if that is the best thing for your dog or not.

The Orthotic Medical Canine Knee Braces for ACL CCL Crucial Ligament tears has been used for about 10 years with success. Many vets do not want to recommend the Canine Orthotic Medical Stifle Knee Brace due to the fact it is not very profitable for them or their fellow veterinarians.

Before signing up for surgery, check into all the information about the Knee Braces first, as once you opt in for surgery, you may be going down a very painful road for your dog. 

Also, think of your dogs needs. Dogs that cannot walk after surgery at all for 2 months except to pee, become very depressed. 2 months in a dogs life is a very long time and unfortunately you cant give your dog a book to read, a computer or a tv while waiting to heal for 2 very long months.

When wearing the Knee Brace, the first month, they get to walk 2-3 times a day, a very slow walk with the brace on for 20 minutes per walk. Then by the 2nd month, you can increase the slow walks for a longer period. This is way less depressing then 2 months of prescribed bed rest after surgery, then if there is an infection or a resurgery, add another 2 months of bed rest. This is very hard psychologically on your dog.

So not only do you need to do your homework on what alternatives are available, it is just as important to consider your dogs emotional needs. What will be better for them. The vet is considering what is best for their pocketbook, not for your dogs psychological well being.

Anytime you spend money for any service, you must check it out thoroughly. 

Of course if this is just a car being repaired, and your car blows up, not a big deal, a car is not an emotional being, but your dog is. So this is a decision you have to make that is best for your dogs feelings and well being.

I hope this helps for those that come after us having to make this decision Surgery VS Medical Orthotic Stifle Knee Brace.

.


----------



## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

I did not regret having my Toby get TPLO surgery for even a second. He was in serious pain, could not walk at all and a brace would NOT have done anything for him. He had torn his ACL and his meniscus and he had surgery the very next day. 
The same day he had surgery, he was already standing on that leg. He got to go out on a leash to pee and poop and after two weeks he was allowed to do short walks. After even just one week he felt good enough to get away from my husband and jump up on the couch. He almost gave me a heart attack, but he was fine and pretty darn proud of himself. 
After 8 weeks he had complete bone healing and could run again and never had a problem with that knee again. Nope, I don't regret him having surgery at all.


----------



## 4everjade (Aug 27, 2013)

*ccl brace*

. I am not a golden owner but have a 2yr old rottweiler/shepherd mix. Recently tore ccl. I have opted for brace and went to my pet brace Com. They seem very knowledgeable and professional. Cost was 700 but includes everything (casting,brace and incremental follow-ups to 9 months to see how it is progressing. It has only been 5 days so I cannot honestly tell you I see any difference, but they advised this is a lengthy process. I saw the other sites but am hesitant to have it done by a company so far away. If you have an option try to find a company local within driving distance so you have some support in case of problem. Vet will be limited to what they can do since it is not their product. 

Good luck


----------



## Goldendancer (Oct 22, 2008)

*ACL CCL Cruciate Dog Knee Brace*

Just an update. We have tried several custom dog knee braces. We have had success with the Posh Dog Knee Brace. When we get it on correctly, she can walk as the knee is stabilized. It does make a difference to see that a dog knee brace can support the knee. 

We were told with or without surgery, it will be about a year of conservative management. She is too old for surgery so we are going with the brace since we do see that it actually does work. But others who did opt for ACL CCL surgery also bought the Posh Dog Knee Brace as insurance to protect the joint after surgery. So you need to get a dog knee brace either way, with conservative management or to wear after surgery.

When humans tear their ACL CCL and have surgery, they must wear a knee brace after surgery too. 

One lady said she had two large dogs, one tore the ACL CCL and had surgery. Then the other dog tore his ACL CCL and that dog wore a dog knee brace and did not have surgery. She said in both dogs it took about a year for recovery and both dogs recovered about the same. 

Due to this depression, many can no longer afford surgery, so a dog knee brace is a great alternative. Fortunately affordable solutions are now available. 

Hope this helps others going through the same thing.


----------



## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

I highly recommend anyone going through a CCL or any orthopedic canine problems to find the group "orthodogs" on yahoo and/or Facebook. 

They have a lot of advice and many years of dealing with these issues. 

I also highly recommend owners do research and look into all the options. 

My Bear is 2 weeks post-op on a bilateral TPLO and is recovering great! We're already doing short walks and in 10 short weeks he should be physically conditioned to resume all his normal activities. 

In regards to CM - I've been told it should only last a few months. Not as long as a year. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

I am not a fan of the brace, I really don't think anybody is doing their dog a favor by buying into the "brace" fad. 
Yes, surgery is more expensive, but the dog will be recovered and back to normal in as early as 8 weeks, mine was, he was 8 1/2 when he had the surgery. If a dog is in good health and bloodwork came back good, I would always opt to do the surgery, JMO. A brace does not prevent arthritis from setting in, I also don't think the muscle mass will remain with the brace. My opinion.


