i had a dog a veterinary orthopedist insisted had to have a tplo. his breeder had many of her dogs have this procedure, and she believed in it, in fact she cared for many dogs who had the surgery, as she lived near slocum.

i went about my own independent research and decided there was absolutely no way i would put my dog through this surgery. for many, many, many reasons.

please do your homework before you do this to your dog. there are some excellent websites and bulletin boards on the subject, where people talk about their tplo experiences and will answer all your questions.

i could write a novel explaining why i came to the conclusion i did, but i will just say i have talked to several breeders who have had the tplo procedure done and in retrospect say if they knew then what they know now, they would not ever have had it done.

resting the dog often achieves perfectly acceptable results. you can also look into adequan therapy, which has helped many such dogs, including mine. the arguments about getting arthritis if you don't do tplo is, imho, bogus. they are cutting the bone in half and they screwing it back together. the procedure itself causes arthritis. also, the pressure on the "good" leg caused by the surgery disabling the "bad" leg guarantees that the other cruciate is going to tear. you are looking at two surgeries, guaranteed.

again, please do your homework and draw your own conclusions.

My dog is not yet 3

I am not sure- it may have happened pulling her back into a jon boat this weekend....she is moving better this am but is self limiting.

I gather I have time to research as long as I keep her calm (hahaha) while figuring it out.

At least I know there are different surgical options and a third is just rest and giving joint supplements -but gather that it does not repair itself well...

Question - as long as I keep her calm do I have some time to make a decision (I am talking a week or two -- no more?)