3yo Chessie Retriever

Hello, I have a 3yo Chessie that has been taken to the vet after a back leg limp started occurring and continued to get worse over months instead of getting better. Our vet told us it was something like an ACL tear, but it didn’t really make sense because we had mentioned another weird symptom which is bladder control issues. She’s started peeing dribbles and small puddles when she lays down and gets up. She’s been potty trained for almost the whole duration of her life with 0 issues. I could really use some help trying to figure out what this could be. We don’t want to go back just to get the same diagnosis with no new help. Thank you so much in advance.

Hello and thank you for this interesting question.  Was an ACL tear a definite diagnosis?  Usually, after diagnosis a vet will discuss possible treatment options with you; they ought to at least offer pain relief.  If a diagnosis cannot be reached on examination, they will also recommend tests.  It is important to treat an ACL tear because they are extremely painful, so it sounds as though a return to the vets to discuss treatment is essential in order to look after your dog. Regarding the additional bladder issues, these do not negate the diagnosis of an ACL tear.  Dogs, like humans, can have multiple ailments at once.  Indeed, if a dog is limping, the limping is usually caused by pain (if you think about limping yourself, it is usually something we do to make it hurt less when we walk).  If a dog is limping due to pain, I would expect it to affect their toileting - both the accuracy (because they cannot squat or leg-lift so effectively) and their willingness to go outside.  Many animals, even house-trained ones, wouldn't want to go outside to urinate - or even get up at all - if it hurt.  Pain is also stressful and stress can alter a dogs' toileting habits too.  Therefore, the two symptoms might well be linked.  ACL tears can worsen suddenly, but it is conceivable that pain - for example, from concurrent arthritis - may have been affecting the patient before the ACL tore. However, it is also possible that the urinary signs are completely unrelated to the limp and the two have simply occurred together, for different reasons.  It is your vets' job to find out, but the only way they can do this is if they are allowed to see the patient, try treatments and carry out tests.  If you have questions about causation and the order of appearance of the symptoms, it is definitely a good idea idea to ask your vet to answer them; the best vet-owner teams work together.  I hear that you don't want to see that vet any more but there are a choice of vets available in the UK at any one time - and I also hear that you are very keen to help your dog with her problems, which is hopefully the priority.

Please do note that some vets have a one-problem one-appointment policy; it is worth asking about this in advance in case you need a double-slot or to allow your vet to prioritise.