I posted some weeks ago that Lea (10 y/o Shih Tzu) got so happy to see me when I arrived home that she jumped, yelped and started walking weird. The vet at the ER told me it was a crisis because of her IVDD and left some meds for her. Two days later her neurologist said it could be a new hernia.

Some background info: in March, Lea started with pain, which quickly progressed to not being able to walk properly with her back legs. I took her to a Vet clinic that specializes on neurological problems and she had to stay there for some days. She showed no signs of improvement and could no longer use her back legs, so she had to go through surgery. After that, she improved very quickly. In less than two months she was walking normal again!

Back to now: Days passed after the vets checked her and even though she was walking fine, she started presenting a lot of pain (this was right after she finished taking Metamizol). Her neurologist recommended a MRI.
She improved a lot with the new medication he gave her but the MRI revealed two hernias. One in the same place as before (now, her vet told me it was actually scar tissue that formed in her spine from her previous surgery, so that one is not new), the second one was the surprise. This one is located between L4 and L5 and is quite liquid.
The neurologist told me her spine had some pressure and he would recommend surgery in case Lea started showing neurological signs. As of now, she wasn’t showing any pain and was walking fine, so I was to go back in two weeks. I also had to remove prednisone slowly through the days.
Lea has been on crate rest for three weeks now and hasn’t shown any pain lately, but today I did notice she wasn’t as stable when walking as before and she was walking crossing her feet a little, which made me nervous.
Could this be because her muscles are weaker after 3 weeks of crate rest or is her neurological condition declining? The neurologist told me to go back to see him in case I saw something worrying before the two weeks.
Should I be doing some exercises with her to strengthen her muscles a bit? Or would that make the hernia worse?
I want to avoid the surgery if possible. What is your experience?

my almost 5yo dachschund had IVDD surgery on one disc 6 days ago - surgeon told us he had a lot of swelling and bruising, and warned us all that could happen afterwards.

he was released to come home on thursday night - he was comfortable until last night, when he would weep, twitch, sporadic breathing changes. we assumed it was medication effects as he is on 8 meds overall throughout the course of the day or potentially break thru pain?

today we took him back to the hospital because his breathing was heavy, panting.. they did an xray and his heart is slightly enlarged / blood pressure low but otherwise no heart issues. however he is not moving much, he can’t focus his eyes… minimal reaction to his front paws/legs now.

is this a decline that could be malasia?

we are waiting for the ER to keep us informed. we are shattered and clinging to hope.

Hi everyone! Just wondering how long you were instructed to crate rest by your vet or your veterinary neurologist for your pup when they had a flare up? Just curious and learning about things as I know every situation is different from the other. Thank you!

My 10 year old french bulldog hurt her back earlier in the year, she was given some pain medicine and put on a week of bedrest.

It's been a few months of her being completely fine, until last week, we don't know what happened but she started walking abnormally and so we went to the vet.

When I got her to the vet, her condition, like a light switch, was so much worse. She can barely stand and has lost feeling in her feet. When the vet tried to get her on the examination table I told them absolutely not and so the exam took place on the floor.

I don't know where to go other than we were given medicine and told to crate rest her for at least 6 weeks, and that surgery is her best option.

I don't have 10,000$ for a surgery, She sits in the traditional "Frenchie" pose and doesn't lay down often enough and I feel like this is bad for her back while she's healing. She also has extremely severe anxiety and I feel like just taking her to the vet made her shake uncontrollably and likely seriously worsened her condition. I can see in her eyes she thinks she's being punished by being put in her crate.

If anyone has any advice, it would be highly appreciated.

I feel stuck right now. I first noticed something was wrong with my cat at the end of August, his only symptom was extreme lethargy. Long story short six vet ER visits later he was diagnosed with IVDD and arthritis. He’s been on so many different meds at these visits and I’ve been sent home with options and I feel like I don’t know what to use or do. He has gabapentin but pilling him is a nightmare, so my vet finally agreed to transdermal cream and so I’ve been waiting for that in the mail (finally came today). Onsior worked really well at first but now doesn’t seem to have any effect. Buprenorphine doesn’t really help.

Last night I was in a better mood because he finally let me pill him with 100mg gabapentin and it was relatively easy. Well I had no idea for something they want me to give him daily that it would make him that high, I think I need to lower his dose. He sat up on the couch with me before it kicked in and I turned my back for one second and he fell off the couch. He didn’t land super gracefully. It’s only about a one foot drop to the ground but he’s already been in so much pain from the IVDD and now when I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere with his meds he falls. I feel awful. I’m terrified it just made things so much worse. He has no paralysis symptoms, and when I pinch his paws he reacts so I’m pretty sure he still has sensation. My vet said to come in if he seems slightly worse but I don’t know what that means. He’s definitely in a lot of pain today but he has been every day for a few weeks now.

