# Other Pets > Dogs >  Large breeds

## SnowShredder

Got the bad news today that our 1 year old male rottweiler has 2 blown ACLs.
Thanks god we got pet insurance on him. Each knee is $3500, and insurance will cover at 80%-90%. Pheww. I highly recommend insurance on large/giant breeds!
These pictures are NOT in chronological order.
I have never met such a kind hearted, gentle, loyal, loving boy as this dog. Cross your fingers for easy surgeries and an easy, but lengthy, healing process

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## pookie!

Wow I am so sorry that he had both go out at the same time!! The cost is intense but glad you have insurance, and kind of glad they both went at the same time. If one goes its almost 100% that the other will go sometime soon after, so even though it sucks for him now its probably best.. 

Poor boy though, I cant believe that happened in such a young dog too.. I would be looking at the breeder and make sure you tell them if you got him from a breeder.. 

Hope he heals as fast as he can and get to live a decent life for many many more years!!

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## SnowShredder

Yes we got him from a semi-local breeder. Gorgeous parents, and every rott they had. None seemed to have hip problems. The breeder guaranteed their hips until 2 years old (didn't find out until after bought  that that meant giving you another pup rather than paying for bills). Our vet had never seen a case as young as this. It makes him wonder how his hips are if his ligaments are already this bad. Its so sad...I've had many close loving dogs and this guy is the least deserving...such a kind soul. And still a puppy...

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## DNACurtusK

Sending many good thoughts his way! Beautiful dog. Glad to see you don't have him overweight either. We've had countless clients come in with dogs that had this issue, but the dogs were overweight, thus adding even MORE stress on their hipe, kness, and joints overall. Weight is such an important thing especially for large breeds. With alot of love and patience he should recover well. As pookie mentioned, better to be done with both at once anyhow. 

When is the surgery scheduled for?

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## pookie!

> Yes we got him from a semi-local breeder. Gorgeous parents, and every rott they had. None seemed to have hip problems. The breeder guaranteed their hips until 2 years old (didn't find out until after bought  that that meant giving you another pup rather than paying for bills). Our vet had never seen a case as young as this. It makes him wonder how his hips are if his ligaments are already this bad. Its so sad...I've had many close loving dogs and this guy is the least deserving...such a kind soul. And still a puppy...


Well you cant go by word, you didnt get any paperwork about their hip scores etc for the health testing? With breeds prone to issues like that you should always make sure they are health tested, and "going to the vet" doesnt constitute as health testing. Sad when breeders dont properly health test and breed correctly, poor dog has to suffer a less than perfect life now because of it. Not your fault at all though, it happens all to often. 
I would start him on supplements for his joints, glucosamine chondroitin - ester c, also diatomaceous earth in caps and fed will help some, that and keeping him lean and doing low impact exercise (swimming) to keep his muscle tone up will benefit him. I also heard of people doing light drag work with their dogs to strengthen the muscles around the hip and help curve any slipping that might occur otherwise. 

Again I hope he recovers as best he can so he can at least enjoy life..

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## SnowShredder

> Well you cant go by word, you didnt get any paperwork about their hip scores etc for the health testing? With breeds prone to issues like that you should always make sure they are health tested, and "going to the vet" doesnt constitute as health testing. Sad when breeders dont properly health test and breed correctly, poor dog has to suffer a less than perfect life now because of it. Not your fault at all though, it happens all to often. 
> I would start him on supplements for his joints, glucosamine chondroitin - ester c, also diatomaceous earth in caps and fed will help some, that and keeping him lean and doing low impact exercise (swimming) to keep his muscle tone up will benefit him. I also heard of people doing light drag work with their dogs to strengthen the muscles around the hip and help curve any slipping that might occur otherwise. 
> 
> Again I hope he recovers as best he can so he can at least enjoy life..


