Partial cruciate rupture

Need some help / advice

Just been left with a nasty vets bill of over £3k after my insurance claim was declined as a pre existing condition. Does anybody think its possible for a Dobermann to walk 5 miles a day for three months with a partial Cruciate rupture?

Unfortunately my vet won't help. Any ideas who I can contact for advice?

Unfortunately I've seen dogs manage through all sorts of things no matter what amount of pain they must be in, so I think that your question may be a moot point. One friend's GSD was completely symptom free (apparently) until he started to cough and wretch one day and then died an hour later before he could be got to a vet. When the vet opened him up after his death he had 8 tumours including one which was almost completely blocking his bowel, hips in a really bad way and both of his back legs had a very serious tear in his cruciate ligaments. He showed no sign of any of these and was as sweet natured as ever even on his last day and was out raising money with the local rescue stall on that day, greeting members of the public with a wag.

The other thing is that 3 months is a very short time when it comes to ligament healing, so if the dog's cruciate was partially ruptured 3 months ago then that wouldn't have healed fully in those 3 months even with physio, rest and other treatments. Ligament and tendon take a longer time to heal than bone and even when they have 'healed' they will remain a weak spot for the rest of the creature's life. Just ask someone who has previously had a ligament problem and they will tell you that even if they're surgically repaired, the pain and weakness will go on for at least 6 months.

Insurance companies will wriggle out of things any way they can, I'm sad to say. One of my cats had an exclusion on her policy from when she was first insured at 6 months for the whole of her life that they just wouldn't remove. She had a cut on her paw that needed a stitch when she was a small kitten and anything to do with her paws was excluded until she died aged 16 because of it (ridiculously). If you had consulted a vet about your dog's knee at all before starting the policy then I think that the insurance company may just refuse to budge their position and your only option would be to appeal to the insurance ombudsman and hope that they side with you.

Good luck

Sorry but yes it is possible for a dog to carry on normally with cruciate damage, my boy limped 3 times for 5 minutes over 4-5 months and I rested him for a few days each time and he was sound again very quickly, one day after a normal walk he could not put the leg down, at surgery the vet described the cruciate as a frayed rope they can tolerate so much damage to it for so long then there is too much damage for them to walk on, As Eingana says insurance companies will and do try anything to get out of paying, Good luck :luck:

Have you asked your vet if he put it down as a long term condition or a new issue? Personally I do think the insurance is the wrong and I would see the ombudsman, but in the meantime I know you must be a really struggling.