Torn ACL in hind leg - what options??

[papalazaru]

We have a 9 year old daft beagle mix who got bundled over by two boisterous dogs last week and immediately couldn't put weight in his hind leg. After his X-rays today I just spoke with the vet who said he has fully ruptured his ACL and will talk over my 'options' when I go in there this afternoon.
Any ideas of what I should expect?

Your dog's weight is going to determine the options. The important thing you need to know is that long term studies have shown no difference in the level of arthritis between the various treatments.

So the vet is recommending surgery. I asked what the prognosis would be if we did nothing. She said it would heal eventually but would need about 10-12 weeks of doing absolutely nothing and he would be in pain for longer. With surgery she said the healing time would be shorter - around 6 weeks and then a period of being careful with a 95% chance he'd be back to himself soon after.

We don't have insurance as he was 8 years old when we brought him into the UK last year and the premiums were very expensive so we took the risk!
Between now and surgery I have to keep him crated which is no fun for him (or me) - we'll miss our walks in the woods......
She did say that there's also a good chance the other leg will go in 18 months to 2 years so I am starting a savings account today!