Dr. Joel F. Spatt presents his view point based on a humanistic approach of conservative treatment for dogs with ACL injuries. His opinion is that brace treatment can often be effective in treating this injury in dogs as it can be in humans. Less aggressive treatment or conservative care should in most cases be attempted prior to the more aggressive surgical treatment which has a much greater complication rate as well as significant failure rates. Surgery and bracing can both fail however bracing has very little down side. Surgery on the other hand is very expensive and can also increase the risk of injury to the other leg do to the long recovery and greater weight exerted to the remaining good leg. Should brace treatment fail to improve weight bearing to the affected leg over three to five weeks of continuous treatment then surgery may become an option for these cases with no increased risks in surgical outcomes. Should surgery become necessary bracing can be used postoperatively to improve the success rate of the surgical procedure.