Part 1 of 2
My father has a pet Labrador retriever. I took her for a long walk in my dad's neighborhood; longer than she was used to.
She started limping. After I brought my father's dog back home, my father took his lab to a veterinarian. The vet says the dog is suffering from a torn ACL (Anterior cruciate ligament injury). My father scheduled a rather expensive surgery with the veterinarian.
The day after the walk, my father's dog has stopped limping. She is walking on all fours, like normal; no limp. The surgery for a torn ACL has not taken place yet.
I know nothing about veterinary medicine. I am wondering, does a torn ACL imply that a dog will limp all of the time? The contrapositive might be: (Dog-Not-Limping) implies (Dog-does-not-have-torn-ACL)
A couple of years ago, the same dog had surgery on a different leg. My father paid for his Labrador retriever to swim in a swimming pool for several weeks as part of physical therapy (rehabilitation). I am thinking that my father's veterinarian is unscrupulous. Maybe the vet is willing to perform unnecessary medical operations to earn more money.
Is it normal for a dog with a torn ACL to stop limping, and walk around normally the next day?
Part 2 of 2
During the walk, my dad's Labrador went swimming in a local creek and she got very wet and cold. I tried to use a warm hair-blow dryer when we got back home to dry her up. The drier was warm, but not hot, I tested it on my hand before ever pointing the drier at the dog. But the dog would not let me use the hair-blow drier at all. Instead, she curled up on a sofa and shivered a bit.
I have a hypothesis, but I might be wrong: my dad's dog is arthritic, and cold temperatures make her limp.
My father's Labrador seems to limp about once or twice per week, but a few hours later, she is fine again. She walks normally, and does not limp at all.
The dog is between 4 and 8 years old.