----------



## Colie CVT (Sep 15, 2013)

As someone who works for 3 wonderful board certified surgeons, things like this grind my gears. 

Whoever was the person who started the lie about how profitable cruciate surgeries are for clinics has obviously never actually seen how the cost in and out goes for the clinic itself. While we perform TPLOs, TTAs and lateral sutures on a very much daily basis, it definitely is not a money making surgery. In fact due to NON-board certified people going to take weekend courses on how to do the surgery (which you MUST really look carefully at your chosen surgeon's actual credentials) we had to lower the price for our surgeons to do this procedure. We actually even have been conducting a study between the two procedures and have found some really interesting things out about them. 

Yes there is always risk involved with placing implants into an animal, however not all implant failure is the fault of the surgeon who placed it! After care is something that we try to impress upon our clients as it is MORE important than the surgery! You have to truly respect the rules for after if you want the surgery to be a success. I know for a fact we don't take out implants in 1 of every 3 patients we do these procedures in. And of them all I think we only ever had two of all thousands we see on a yearly basis get truly horrid infections. Two out of thousands.

We actually did a TPLO on a 14 year old mixed breed dog the other day who made it through the procedure just fine and was standing on it herself the next day. 

I really do implore people to thoroughly research who is doing the procedure on your pet and LISTEN to the after care instructions. The surgery is only one step. The rest of what happens is out of our hands.


----------



## Tricia (Jul 30, 2013)

Thankyou for this post. My Charlie woke up this morning unable to walk on her back leg. She hobbles along and doesn't want to put any weight on it. She had a very energetic run yesterday with another puppy, but seemed fine when she went to bed. She is 8 months old.

It obviously hurts because she is looking so sad and doesn't want to play. Of course it is Sunday so will have to wait until the morning to get to the vet.


----------



## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Tricia said:


> Thankyou for this post. My Charlie woke up this morning unable to walk on her back leg. She hobbles along and doesn't want to put any weight on it. She had a very energetic run yesterday with another puppy, but seemed fine when she went to bed. She is 8 months old.
> 
> It obviously hurts because she is looking so sad and doesn't want to play. Of course it is Sunday so will have to wait until the morning to get to the vet.


Awwww. I hope Charlie feels better!! You may get more info if you start your own thread. Please come back and let us know how Charlie is doing. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Tricia (Jul 30, 2013)

Thanks. Will do so.


----------



## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Curious...how old is "too old" for surgery? Is that the vet's decision or yours?


----------



## Colie CVT (Sep 15, 2013)

Given the fact that we have very routinely done surgeries on patient's well into their teens (we actually did a fracture repair surgery twice on a 17 year old cat who had multiple diseases going on that lived for some time after), it honestly is more your choice than a true number. You have to go by what you feel is the best thing for your pet. Any good veterinarian will tell you about the procedures that could be done, all your options and help you pick what is the best thing for your specific animal. If you feel that they wouldn't handle recovering from surgery, then do not go through with it. If you feel it will help improve their quality of life, then go through with it.

My first dog had to have a total hip replacement done, which is a vastly more invasive procedure with a higher implant failure rate (generally due to after care problems that cause the hip to pop out of socket), when she was eight years old. Her hips were getting so bad (bilateral hip dysplasia) that I know for a fact that artificial hip gave her the last 3 years of her life. I thank my stars I started working for the clinic that I do now back then, because she had two wonderful surgeons who helped extend her life and the quality of it to a level I never thought I'd see.

So it's a personal choice. 

However I do also want to point out that ligaments will not heal on their own. They generally will cause a ton of joint damage (you should see some of the arthroscopies that I see every day, those knees are INCREDIBLY inflammed and growing osteophytes) and you can actually have the ligament get reaborbed by the body, which leaves you without one of the important stabilizing ligaments in the stifle. The muscles and tendons that are outside of the joint can change and shift to an extent, but you basically leave your pet to likely be stuck with a brace for the majority of the rest of their life, or you just let them continue to persist with an unstable joint that can cause further damage. 

There is another procedure called a lateral suture or fishing line that is not as invasive as the TPLO or TTA, that will help stablize the joint in cases where you don't necessarily need a dog to it's full potential again. It is a lower cost, less implant option. However since we see plenty of dogs with TPLOs and TTAs leave our facility with a great deal of success later, I fully do believe in the procedures as I see it first hand on a daily basis and am part of being certain the procedure goes well, things are properly sterilzed and stocked and the animal makes it through anesthesia so they wake up nice and easy. 

