Surgery on 8month old rottie vs. first using the atrac brace

by Debbie
(Iowa)

My 8 month old rottie tore the ligaments in her left back knee. Dr. Wants to do tplo surgery ASAP. We found the atrac dynamic brace online and wondered if anyone has heard of it? Will she heal with rest and no surgery.

Please help…w e are so worried about her. She is a wonderful pup, but with her being so restricted it has taken the puppy out of her.

She is so depressed. Thank you.

Hi Debbie
So sorry to hear about your poor puppy, that’s horrible for all of you, but sadly not terribly uncommon with Rottie pups.

I’m afraid I’m not a veterinarian and haven’t ever had experience with this brace so I really can’t answer this question. If she’s torn her ligaments I’m not sure that she can recover without surgery as I don’t believe they will reattach without help. If they’re simply over-stretched that’s different.

I’d recommend discussing this with your own veterinarian or an orthopedic vet so that you can get the very best advice and recommendations. Don’t be afraid to get a second (or even third) opinion if you feel you need one.

You may want to try my online veterinary option recommended on this page Ask A Vet A Question page. You can get a professional opinion from a vet without the expense of a clinic visit. Obviously it’s not recommended for pups or dogs that are really sick or injured or need emergency care, but in this type of situation it could give you cost-effective access to another qualified opinion.

If any visitors reading this have any knowledge of this brace, or of the recovery/surgery for this type of injury please feel free to jump in and help Debbie out.

I’m so sorry that I can’t help more but I really hope that someone here has some more answers for you and that you manage to get your pup the help that she needs to make a full recovery. I know it must be incredibly hard on all of you, but dogs are amazingly resilient and given the right care she will pull through just fine and hopefully have no long term effects from this period. Good luck.

Comments for Surgery on 8month old rottie vs. first using the atrac brace

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Jun 04, 2016

DON’T DO IT NEW
by: Anonymous

I just bout this system and it tore up the inside of my dogs leg, I emailed the dvm and he is being extremely uncooperative. Sent photos 5 different times of the said injury, and he says, “you no have no photos, there is nothing wrong with your dog.ect.’ not a nice man on the phone, nor is he willing to help if something does happen


Jan 25, 2015

A-trac brace NEW
by: Debbie

Hi Kim, I agree surgery is not needed. We did try the atrac brace also but it didn’t seem to fit her correctly, so conservative care worked great on her. Flora does have bad knees tho, she can’t walk long and we need to always watch so she doesn’t get crazy in the yard. She is 3 years old and it kills me and my husband to know that she may not live a very long life like our first rottie because of her maybe developing arthritis or something. But she is the sweetest Rottweiler ever! Good luck with your puppy!


Jan 22, 2015

A-trac brace worked great! NEW
by: Kim

Hi Debbie!

So sorry to her about your pup but the same happened to my dog. I ended up getting him an a-trac brace from woundwear and it has been great! I think it depends on the type of tear your dog has but the brace seems to be working very well for me because I really didn’t want my dog to go through surgery. Hope this helps!


Nov 13, 2012

Flora NEW
by: Debbie

I’m glad your dog did well with the surgery….we chose to do conservative care on flora….rest, rest, rest…she healed 100%.It took about 5 months but was well worth it…she is now a happy 17 month old crazy silly Rottweiler. I think with being tied up in the house for so long during her puppy years made her save her puppy behavior for when she got better!!! She is so funny and puppy like…INTO EVERYTHING! But cute and sooo loving! Thanks for letting me share our experience 🙂


Nov 12, 2012

successful outcome with TPLO surgery NEW
by: Sandy F

Our dog, a 7 yr old lab/rottie mix, came up lame this past June after being on a walk including off leash play with another large dog. Diagnosed with torn ACL, probably full tear. Vet said it was not emergency, and we could try non surgical methods, mostly keeping him quiet, and that waiting would not make things worse, but that in his opinion, as well as the opinion of a vet orthopedic surgeon and a third opinion, all felt Barley would need surgery, probably TPLO as recommended option. In August he had TPLO surgery, followed, in September and October by physical therapy once a week. It is now November and he is perfect. Fully healed, no limp, enjoying long off leash walks and exuberant play with other dogs. It was expensive, $2600 for the surgery, another $500.00 for followup x rays and exam and six weeks of p/t, but it feels worth it to have our boy back. However we were warned that it is likely the other knee will go at some point. Good luck!


