Research Advice Needed for Doggy Wheelchairs

Hm, the thing I would wonder is if using a cart could actually potentially make the dogs hip issues worse?

Normally if a dog has hip dysplasia, vets will recommend that you work to strengthen the dog's leg muscles with moderate exercise. Apparently having strong muscles to support the hip can slow down the progression of HD.

But if the dog's in a cart, and not able to use it's back legs normally most of the time, I would assume there would be some issues with muscle wasting which may very well effect the dog's hip condition. The surgery for HD on both hips I bet would be more expensive than the surgery to fix the ACL.

They couldn't try to raise the money for the surgery somehow? Will another vet do the surgery for less, or offer a payment plan? I don't think a torn ACL is an emergency, so they'd probably be able to buy some time and wait a little bit to have the surgery done if the extra time would help them be able to save up the money.

I would definitely seek out a second opinion, and maybe even a third. I think that sometimes ACL issues are left alone, but normally only in small dogs? If the tear is only partial than I think sometimes there is a chance it will heal on it's own, but if it's a full tear then surgery is usually considered to be the best option.

Good luck! I really hope they are able to work something out that works for Bella and allows them to keep their baby with them for many years to come.

merickson said:

"Their local vets are strongly advising against a dog cart or a brace and are not willing to explore the option"

"Gotta love the internet"

As a general rule, I'd trust the judgement of a vet who has actually seen the animal than the third (fourth?) hand opinions from over the web.
Are your friends following their vet's guidance in the "self-healing" option? Or are they applying the devices without consulting the on-site vet?

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I agree with you with trusting the judgement of a vet who's seen Bella over the Internets, but I also believe in keeping options open, and as you seem to be saying, /responsible/ use of any research information found.

At the start of any information gathering process, we keep the parameters as open as possible, and then start filtering down from there. This one was also driven by fear, getting as much info as quickly as possible, so that's probably the worrisome vibe you're getting--That the initial research stage that was at the beginning of this thread is going to jump helter skelter into the final implementation stages without any further thought. So just to ease your mind (and to be clearer to others who might be reading this for the first time but don't have the experience yet to be self discriminating), as of right now, they do have a close cooperative relationship/friendship with their vet, and are working closely with the vet as they explore these options.

They are following the vet's self healing recommendations-self healing is always the best route if it works, since nothing we have compares to the quality of what nature made. They haven't purchased any of the devices. As I tried to indicate in the follow up replies, her healing and treatment will be a long drawn out process and not be rushed. They are considering the devices a last choice, not a first choice. And even then, they will let Bella's mental and physical well being drive their decisions.