I believe the parents were OFA certified (I think that's the right thing). Champion father, mother was imported from Germany with good lines. I have lots of paperwork but I'm unsure of where they're at since we moved (probably boxed up somewhere). I emailed the breeder to let her know what was going on. I don't need her to do anything I just want her aware. I heard hydro therapy was also a good and safe way to build muscle. Consult with the actual surgeon is tomorrow 8:30 am to decide the path we'll take. Going to schedule surgery asap. 8 week recovery time for each knee which is really unfortunate as its almost summer

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## SnowShredder

> Sending many good thoughts his way! Beautiful dog. Glad to see you don't have him overweight either. We've had countless clients come in with dogs that had this issue, but the dogs were overweight, thus adding even MORE stress on their hipe, kness, and joints overall. Weight is such an important thing especially for large breeds. With alot of love and patience he should recover well. As pookie mentioned, better to be done with both at once anyhow. 
> 
> When is the surgery scheduled for?


Yeah he is a trim 97lbs. He was over 100lb but for some reason he lost a little weight.

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## mainbutter

Good luck with the rehab!  Our rescue lab mix blew out a knee two winters ago while he was let out to go potty.. no idea what happened, but can only assume it was related to running/snow/ice/something.

Your quoted cost is right in line, I think he cost us about $3500 for the single knee.

Our dog has recovered exceptionally well and the other knee has never given us any issues, my understanding is that this surgery typically has fantastic results.  Good luck!

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## SnowShredder

Consult was this morning. Quoted for $3800 on the low end and $4500 on the high end. Scheduled it for tomorrow morning, and doing the TPLO surgery. Will do his worse knee first (left) and if its healed after 8 weeks we will move onward and do the right knee. I'll post infoxrays/pictures as I get them

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## SnowShredder

Here is him yesterday at the consult with the surgeon. Such a good boy waiting patiently. Turns out there is a lot of scarring around his left knee, it had to have been a partial tear for quite a while. We had noticed him being sore after the dog park or being very active. But I thought it was normal, he's a lazy dog and I know I get sore after activities since I'm also lazy.



Here is him this morning as I dropped him off for surgery today! The nurse led him away easily, I think he knows they're there to help him, or maybe he remembers he gets lots of treats from vets (thought not today on account of the surgery).

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## SnowShredder

Just got a call from the surgeon. Mavericks surgery went well! I had him take xrays of his hips too, and it's confirmed that he does have mild hip dysplaysia. Which isn't much of a surprise to anyone, but still hurts my heart.
The breeder had gotten back to me and confirmed that the parents are OFA certified, and that nothing has turned up in any of the moms or dads other litters. She's very concerned and asked me many questions. We had taken extra care of our little pup, from the best nutritious food, to no jumping off anything higher than the couch, etc.
I feel fairly sad about this whole ordeal, and I just want to give my dog the best life he can possibly have

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## SnowShredder

Sorry this is blurry but this is the only picture I got of him walking in picking him up



A couple in the car



In the house since Friday - Saturday









God he has been losing weight =( He is so skinny now

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## DooLittle

Aww, poor baby.   Hope he has a fast recovery.  :Smile:

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## SnowShredder

Mini update
He's healing very very well! He can walk better now than he could pre-op. Have him eating the wet version of his brand of dog food, because he was losing weight. Just want him to get nutrition for now and we'll break the habit later

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## DNACurtusK

Awwwww. Very happy he came through well, and seems to be on the road to a speedy recovery!

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## SnowShredder

Thank you =) its getting hard to keep him calm. He's naturally very lazy, I couldn't imagine a hyperactive dog

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## SnowShredder

Another mini update, this will probably be the last one until his next surgery (which we will try to hold off until winter I think)
He is doing so good! He had a check up about 2 weeks ago, and the surgeon said he is honestly shocked at how fast he is healing up. But since he's young his bone plates aren't fully formed and so we still have to be extra careful. No running/jumping/playing for another 4 weeks still.
Here is 2 pictures from 1 week ago, at our local beach.

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## SnowShredder

Well, he tore his other ACL yesterday. Going to go into surgery hopefully this week

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## SnowShredder

I've posted a ton of pictures but not sure why I haven't posted any videos. So here is some if any of you would like to see. None of these are more than 30 seconds long. They will be in chronological order, to kind of show the process of before and after.

Click the picture to play the video.

His second leg is much worse off than the first was but do not have any videos yet.

First surgery was on 4-18-13. 



