Pit Bull Managed Without ACL Surgery: How to Exercise Safely

Reader Question

I have a rescued 55 lb pit bull terrier. I got her in 2009 December. At that time the vet estimated her age around 2. It would place her around 7 now. She is a sweetie but has anxiety and fear issues that have been able to managed through physical activity, retraining, and whole lot of love. Last summer I was unemployed but I took my dog to a low cost vet clinic because she had pretty bad limping and a "cracking" sound from her legs when she walked up stairs. This happened after a long visit to the dog park to play fetch. She LOVES to jump and run as fast as she can after the ball. I threw the ball, she caught it and almost immediately she was limping. At first I got so scared because i thought she broke it. I took her back home and my friend said that it wasn't broken wait a few days and let her rest. After a about a day or two she was up, but any major movement, even walking would cause limping. I took her into the vet and she diagnosed it as an ACL injury said she didn't need an X-ray that she was almost 90 percent sure it was that. Gave me the option of surgery, but the cost was too high I was unemployed and stated she can be managed with pain meds rymidal and tramadol. I put her on bed rest (bought an ortho bed)and regular dosage of pain meds for about 20 days. This was a very hard time because I have an extremely active and ball obsessed pit bull so trying to manage her boredom was very hard. Vet suggested pool or water, but she hates water and just wouldn't go in. She was abused and has a fear of heights and water. She loves the ball and walking and running on the treadmill. These three exercise were her main outlet for exercise in addition to 10-20 minutes of obedience training and pet mind games. Now, it's about a year later and I had the vet take a look at her knees on Tuesday last week. She did a physical exam meaning she felt them and said she didn't see anything unusual but only that her right knee is larger than the left. She suspected that it may be scar tissue that formed around the knee; said this may cause issues as she gets older. Her diagnosis was for us later, meaning if she starts to show signs of arthritis or discomfort, we will take an xray and determine how to mange her pain, whether it be pain medication or surgery if needed. Reading what I just told you, do you agree with her? For not opting for surgery, have I predisposed her to arthritis and pain when she gets older? I feel so bad but I had no other option. I just couldn't afford the surgery. I would like to know what steps I can do know to make sure this does not get worse. She often opts for the rug, but I have an expensive ortho bed, I feed her a raw diet, instead of an hour of fetch at the dog park, I do about 10 minutes before I go to work in the back yard, and no more than 20 minutes in the afternoon. We do about 30 minutes of walking in the afternoon and instead of always at a heel, I got a retractable leash and she gets to sniff the surrounding to give her some mental stimulation. She is well behaved out in public; very quiet and reserved. I tried those toys stuff with treats, she just licks the treats and doesn't try to get them out; and I tried the Kong and she just licks and leaves it alone. I tried stuffing her food in it, she will lick some and leave it alone. That sort of mental stimulation doesn't work. I would like to know how much and what type of exercise can I give her so I can keep her healthy but don't further cause damage to her knees. She sits on her rear with her legs extended which is a tell tell sign those knees still hurt. And she is hesitant about sitting, almost cautious. She opts to lay down instead. Where before she would jump in and out of my SUV I pick her up both I'm and out of the car. My friends say I coddle her but she is hesitant and won't jump and I don't want her to hurt herself or cause pain. Any suggestions...sorry for such a long question. Wanted you to have as much info as possible.

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