Hi Milily,
I love dogs too, and learning about different ones. I cannot even imagine having a Great Dane, for their size, but I remember an aunt and uncle of mine that had one, and he was a really loving dog.

Anyway, I'm sorry to read that your fur baby may have torn her ACL. I do not have first-hand experience with this, but a good friend of mine went thru this with her dog. For her, surgery was too much money and not guaranteed to be successful. Her vet then instructed her to not let the dog walk much (just to do her business outside) and not to use steps or jump for eight weeks (I think). This was very difficult, even for an older dog, but the injury did heal and she no longer limps. I have no idea how severe the injury was; and realize that this is just one example. but I thought I'd share it anyway because I'm lying here awake and, again, I love dogs :) I hope you get more replies from others to help in determining what to do. ~ hugs!

Hi Milily. A poodle I groom tore her ACL about three years aog. She was 12 then and we were concerned about operating as she has a slightly weak heart. She was rested up and the joint reformed and repaired by itself. She gets a bit of pain now and then but as she is 15 now and has arthritis too - it is hard to tell what the pain is from. She walks soundly on that leg. I think it may depend on the severity of the tear. They do need to anethetise to see how the joint is affected - I assisted with that for this poodle by holding her in position etc. The owners are too frail to help much with that. The vet needs the dog completely relaxed to check properly and it is less stressful and painful for the dog that way too.

Great Danes are beautiful dogs. They love to sleep on the furniture though:-) It is easier on their joints as they don't have much padding. I have never owned one, but I had a friend who had two. Very comforting dogs to have around.
Give your pup a hug from me.

Hi, Milily, yep, Great Danes are HumUngOUS! One of our neighbors has one and I swaer on first glance you're thinking, "Horse? Wait, it woofs...." LOL

We had a dog with an ACL injury who was okay after resting a couple months. Granted, she ripped herself up jumping out of the way of a neighbor's Angus bull she'd been chasing, so all in all, an ACL injury was light stuff compared to what the bull would've done if it could've!

(BTW, the dog did not ever chase a cow again... just skunks. *sigh*)

My fave dog breed is Alaskan Malamute, but lving in the South, I would never dare have one---poor things do not tolerate heat.

And yes, Great Danes LOVE furniture, our neighbor said she bought a secondhand couch just for the dog... I'd laugh but we built our dogs these doghouses that would meet buildings codes for skyscrapers in an arctic earthquake zone, so... ah, loving animals.

Sorry, wandering on. The ACL in our dog was dx'd by X-ray while she was sedated. She did fine.

Big hugs to you and your poor pup....
Leo

Hi Milily, any news on your dog's condition?

Thanks for your replies. The more I read about the more I am freaking - you know - our pets our are family . I am a little worried about her going under for the testing - she is healthy but has a lot of allergies.

lowernotes - thanks for asking again about my Lily - she has testing done on April 15 th , so I will find out then the diagnosis and recommended treatment. She does limp easily esp after running even if it is chasing a squirrel in our smallish backyard and toe touches often on that leg.

try not to let her run - even if it means taking her out on a leash. At least until you know exactly what is going on with that joint. Not easy for an active dog, maybe you could get her a chew toy or something to help keep her occupied. Lily looks like a dog that would need distracting to keep her quiet:-)

My avi is a picture of Lily at 3 or 4 months old - now she will be 7 later this month and weighs 72 lbs. Lily and her sister were rescued by the SPCA - they were going to be killed at a facility in Ohio but were rescued just in time. She is part German shepherd, part Husky and part Chow . She has the black eyeliner look all the way around her eyes which I have read is a husky thing - It makes her beautiful eyes really stand out. We are trying to keep her activity quiet - not easy - the Dr said short leash walks only. Also , we are keeping the basement door shut to avoid the stairs. I hate it that she is going through this - the dog loves to run - running makes her smile.

hmmm, lets see.....German Shepherd - wants to do what you say, loyal,just a smat sensitive....Husky - strong, tough, trainable, resiliant, bred to run...Chow - one man(woman) dog, does not like to mess inside, hates wet feet, strong willed.... Interesting mix:-)
Very hard to keep her still I should imagine, good plan with shutting off the basement steps.

One of my dogs was a quarter Standard Poodle, quarter chow, half german shorthaired pointed. Sensitive, intelligent, hated wet feet, loved hunting, would do anything for me but ADHD as a young dog.

Now we just have a scottish terrier who has adapted very easily in her old age to sleeping on the bed with my daughter when she is in a flare. Easiest thing I ever trained a dog to do:-)

Thanks for update!
Our dog was rambunctious, too, we ended up rigging her a very small enclosure and shelter so she was "outside" but couldn't run or get into much trouble.... (Farm life has advantages---space to do that)....

Ours was a husky. ANother go-get-'em rbreed, but I love 'em anyway.

We'll be giving a big old healing prayer for your pup:-)

Update

Lily had her testing yesterday. Hips are beautiful - right ACL is torn and needs surgery. My STBX and I are going to get a second opinion re the types of surgery and the option of non - surgical treatment. She does have a small spot of arthritis on her knee from the ACL being torn. Our vet recommends the surgery.

Dropping her off yesterday was traumatic for her and me. When they went to take her from me she freaked and started yelping and crying and her whole body was shaking - it was awful. I was glad to have her home at the end of the day - she was pooped out and laid next to me on the couch on her blanket and put her head in my lap and I petted her a very long time - in fact she acted annoyed when I had to get up briefly for a bathroom break.

Also, they gave me samples of Rimadyl - an anti-inflammatory to try for the pain.

I hope that you and she are both recovering noicely from the vet visit:-)

Keep updating us. Furry hugs to you both, and that sounds like my cat after ANY vet visit....

Hey Milily, the vet is right-another reason that they put them under anesthesia is because the positions that they have to put the knee in to examine/x-ray it are painful (which is why they tense up and make it hard to feel awake). I'm a veterinary technician so I see this a lot. The surgery is generally very effective IF you follow the exercise restriction instructions carefully-they are very strict (this prevents the suture used to secure the ligament from rupturing, and prevents them from tearing the cruciate ligament of the other knee-they use the other leg more during recovery to compensate). A partial tear may not require surgery but it's very painful, the recovery is long and not as good as if it's repaired. No matter what she will always have some arthritis in that knee, but that's manageable. Also the anesthesia that's used is generally very safe, allergic reactions are very rare. Most places give a sedative before the surgery that provides some pain relief (although it's pretty minimal, they'll also give injectable pain meds), and allows them to use less of the general anesthesia. Make sure that she receives fluids during the surgery to keep her blood pressure up, and that they monitor her vitals while she is under-any good hospital should do this anyway, be wary if they dont! I really hope this helps and that your dog feels better soon!