4-13-13


4-13-13


4-16-13


4-22-13


4-30-13


4-30-13


5-4-13


5-11-13


5-18-13. This one is funny, the chihuahua rules the roost


5-19-13





And here is one just for fun! Our little kiddy pool has been in our yard for months...the wind blew it over and suddenly it's soooo scary (3-19-13)

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## SnowShredder

Here is him this morning before work, waiting for the consult. Dropping him off for surgery tomorrow early in the AM.

It was funny, Maverick (our rott) is a friendly dog. A little stand offish with men but is still a very good and well behaved dog.
The second the surgeon from the first surgery walked in Maverick started growling at him continuously for 5 minutes. Like saying "hey!!!! I remember you  :Mad: "
Eventually he calmed down and crawled over the surgeon and made himself be pet.

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## SnowShredder

First up is 2 videos prior to the 2nd surgery, which was yesterday 6-20-13





Pictures from today 6-21-13

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## DNACurtusK

Aww. He looks like he's resting well. Poor guy!

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_SnowShredder_ (07-05-2013)

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## SnowShredder

On wednesday Maverick got his final radiographs. 100% and perfect! This has been a long journey and I'm happy he is all better now.

Went to the pet store right after the vets office


Got this letter in the mail yesterday. I'm 99% sure I know who the guy is. He is the only person Maverick absolutely hates. The guy CHOOSES to walk along out entire length of fence. He also yells at Maverick as he's walking by. The only time the dogs are outside are when we are home and I come out and scold Maverick. Why couldn't he have said anything at one of those times? He left no return address. I mean I do understand his fear because he only knows Maverick like that. But what angers me is that he walks along our fence rather than crossing the street, and is provoking my dog by yelling at him. I've seen him even stop at the fence and let Maverick get even more worked up, all the while yelling. If this guy only knew my dog. Maverick goes out in public all the time, does great with old people, kids, cats, dogs. I've even taken him to work several times. Since this guy walks by everyday, he should know that Maverick has had back to back knee surgery and can't jump a fence. He's been taught to never jump because we always feared that since he's a big dog he will get hurt. He doesn't even touch the fence, and refuses to leave the yard without permission even if the gate is open. There is something about this guy he doesn't like and I for one will trust my dogs judgement

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## MootWorm

Glad he's made such an amazing recovery!!!! And sorry about that letter,  it really dampens what should be a celebration. Our old rottie was the exact same way. We used to live right down the road from a high school,  and kids antagonized her everyday, and as such we got letters about our 'vicious' dog... But as soon as you come in our gate, she was all over you with kisses. Have you attempted to talk with the guy that's messing with your pup?

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## Crazymonkee

How utterly ridiculous!! Walk on the other side you moron.
Ok sorry had to get that out.

Glad Maverick is doing well!  :Smile: 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

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## SnowShredder

> Glad he's made such an amazing recovery!!!! And sorry about that letter,  it really dampens what should be a celebration. Our old rottie was the exact same way. We used to live right down the road from a high school,  and kids antagonized her everyday, and as such we got letters about our 'vicious' dog... But as soon as you come in our gate, she was all over you with kisses. Have you attempted to talk with the guy that's messing with your pup?



So far we have been unable to. Normally I will go out and scold Maverick and then say sorry to him and he'd already been on his way. Since I noticed he started yelling at Maverick I jump up but he's always down the block by the time I get outside. We taped the letter right by the door though so that if we're able to we'll take it out there and ask him if he wrote it

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## SnowShredder

> How utterly ridiculous!! Walk on the other side you moron.
> Ok sorry had to get that out.
> 
> Glad Maverick is doing well! 
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4



It's very obvious him walking along our fence gets our dog worked up...and I don't understand why he would continue to do that if it bothered him. I understand him feeling like he shouldn't HAVE to. But still. I'll be going into spy mode and taking videos, because I know it's not as bad as he's making it seem (lol we're weird and will spy on him to make sure he doesn't do anything mean to our dog). It's just so funny because this dog is the sweetest thing. We considered training him as a therapy dog but decided not to because even though he is friendly and amazing, he is also very cautious of men

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## SnowShredder

From today

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## Shera

Aww, I'm so sorry he's hurt, but glad that you're insurance is covering it. Positive thougths headed his way  :Smile:  He looks like a sweetie..except where he looks like he's eating your puppy LOL...french bull dog??  I'm not good with dog breeds LOL

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## SnowShredder

> Aww, I'm so sorry he's hurt, but glad that you're insurance is covering it. Positive thougths headed his way  He looks like a sweetie..except where he looks like he's eating your puppy LOL...french bull dog??  I'm not good with dog breeds LOL


That's my GFs mothers french bulldog, nice call. Blue pied. And trust me that frenchie is much meaner than my rottie haha

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## DNACurtusK

That's great to hear that he's free and clear now and good to go! I hate to say it but at least he had the surgeries while he is young and can bounce back much faster than an older dog. I have all bull and terrier breeds and a Catahoula and a couple staghounds now, and I have an Am Bull as my 'watcher' over our acreage, but when my big boy goes one day, I'll likely be filling his spot with a Rottie. I've always admired their loyalty to family, and their intelligence. 

That letter is the type of thing I DON'T miss from living in the city. We are way off the beaten path now out in the sticks and I couldn't be happier for us and the dogs, lol. If he was that terrified of your dog, he'd not walk the fence line....nor would he antagonize the dog by yelling at him. You should print one of those pamphlets that they make for kids on how to act around strange dogs and tape that to your fence for him, lol. I'm also on the same page as our dogs being good judges of character. I'd put a camera out though, facing the fence line, because that really would make me concerned that he may 'sabotage' some sort of incident in an attempt to try and get your dog in some kind of legal trouble. Sad to say, but true. Make sure he's up to date on his rabies vaccine as well, and wears his tags if your county requires them to do so. Just cover ALL bases, JUST in case animal control comes knocking one day. I've had plenty of experience dealing with breed discrimination. :/

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## SnowShredder

> That's great to hear that he's free and clear now and good to go! I hate to say it but at least he had the surgeries while he is young and can bounce back much faster than an older dog. I have all bull and terrier breeds and a Catahoula and a couple staghounds now, and I have an Am Bull as my 'watcher' over our acreage, but when my big boy goes one day, I'll likely be filling his spot with a Rottie. I've always admired their loyalty to family, and their intelligence. 
> 
> That letter is the type of thing I DON'T miss from living in the city. We are way off the beaten path now out in the sticks and I couldn't be happier for us and the dogs, lol. If he was that terrified of your dog, he'd not walk the fence line....nor would he antagonize the dog by yelling at him. You should print one of those pamphlets that they make for kids on how to act around strange dogs and tape that to your fence for him, lol. I'm also on the same page as our dogs being good judges of character. I'd put a camera out though, facing the fence line, because that really would make me concerned that he may 'sabotage' some sort of incident in an attempt to try and get your dog in some kind of legal trouble. Sad to say, but true. Make sure he's up to date on his rabies vaccine as well, and wears his tags if your county requires them to do so. Just cover ALL bases, JUST in case animal control comes knocking one day. I've had plenty of experience dealing with breed discrimination. :/



He's actually getting his boosters and up to date on everything tomorrow so that's perfect. 
You know what's funny? The guy has not walked by one single time since sending that letter. And before he'd walk by twice a day and was never late. I've been worried about some type of sabotage or like a piece of poisoned meat, so if Maverick is in the front I open all windows and have a full view of the entire front yard. I haven't let him me in the front as long or as often either, but that's fine because now that he's healed up we're able to get out a lot more. Walks, the beach, the dog park (he's extremely calm and doesn't play or roll around with other dogs, just enjoys the company of dogs and their owners), and by the time we're home he just wants to be lazy in the house. 
I just seen someone that put down their dog because they had a torn ACL....I can't believe my boy had 2 torn ACLs and I would never consider that. He made a full recovery and can live a long full doggy life.
I love bulls/terriers/mastiffs etc too! In the next year we'll be adding a cane corso. In the future I want a bull terrier, and we also want a bully. As of right now rotties are hands down my favorite breed.

I've been waiting for the guy to walk by our house (we have the letter taped next to the door), but I guess he's scared of confrontation. I should have figured when he didn't leave a name or return address!

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