My dog of 28kgs looks like he has probable cruciate tear on the knee that has previously had 2 patella ops so it very arthritic. The other knee has a low grade luxation and when we saw the specialist a few weeks back this side he felt the cruciate was not 100% and would be a matter of time before it went.
So the side that has gone I wasn't expecting at all!
His patella luxations were discovered at 15 weeks old and he's now nearly 8. The last surgery he had was 2016.
He also had arthroscopies in both elbows at 6mths for dysplasia and also has the most terrible hips.

Despite all this along with bad feet because of his confirmation he is quite agile and nimble (probably because nothing fits together properly!)
He is on Pardalve V twice a day, galliprant, amantadine and librela injection once a month. Never been off pain meds six 6mths really.

I have done alternative therapies over the years with him but never found them to be that helpful or you have to constantly do and although its not always about the money but it certainly eats into your bank account. his insurance isn't a huge cover. I just wonder how alternatives can actually repair a ligament that's broken??

I just don't know what to do now, surgery or not? (he may not even be a candidate for surgery) either way the other leg is taking even more pressure and from what I was told the other cruciate is now even more likely to go.

we always said if he needed anymore surgery we wouldn't do and would call it a day because of everything he has endured, plus he's a gundog breed and being kept quiet and sedate all day is unfair in my view.

just looking for a bit of guidance. I will ring the specialist on Monday as its not long since we were seen there. also have another appointment with my normal vets on Monday to assess again.

By chance I’ve just been reading about a working working-type cocker with cruciate ligament damage, whose owner, with his vet, was looking into custom made braces to support the leg. Described here https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/health/canine-knee-injury-brace-yourself/ or google  'custom dog ACL braces'. It seems to have worked well, the dog didn’t need cage rest and, although not working, could move around the house and garden without being leashed.

Could it be worth discussing this with your vets?

Yes i’ve looked at some online this afternoon but wasn’t sure if they actually work.
Think they were about £200 but it was a double so supports both knees.
My dog is a clumber so on further reading i think they’d say he’s too big to treat conservatively.
I feel sad for him, he’s had so much in his life & seeing him hobbling his leg behind him or barely using it is horrible.

The article I linked shows, among others, an adult Newfoundland and an adult GSD. and there’s a table at the end listing a number of manufacturers of braces and the sizes of dogs they suggest (up to Great Dane in one instance), so I hoped there’d be something useful for you and your boy.

I do so hope you find a good solution for him, he’s very clearly very greatly loved.

I will have a look at the link, I hadn’t clicked on it!

You can go the non-surgical route for cruciate issues, but it takes a similar length of time to resolve as surgery.  If you're on facebook, this group is very helpful for guidance of the process and finding a suitable brace if required.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/caninecruciatestories/

Thank you

So sorry for you. My only experience is with a 13 year old dog, an active one though. Prior to it happening he could jump on and off of furniture and run up and down stairs, he could also exercise with the younger dogs and have no problem keeping up. Then one day he jumped off the sofa landed a bit flat footed (probably because his foreleg was a bit sore) and his cruciate had gone. My old vet told me not to have the surgery, he said it is not always successful and chances are it will go again. So it was a restricted regime for a few months and painkillers to start with. Obviously no stairs or jumping off of anything. It did come as a bit of blow to him but he dealt with it. About a month in and I was having to have to take him for short walks on his own and now one year later, although strictly no jumping on anything anymore is perfectly normal. I get what you're saying about him only being 8 and it not being fair to keep him quiet and sedate all the time, but why don't you give it a try for a while. We didn't do cage rest but we just kept him quiet at home.

he has appt on Friday for the physio at the specialist vets to see how he's doing.
to me he is behaving the same as he always does except that leg he just dips a bit on. he has only had lead walks but there is no restriction at home so he has free roam of the kitchen in the day and then comes in the lounge with us around 6, where he lays on the floor and sleeps or gets on the sofa and sleeps. my dogs aren't allowed upstairs so stair restriction isn't an issue.
we'll see how he goes!