Returning to Competition

I am hoping to gather some inspiration from RTF group. My young lab "Wilson" suffered a medial collateral ligament injury (hock not stifle) requiring surgery and incidental finding of carpal fracture of the left rear foot. The surgery was done in Nov 2012. He has been on leash walking only since surgery. After clearance from his surgeon, we are following a certified rehab specialist with his activity level. I honestly believe that the one advantage that he has with this type of injury is his size. He is 45 lbs of lean muscle.

My question to the group is this, has anyone had a dog with this type of injury return to competition? Wilson is a high drive lab who was competing in agility at the time of the injury (injury not related to agility). It is not the focus of his recovery to return to agility, I just want him to be healthy and happy. However, this little dog is DETERMINED! He is nearly 12 weeks out from surgery and doing great. We are walking approximately two to three miles per day and recently included a harness for added resistance training with recent introduction of steep hills and rough terrain training. You can see from the video his frustration of not being able to run. Please feel free to Private message. I appreciate any replies about your personal experiences.

video 10 weeks post op - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRuU6aGu3J0

Thanks so much, Martha

Ouch, wouldn't want to wish that injury on any person or dog...after reading your post I couldn't help but think about "Wilson" from "Castaway". Let's hope this doesn't happen to you 12 months post-op :razz:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-365iujWk8

LOL Willie. Wilson is actually named after the soccer ball "wilson" in the movie. I have posted this before but thought you'd get a kick out of it.

Cast Away The Sequel ~ Hey Wilson this is for you :)
https://vimeo.com/6905833

Wilson!!!!!

LMAO here, ssoooooo sssooooorry for your pain! But that was very funny. Happyto see his drive to retrieve is the greatest drive.......
May I share that video?

Sure. The funniest part of it was that I could not hear the announcer and when I got home and played it back I was cracking up. Poor Wilson. I can't believe that he was even able to do any agility with that going on across the fence.

Now back to serious...anyone had this type of injury?
mv

MCL tears in Labs are unusual, I think. Vast majority are CCL tears - cranial cruciate ligament. You might contact Jimi Cook at U of Missouri, a great orthopedic vet. He's had experience with MCL tears. Philip Carson

Thanks. I have had others recommend this vet as well. Was hoping that someone on this list would have had similar type of injury.