One of my big dogs had a partial cruciate ligament tear about 2 years ago. They also recommended surgery, I said no after I looked into the surgery and saw what was involved, the level of pain and recovery time with no guarantee it would work.

I dosed him up on rimadyl, and alot of natural meds, and rest. I looked into all kinds of braces for the leg, decided to go with nothing.

Well, it healed on it's own, and he's a very active 100lb dog. When he stresses that leg alot, he will get a little limpy for a day or two, but it heals up again.

I"m glad that I didn't get the surgery.

I have alot of experience with lame dogs, I'll come back after I eat lunch and give you more information.

You really need to know if it's a full or partial tear. A full tear will never heal, a partial tear might.