Aug 14, 2012

Clarification NEW
by: Susan M.

Hey Everyone, I???m so sorry for the confusing posts. My computer froze, so it posted twice on my behalf. I just want to clarify Maddie as being a Rottweiler German Shepherd mix. I hope the brace will help someone in the future, like it helped my Maddie 🙂


Aug 14, 2012

Woundwear A-Trac Brace NEW
by: Susan M.

I’m so sorry to hear about your pup! I went through almost the same situation last year when my 95 lb Rottweiler, Maddie, tore her ACL. I took her to the vet and she told us it would cost $3000 to fix it. We didn???t listen to her and we are glad we didn???t. After some research, I decided to purchase the A-Trac Dynamic Brace from Woundwear for $300. I saved thousands of dollars and greatly improved Maddie’s quality of life. Our vet has also been extremely impressed after seeing the huge improvement. Maddie could barely put weight on her leg and constantly limped and cried. Now, she???s ready for a rumble. She is 100% healed for this great doctors invention! I highly suggest this brace over putting your dog through major surgery.

-Susan M.


Aug 14, 2012

Woundwear A-Trac Brace NEW
by: Susan M.

I’m so sorry to hear about your pup! I went through almost the same situation last year when my 125 lb German Shepherd, Maddie, tore her ACL. I took her to the vet and she told us it would cost $3000 to fix it. We didn???t listen to her and we are glad we didn???t. After some research, I decided to purchase the A-Trac Dynamic Brace from Woundwear for $300. I saved thousands of dollars and greatly improved Maddie’s quality of life. Our vet has also been extremely impressed after seeing the huge improvement. Maddie could barely put weight on her leg and constantly limped and cried. Now, she???s ready for a rumble. She is 100% healed for this great doctors invention! I highly suggest this brace over putting your pet through a major surgery.

-Susan M.


Jul 31, 2012

Flora NEW
by: Debbie

By the way the website is www.tiggerpoz.com


Jul 31, 2012

Flora NEW
by: Debbie

I just wanted everyone to kno that flora has healed 100 percent since she tore her acl back in December. As I said before the atrac brace did not work so we decided on conservative care from a website by max tiggerpoo. It took a long time but was worth not putting a puppy through surgery not to mention the cost. So please, before you let an orthopedic surgeon talk you into having surgery do checkout conservative care online and look for max’s website.


Apr 04, 2012

Atrc brace NEW
by: debbie

Unfortunately the atrac brace did not work for my puppy. My husband also talked to Dr. Spatt who totally convinced us to purchase it. First of all it fit terrible. We decided to do conservative care for her. Pretty much rest and on lead all the time outside. So far she is getting a little better. I know it will take time. Just like a human. Thanks for you’re feedback.


Apr 04, 2012

Atrac worked for Zep! NEW
by: Ed K.

Debbie and all,

Zep and I have had success with woundwear’s atrac dynamic brace. I have called dr Spatt a few times before I purchased and he has helped a lot. I have written a review at dogkneeinjury.com.

My review:

Conservative Management with Brace for Full Cruciate Tear – Zep

Hope this helps!

Ed k.


