So when a client with multiple dogs brings yet another patient with a torn CCL, and asks, “Is it me? Am I doing something wrong?” be assured that if I knew the answer, I’d blow the whistle. For now, my best recommendation is to keep your dog lean, provide him with regular exercise and, if you’re really paranoid, do your best to keep him on the canine equivalent of the bunny slope!
*Wilke V.L., Zhang S., Evans, R.B. et al. Identification
of chromosomal regions associated with cranial cruciate
ligament rupture in a population of Newfoundlands,
Am.J.Vet.Res. 2009; 70:1013–7.