Bit of a tirade I know, however I feel a need to protect the professionals that I work with on a daily basis as I know their skills, knowledge, character and compassion firsthand. I would trust anyone who I work with with my pets without a second's thought. I trust them completely. Even if my parent's golden was lost shortly after an emergency splenectomy, I know it wasn't the fault of the surgeon or the people whom I work with. They did their very best and I know they gave it their all. Sadly Grizzly was not meant to stay with us and has gone to meet my grandmother who left the world 3 months prior. I still would trust them to do that procedure on any dog that I have and still have faith in it's general success. He was the first dog we lost post-op in years who made it through surgery and started to appear to do well.


----------



## Amberbear (Jan 28, 2015)

I opted for an Orthodog Cruciate Care Knee Brace when our 10-year old Golden had a partial tear and it was fantastic! I would highly recommend this product. It was a bit fiddly at first to fit and we had to trim her feathers to stop them getting caught ineed the velcro, but she is nearly 12 now and with the addition of our new Golden pup, is like a puppy all over again!


----------



## nisa (Jul 25, 2016)

Have you tried a stifle brace for your dog? If you did, what company you ordered a brace from? My dog partially torn his ACL and I had a customized knee brace from one of the companies you mentioned above, but I am not happy about it. It's straps made of cheap Velco and a brace caused irritation at the hock area.


----------



## CallieMum (Jan 16, 2017)

cgriffin said:


> I am not a fan of the brace, I really don't think anybody is doing their dog a favor by buying into the "brace" fad.
> Yes, surgery is more expensive, but the dog will be recovered and back to normal in as early as 8 weeks, mine was, he was 8 1/2 when he had the surgery. If a dog is in good health and bloodwork came back good, I would always opt to do the surgery, JMO. A brace does not prevent arthritis from setting in, I also don't think the muscle mass will remain with the brace. My opinion.


I did opt for the TPLO surgery 20 months ago on my then, 6 year old Golden/Newfie cross Callie. Luckily we have insurance so the bulk of the $4,400 cost was covered. She definitely did improve but her summer was ruined and for months she couldn't do much. Now I see her limping on her repaired leg and her other leg was already starting to weaken. She seems affected by cold weather now and needs aspirin more regularly when she's sore and limping after a walk. I don't want her to have to go through another long and painful recovery to find out that may not offer a permanent fix. I want to find a brace that will offer her knee support so she can go out for a walk, sniff and be normal without coming back lame and limping around the house for the next 2-3 days.


----------



## Tim72 (Jun 16, 2017)

I am also a Customer of Posh Dog Knee brace and was wondering if your brace fit. We are collecting info at [email protected]. We hope you had a better experience then our dog, which resulted in the brace never fitting and our dog to continuing to get worse. Please let us know if you would like to join our complaint, or have felt you were not treated fairly by Posh Dog Knee Brace.

[email protected]


----------



## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

CallieMum said:


> I did opt for the TPLO surgery 20 months ago on my then, 6 year old Golden/Newfie cross Callie. Luckily we have insurance so the bulk of the $4,400 cost was covered. She definitely did improve but her summer was ruined and for months she couldn't do much. Now I see her limping on her repaired leg and her other leg was already starting to weaken. She seems affected by cold weather now and needs aspirin more regularly when she's sore and limping after a walk. I don't want her to have to go through another long and painful recovery to find out that may not offer a permanent fix. I want to find a brace that will offer her knee support so she can go out for a walk, sniff and be normal without coming back lame and limping around the house for the next 2-3 days.


I don't think braces are very helpful from what I have seen and heard from people who have tried them.

Please don't give your dog human aspirin, it is not safe for dogs.. If she is in pain, please go see your vet for some canine specific pain medication. At this point it sounds like your girl really should be getting pain medication every day. You want to keep the pain under control so she is more comfortable all the time, only giving pain medication occasionally means when it wears off she hurts. Like a human with arthritis, dogs need pain medication continually when they are older and starting to have mobility issues.


----------



## Tim72 (Jun 16, 2017)

Yes, she is on a daily dose of tremadol and will be going for surgery this summer. We do everything we can for precaution up until we can afford the surgery by the end of July. Posh Dog Knee brace was an entire waste of time and money. The brace never fit and they were so incredibly rude when a refund was requested because they didn't deliver on their promise. Awful company.


----------



## fmendoza (Aug 28, 2019)

Hello, I was reading this thread and found it interesting. My beagle had a ACL tear on it's back right foot. I found several options, and selected the performance dog knee brace on https://www.aocpet.com. You guys should definitely take a lookt at it


----------

