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I believe that swimming is great for dogs with ligament injuries because:
1) It lets the joint move through a normal range of movement. This encourages the newly forming joint-supporting tissue to form in such a way as to allow a greater range of movement after healing is complete.
2) The non-weight-bearing nature of swimming puts much less stress on the joint. This allows new supporting-tissue formation with less risk of injury.
3) Gives the dog a safe outlet to use that dog-energy!
We have several lakes & ponds nearby. I would drive Tigger as near as I could get to the water. That would mean a very short walk of only a few yards for Tigger. I think it was important to avoid the dash into the water from shore that would be the usual way he'd begin fetching sticks out in the water. Dashing out / returning all the way onto the shore / dashing out again, over & over would not have been good. That dash would have put a great deal of sudden stress on Tigger's legs. I encouraged Tigger into the water first, then threw sticks for him, then would throw another stick for him before he got all the way back to shallow water. In this way I prevented the sudden leaps and running that would have been excessively stressful.
Good nutrition is important in any healing process. I fed Tigger cooked stews made with meat & fresh veggies; and also meals of raw chicken and other raw meats. Raw chicken bones are fine, but Cooked Chicken Bones Must Be Avoided! They can splinter & cause internal injury. I didn't use grains.
I give all my dogs vitamin supplements and also Glucosamine & Chondroitin daily. I'm not an expert on supplements. Below is a link to a knowledgeable person's site - Bow Chow.
I hadn't heard of using braces during Tigger's recovery, but if I had known of them I would have tried them.
After Tigger's recovery I remembered that the vet had said nothing to us about the possibility of Conservative Management as a treatment for ligament injuries. In order to try to be helpful to other dogs, I began contacting people whose dogs had ligament injuries. I told them about Tigger so they would understand that surgery was not the only choice. In the last few years I have been in touch with many people whose dogs have had ligament injuries. Of those who have tried Conservative Management, the great majority have been successful. I think there are situations where surgery is the best choice, but I also believe that ligament surgeries are done much much too often.
Recovery, with or without surgery, requires very restricted activity to start, then a slow increase in activity over months while avoiding stressing the joint. Activity must be sufficiently restricted to prevent re-injury. The new supporting tissue must have a chance to slowly develop without being torn by excessive stresses. In the end it is the dog's own natural healing process which provides support for the joint, with or without surgery. For various reasons surgery may be preferable in some few cases to begin the process, but generally the final result is in no way inferior if surgery is avoided.
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