Achilles tendon repair for a dog costs roughly $3,000 to $6,500, including surgery, the immobilisation device and the follow-up needed to get through recovery.
Most owners find this page after noticing something very specific and very odd-looking.
Why the back foot is flat on the ground
The Achilles tendon — properly the common calcanean tendon — runs down the back of the lower leg and attaches to the point of the hock. It is what keeps the hock extended and the foot up on its toes.
When it fails, the hock drops. The dog walks with the back of the foot flat on the floor, in a plantigrade stance, like a person walking on their heels. It is unmistakable once you know what you are looking at, and it does not resolve on its own.
Partial tears look subtler: the hock sinks a little, the toes may curl under, and the dog is lame without the dramatic flat-footed posture.
The two ways it happens
Trauma. A jump landed badly, a fall, or — the one owners most often underestimate — a cut at the back of the hock.
The tendon lies just under the skin there, with almost nothing over it. A laceration that looks minor, the kind you might clean at home and watch, can have severed the tendon underneath. Any cut at the back of the hock should be examined the same day, and this is the single most useful sentence on this page.
Chronic degeneration. The tendon weakens over months and fails progressively, often without any single injury. Classically in middle-aged Doberman Pinschers and Labrador Retrievers, and this form can affect both legs.
Endocrine disease — particularly Cushing's — weakens tendon and raises the risk of degeneration and of re-rupture after repair, so bloodwork is part of the workup rather than an afterthought.
Can it heal without surgery?
A complete rupture, no. The torn ends retract apart and cannot bridge the gap. Managed conservatively, the dog is left permanently flat-footed, and while some cope, it is not a good functional outcome.
Partial tears are occasionally managed with rigid external immobilisation alone, but this needs a specialist assessment and imaging — ultrasound or MRI — to be a considered decision rather than a hopeful one.
The surgery is the easy half
Repair means suturing the tendon ends with a locking pattern designed to hold under load, sometimes reinforced with a graft or synthetic material for chronic degenerate cases where tissue quality is poor.
Then comes the part that actually decides the outcome.
The tendon heals slowly, under a load it cannot yet take. So the hock has to be held in extension, taking tension off the repair, for eight to twelve weeks. Options include:
- An external skeletal fixator — pins through the bone connected by an external frame
- A calcaneotibial screw placed across the joint, removed later
- A rigid splint or cast, usually as part of a staged plan
None are comfortable, all need managing, and every one requires strict confinement.
This is the single biggest determinant of success — more than the surgical technique. A dog allowed to run at week six re-ruptures, and revision surgery on a failed repair is harder and less successful than the original.
Be realistic about your household before you consent. Three months of a bored, otherwise-well dog on cage rest is difficult, and it is worth planning for rather than discovering.
What recovery looks like
- Two to three nights in hospital
- Eight to twelve weeks of immobilisation, with regular rechecks and bandage or fixator changes
- Fixator or screw removed at the end of that period, usually under sedation
- Graded rehabilitation afterwards over a further two to three months — controlled lead walking, building to normal
- [Hydrotherapy](/procedures/hydrotherapy/) and physiotherapy are genuinely valuable here rather than optional extras, because the muscles waste substantially during immobilisation
Total time to full function is commonly four to six months.
Call your vet for pins loosening or discharging, a bandage that slips or smells, sudden worsening lameness, or the hock dropping again.
Outlook
Good, with the caveats above. Most dogs return to comfortable, normal daily activity. Some working and sporting dogs return to full performance; some do not quite.
Traumatic tears in otherwise healthy dogs generally do better than chronic degenerative ones, where the tissue itself is poor and re-rupture is more likely. Bilateral cases in Dobermans need particular care.
Ask these
1. Traumatic or degenerative? It changes the technique and the prognosis. 2. Which immobilisation, and for how long? 3. Has endocrine disease been excluded? 4. What does rehab involve, and is it included? 5. What is the all-in cost through to fixator removal? The surgical fee is not the number that matters.
Who isn't a candidate
- Other: An owner who cannot manage 8–12 weeks of strict immobilisation and confinement — this is the single biggest determinant of success, more than the surgical technique.
- Concurrent condition: Uncontrolled endocrine disease, particularly hyperadrenocorticism, which weakens tendon and raises the rate of re-rupture.
- Other: An open contaminated wound over the tendon, which is managed and cleaned before definitive repair.
- Concurrent condition: Severe skin disease over the hock, where the external fixator or cast pins have to pass.
Common questions
How much does Achilles tendon surgery cost for a dog?
Roughly $3,000 to $6,500 including surgery, the external fixator or screw, hospitalisation, the rechecks and bandage changes through eight to twelve weeks of immobilisation, and removal of the device afterwards. Rehabilitation is often additional. Ask for the all-in figure through to fixator removal, since the surgical fee alone understates it substantially.
Can a dog's torn Achilles tendon heal without surgery?
A complete rupture, no — the torn ends retract apart and cannot bridge the gap, leaving the dog permanently flat-footed. Partial tears are occasionally managed with rigid external immobilisation alone, but that needs specialist assessment with ultrasound or MRI to be a considered decision rather than a hopeful one.
How long does a dog take to recover from Achilles tendon repair?
Eight to twelve weeks of strict immobilisation in an external fixator, calcaneotibial screw or rigid splint, then two to three months of graded rehabilitation. Total time to full function is commonly four to six months. The confinement period is the single biggest determinant of success — more than the surgical technique — because a dog allowed to run early re-ruptures.
What does a dropped hock in a dog mean?
The Achilles tendon has failed. That tendon holds the hock extended and the foot up on its toes; when it ruptures the hock sinks and the dog walks with the back of the foot flat on the ground in a plantigrade stance. It follows either trauma — including a cut at the back of the hock — or chronic degeneration, classically in middle-aged Dobermans and Labradors.
Why does my dog walk flat on its back foot?
Most commonly a ruptured or degenerating Achilles tendon, which needs prompt veterinary assessment. In cats and occasionally dogs, a plantigrade stance can also indicate diabetic neuropathy, so bloodwork is part of the workup. Either way it does not resolve on its own and should be examined rather than watched.
Sources
Looking for a specific clinic? Browse our directory of specialist veterinary practices.