The Cruciate Recovery Tracker
A simple way to follow how your dog's knee is recovering through the weeks after cruciate surgery, or through conservative management, log it, and see whether the leg is coming back. It is a wellbeing check, not a diagnosis, and never replaces your vet.
Answer for how your dog is right now, today. If you log this every few days, the trend, not any single day, is what tells the story.
Which describes your dog right now?
Optional, but it tailors the guidance. Recovery looks a little different after surgery than when managing without it.
Counting from the operation, or from when you started resting the leg if managing without surgery. Most recoveries run to around twelve weeks.
1. How is your dog using the operated (or affected) leg?
The single most useful sign in cruciate recovery. Watch them walk a few steps on a non-slip floor.
2. Overall, how is your dog moving today?
1 means barely moving or very stiff; 10 means moving freely and happily.
3. How does the knee look and feel?
4. How is their exercise tolerance?
Optional. Judged against what your vet or physio has allowed at this stage, not against a normal dog.
Read next
The tracker shows you where you are. These go deeper on the recovery itself: