A tear or some other injury to the cranial cruciate ligament is one of the most common injuries in a dog. The cranial cruciate ligament is one of the fundamental parts of the body that is used to stabilize the knee of a dog. It is similar to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in humans. The intention of this ligament along with the meniscus of the knee is to absorb shock, bear loads, and since the position of the knee. A tear of this ligament can be referred to as a partial tear or a rupture. They are all basically the same thing.
A cranial cruciate ligament tear Boulder causes symptoms in your dog such as pain, lameness, and arthritis in the knee. There are some risk factors that make your dog more susceptible to this ligament tearing. A dog that is obese or in poor physical shape is more likely to tear or rupture the ligament. There are some factors over which you as a dog owner have no control that makes your dog more likely to rupture this ligament. Those factors include the breed of the dog, genetics, and the shape of the dog’s skeleton.
The degeneration takes time and happens over a series of years and is not a result of a traumatic event. Often times, the problem starts as a partial tear and becomes worse to a full tear. It has been shown that 40 to 60 percent of dogs that have this problem in one knee, will develop the condition in the other knee as time progresses. As mentioned above, some breeds are more prone to suffering from cranial cruciate ligament disease. Dogs such as Labrador Retriever, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Rottweiler, Akita, and Saint Bernard are more prone to this disease than others, especially smaller breeds.
There are a number of symptoms that may indicate to you that your dog is beginning to suffer from this disease. Those symptoms are things like your dog is having difficulty rising from a seated position. If you notice your dog is having problems jumping into the car or has a marked decrease in activity. You may see that your dog has begun to limp. That limp may have varying levels of severity. If your dog no longer wants to play or has pain and stiffness, those can also be signs. If you begin to hear a popping noise or decreased range of motion on the knee, those are signs it may be time to see your vet.