How to Measure for a Dog Knee Brace

Casting your dog for a custom dog knee brace can be a little intimidating.  However we have come up with a simple to follow set of instructions that will be included in your casting kit.  We also have video tutorials on our website that can be seen on the link provided here:  Dog knee brace casting video.

There are several components to a quality custom knee brace, the first is a good solid cast that goes up high onto the knee and is not unraveling or falling apart.  The other component is good  picture measurements.  In this article we will discuss how to get the best picture measurements of your dog’s leg to help our team provide the best brace possible.  If your dog is very hairy please use the stockinette provided in the casting kit or a set of pantyhose to hold down the hair so we can see the anatomical markers of the dogs knee.  A sewing measuring tape or a regular metal carpenters measuring tape will work.

When taking measurements for a custom dog knee brace.  It is important to know that there are two markers on a dog’s knee.  The top marker on the knee is where the end of the femur is located in the joint and the bottom marker of the knee is where the top of the tibia is located in the joint.  This creates two “lumps” in the knee that are referred to as the “top of the knee” and the “bottom of the knee”.  

We need two measurements that help us build the best fitting dog knee brace.

Measurement “A” is the measurement from the groin to the top of the knee.  The groin is located where the leg meets the belly, usually you will see a change in the hair pattern in this spot.

Measurement “B” is from the top of the knee to the bottom of the hock.  It is important to be sure the pictures are far enough away that we can visualize the whole leg and close enough that we can read the numbers on the tape measure.

Once you have good picture measurements like the ones depicted in this article please email them to us at specializedpetsolutions@yahoo.com   Be sure to put your dogs name and the phrase picture measurements as the topic.

Good luck and please call 509-934-0067 or email us with any further questions.

Sincerely,

The Team at Specialized Pet Solutions