Table 1.

Standardized veterinary assessment scoring system used to evaluate all dogs in the study, before and after a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO).

Criterion	Grade	Clinical evaluation
Lameness	1	Walks normally
	2	Slightly lame when walking
	3	Moderately lame when walking
	4	Severely lame when walking
	5	Reluctant to rise, recumbent
Pain	1	No pain elicited
	2	Mild, turns head
	3	Moderate, resists and vocalizes
	4	Severe, growls and shows teeth
	5	Will not allow manipulation
Weight-bearing	1	Equal on all limbs standing and walking
	2	Normal standing, favors limb when walking
	3	Partially weight-bearing walking and standing
	4	Partial weight-bearing walking, sits immediately when not walking
	5	Non-weight-bearing at stand or walk

Patients were evaluated at time intervals of T0 (initial evaluation at week 0), T1 (2 weeks post-operatively), and T2 (4 weeks post-operatively). Pain was evaluated on both palpation and range of motion of the affected stifle.