Feb 17, 2012

TPLO Surgery NEW
by: Anonymous

Hi, I would suggest getting another opinion, although it may not be cheap. I had TTA surgery on my rott at age 1 yr and 10 months. The TTA (tibial tuberosity advancement) surgery; it is a newer technique than TPLO, and not quite as rough (the bone is not completely cut across), therefore may be better for a dog who is still growing. You could call vets on the phone until you find one who is skilled at the TTA technique to see what he/she thinks. The recovery period with either surgery is slow, and rough on both of you. My orthopedic vet made us take it very slow – my dog was crated most of the time for almost 2 months, getting out only to go potty and eat. After a few weeks we could walk for 5 minutes a day, and increased it gradually. It has been 7 months now, and she’s doing great. She will be on a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement for the rest of her life to help support her joints and prevent arthritis. The cost for all of this, including going back to the vet for 2 weeks for a complication (a small area of her incision opened, had to go in for antibiotic irrigation and 2 staples) and 2 opinions was $3700.00. Good luck!


Feb 17, 2012

TPLO Surgery NEW
by: Anonymous

Hi, I would suggest getting another opinion, although it may not be cheap. I had TTA surgery on my rott at age 1 yr and 10 months. The TTA (tibial tuberosity advancement) surgery; it is a newer technique than TPLO, and not quite as rough (the bone is not completely cut across), therefore may be better for a dog who is still growing. You could call vets on the phone until you find one who is skilled at the TTA technique to see what he/she thinks. The recovery period with either surgery is slow, and rough on both of you. My orthopedic vet made us take it very slow – my dog was crated most of the time for almost 2 months, getting out only to go potty and eat. After a few weeks we could walk for 5 minutes a day, and increased it gradually. It has been 7 months now, and she’s doing great. She will be on a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement for the rest of her life to help support her joints and prevent arthritis. The cost for all of this, including going back to the vet for 2 weeks for a complication (a small area of her incision opened, had to go in for antibiotic irrigation and 2 staples) and 2 opinions was $3700.00. Good luck!


Feb 15, 2012

To cut or not? NEW
by: Christopher Bayhi

Dr Mike Richards, DVM has a website with loads of information for ACL and CCL injuries, including expected outcomes and alternatives. You could read up on his findings and ask your vet about them before making a final decission.

http://www.vetinfo.com/dligamt.html

You can also look into orthopedic dog beds. Many owners whose dogs have been injured or have had surgery swear by them. They say the beds speed up recovery and made their dog more comfortable. Good luck to you and your girl!


Feb 15, 2012

Surgery NEW
by: Anonymous

I am not a vet but at 8 months I don’t think she is done growing. There are growth plates and they can get damaged. So perhaps you need to discuss this with your vet. Hope everything works out. I hate to see them hurting. Best of luck.


Feb 14, 2012

Flora NEW
by: Debbie

Our vet sent us to an orthopedic surgeon who did surgery on our 7 year old rottie. She did great. My concern about my pup is that she is only 8 months old. Should we wait and see if she heals since she is so young? I hate the thought of surgery on a puppy that is still growing.. Thanks I’d love to hear opinions on this. We do have surgery scheduled for march 5th. But if we can postpone it for awhile we definitly would. Debbie


Feb 13, 2012

Surgery NEW
by: Anonymous

We had a rottie that had problems with both knees. We tried to heal it with limited exercise even carried him upstairs but it didn’t work. Our vet did the surgery and used his own ligaments by repositioning them to stabilize the knee. Recovery was fast and it was worth it. He did tell us that the other knee will likely go as well. Sure enough that happened in less than a year. With the second knee we didn’t even wait. We just made an appointment and did the second surgery. He had a bit of arthritis in the first knee because we waited so long but could run, go for hikes and was back to normal for the rest of his life.


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My name is Dr. Winnie. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Duke University, a Masters of Science in Biology from St Georges University, and graduated from the University of Pretoria Veterinary School in South Africa. I have been an animal lover and owners all my life having owned a Rottweiler named Duke, a Pekingese named Athena and now a Bull Mastiff named George, also known as big G! I'm also an amateur equestrian and love working with horses. I'm a full-time Veterinarian in South Africa specializing in internal medicine for large breed dogs. I enjoy spending time with my husband, 2 kids and Big G in my free time. Author and Contribturor at SeniorTailWaggers, A Love of Rottweilers, DogsCatsPets and TheDogsBone