German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America

[hartwick]

I have a 2 year old. We live on a 5 acre place surrounded by protected forest. Needless to say he gets lots fo excercise. In one of his runs in the forest last week he came back favouring one of his back paws. I checked it out and there didn't seem to be anything obvious (e.g. cut, thorn). He'd also been running wth other dogs around the local pond. I am concerned he might have damaged his knee. We had a schnauzer who ended up tearning the ligaments in his knee - like an athlete. Cost a lot to have it fixed.

The GWP still puts weight on the leg and will run if he can. He is not holding it up in the air and runningon 3 legs. He is not wimpering. I have been keeping him quiet and taking him out for short walks on the leash. I am hoping it is only a strain of some kind.

Any thoughts
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GWP Fan.

[Leadhead]

Your dog may have a cranial cruciate ligament rupture of the knee. Your vet can confirm, or rule this out for you. One thing about this injury is will seen to get better until the dog is active (running, jumping, field work). Then they will come up lame again and it will not repair on its own. You may want to go on the web and look up Tibial Tuberosity Advancement and Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy. Cost for this procedure run from $2600.00-up. Hope this is not the case for you and your GWP. I will say that dogs with this procedure do quite well and are back in the field hunting. Best of luck