[UnclePete]

Hi everyone,

My cousin has a Rottweiler (I believe she has Serbian heritage) and she recently started limping. He had a vet look at her and the diagnosis is a torn ACL. The dog is big. A solid 120 pounds is my best guess. He loves her but his house isn't built with single levels. There are stairs everywhere. He absolutely is not considering any drastic measures like euthanizing her. I want to make that clear.

The question is what options does he have. Even if he pays for the surgery, he can't keep her due to her size (they can't carry her up and down all of the time) and due to the way his house is laid out..

She's 4 years old. There's no apparent reason for the injury. The dog lives indoors and enjoys a large yard.

Are there any places that will care for a dog like this that don't keep the animals locked up in cages?

I've found foster home type centers like SNARR and PAWS... But it looks to me that the animal has to come from a shelter for them to take it.

This is not one of those pandemic pet-regret situations. He needs real help with a real situation for an animal that he loves. I'm just trying to help the dog, him and his family. He is also working hard on his end to help her.

I'm reaching out to this community for some help. We live in New Jersey.

Sincerely hoping for some guidance,

-Pete

 

[big black dogs]

Sorry to hear about the dog. With a torn ACL she needs to be confined, and do no stairs. Rottweilers are prone to ACL tears it comes with the breed. At 120 lbs for a female it sounds like she is overweight....see if your friend can get her to lose some weight . It will help with her knee injury. If your cousin feels that her dog should live, and heal somewhere else then she needs to rehome her. A Rottweiler Rescue will pay for the knee repair and have the dog live in a foster home till her knee is healed and then she will be adopted to an appropriate well screened home. Tell your cousin to start looking for a Rottweiler Rescue in her general area. Google will be her friend. What general area does this dog live in??

I hope things work out for this dog. Just make sure that she does not take the dog to a shelter. They usually cannot afford the surgery, and the dog will be euthanized....unless it's a no-kill shelter.

 

[Mike R. Baker]

Do Rottweilers have problems with their back legs?

 

[big black dogs]

Yes, they are prone to ACL/CCL tears. It's their build...big chest and square shape. They are often overweight also...and tend to gain weight easily.

 

[Rottie1167]

Hi everyone,

My cousin has a Rottweiler (I believe she has Serbian heritage) and she recently started limping. He had a vet look at her and the diagnosis is a torn ACL. The dog is big. A solid 120 pounds is my best guess. He loves her but his house isn't built with single levels. There are stairs everywhere. He absolutely is not considering any drastic measures like euthanizing her. I want to make that clear.

The question is what options does he have. Even if he pays for the surgery, he can't keep her due to her size (they can't carry her up and down all of the time) and due to the way his house is laid out..

She's 4 years old. There's no apparent reason for the injury. The dog lives indoors and enjoys a large yard.

Are there any places that will care for a dog like this that don't keep the animals locked up in cages?

I've found foster home type centers like SNARR and PAWS... But it looks to me that the animal has to come from a shelter for them to take it.

This is not one of those pandemic pet-regret situations. He needs real help with a real situation for an animal that he loves. I'm just trying to help the dog, him and his family. He is also working hard on his end to help her.

I'm reaching out to this community for some help. We live in New Jersey.

Sincerely hoping for some guidance,

-Pete

Dear Pete, don't take this the wrong way but there is an apparent reason for this dog's injury. It's called overweight. Most Rotties should weigh between 100 and 110 the most! Rotties are notorious beggars, especially when they see their human counterparts enjoying what they're eating. If people really love their dogs and want them to live a long, healthy life, PLEASE keep them away from human food and cut out the treats. PERIOD. My Rottie is up to 118 lbs, because my mom was secretly giving her a scoop of ice cream after dinner, BIG no no..My girl was switched to a weight management food and thank God she is dropping.. Weight is the biggest contributing factor in joint and tendon injuries, The BIGGEST factor. As for the relocation part of your thread, it would devastate your dog emotionally if you gave her up. Sometimes life deals us a bad hand, you just have to push through the tough times and NEVER give up on your girl. Owning a dog is a BIG commitment, through good times and bad. The best advice I can give is to limit her access around the house, block off stairs with baby gates and make sure you include her access to that big back yard. Don't make her do stairs, it will be to painful but PLEASE don't give up on her. I'm sure it wasn't her fault she gained all that weight. Trust me, the rewards will be greater if you invest in her.. I hope this helped..

 

[Lola Mom]

There is an alternative that might work on your girl. Lola tore her CCL when she was almost 2 y/o. At that time, we didn't have pet insurance or the resources to cough up $4500 for surgery. I did a lot of research, and found AOC Pets (Dog Knee Braces, Dog Back Braces & Pet Pain Relief | Animal Ortho Care). They make orthotics and prosthetics for animals. I had a custom brace made for Lola which cost $800. They have other braces that are not custom fit that are about half the price. It worked great! She didn't mind the brace at all and seemed to realize that when she wore it, her knee didn't hurt. After about 8 months of wearing it all day, every day, she was able to move without it and not favor that leg. The brace allowed the muscles to build up to provide better support for the injured knee.

The drawback? Your dog could turn it into an $800 chew toy. Going in, I was fairly confident that Lola wouldn't chew it, and she didn't.

Another hint, if you get a custom brace, AOC Pets sends you the supplies and instructions for making a cast of your dog's leg. I didn't have the confidence to make an accurate (to their specifications) cast, so I had my vet do it.

There are other brace manufacturers, but my experience was with AOC.