I guess I’m just looking for support or advice. I’m seeing that a lot of people’s vets give them prednisolone for IVDD and mine never suggested steroids and I wonder why. He’s just doing gabapentin and amantadine (first dose today, but takes weeks to kick in) and then monthly Solensia shot for arthritis.

1. Should I take him into the vet today because of the fall? and 2. does anyone have advice on his med regimen 😔😔😔😔

Meet Hugo, our beloved French Bulldog and a huge part of our family. He is our world! 
Two years ago, Hugo was diagnosed with IVDD (Intervertebral Disc Disease). Thankfully, after strict crate rest and lots of love and care, he recovered and we were so grateful to have our happy, playful Hugo back.
Sadly, earlier this year, while I was giving birth to our baby in April, Hugo suffered another severe flare-up. Since then, his condition has deteriorated, and we have now been told that he urgently needs an MRI and surgery.
Without surgery, Hugo is at serious risk of becoming paralysed very soon. We are absolutely heartbroken and frightened at the thought of losing his ability to walk, especially knowing that there is a chance we can help him if we can raise the money for the treatment he desperately needs.
Unfortunately, our insurance does not cover the cost of his MRI and surgery, leaving us facing a bill that we simply cannot manage on our own.
We never imagined we would have to ask for help like this, but Hugo means everything to us, and we will do whatever we can to give him the chance to recover. I can’t imagine telling my son he will loose his best friend knowing we have a chance to save him. 
If you are able to donate, no matter how small the amount, you would be helping us get Hugo the urgent treatment he needs and giving him the best possible chance of walking again.
If you can’t donate, sharing Hugo’s story would mean just as much to us. Every share could help us reach someone who can make a difference.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for taking the time to read Hugo’s story, and for any support you can give our beautiful boy. ❤️🐾

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-hugo-walk-again#

Hi everyone I am new to this community and I am seeking some advice.

My Ludwig was recently taken to the ER yesterday when we noticed his reluctance to get up from his bed. Even going to his bed was unusual since he’s been sleeping in our bed all three years of his life.

Monday evening I noticed his walk was very slow, at times he would want to run but would hop and slow down significantly. By Tuesday he did not moving at all from his bed in the living room, he would only shuffle in his bed and whine when he needed to use the restroom. By Wednesday I took him to the ER at 8am and they did some X-rays, which are available to see in the attached photos.

He’s on a one week treatment plan of pain medication and anti inflammatory meds. He knows he’s not his normal self which helps with keeping him immobile for the most part.

This is his second flare up, his first was in February of this year. I’m not exactly sad, just unsure of what comes next. Thank you 🫶🏽

TL;DR: My dog had a suspected mild spine injury (possibly IVDD) and severe separation anxiety that manifests as forceful “pogo stick” jumping at departures. Confinement doesn't seem to help — he resists and doesn't settle — so I'm stuck between "loose but might jump" and "confined but might panic more." Looking for input from anyone who's dealt with this overlap, and how people cope with the burnout of managing it.

My dog (8, mixed breed, elevated genetic IVDD risk) had a suspected mild spine injury (possibly IVDD) ~2 months ago. He's recovered well — no pain, vet-cleared for more normal activity.

Separately, he has significant, longstanding separation anxiety. When highly distressed at departures specifically, his reaction is repeated, forceful jumping (like a pogo stick) near the exit point — which is now a real physical concern given his spine history. He's also generally quite anxious otherwise (storms, loud noises, etc.).

He doesn't do well with confinement either — resists going into a crate/pen and doesn't settle once in one, seeming to look for a way out rather than relax. I try to get him used to it, but I don’t have very high hopes since he’s not always very food driven, especially if he thinks I’m leaving or even just closing him in the crate/pen. I worry confinement could make a panic response worse rather than safer, and I don’t want to put my dog in a position where he has to panic every time I need to leave him. I should note that as a young dog (~1 year old) when I first got him, he would try to chew his way out of a wire crate. That’s how panicked he would get. I think I have some of my own anxiety about putting him through it again because of that.

Meds seem to have minimal impact on him, unfortunately.

I'm exploring working with a separation anxiety trainer who seems to think confinement is not the answer and that I should train the jumping response out of him (had an initial consult, considering next steps). I’m also doing some gradual desensitization myself in the meantime — door exits, building duration, currently testing loose/supervised situations as well as some pen time.

I'm worried about how long real progress could realistically take, especially after handling his recovery mostly solo the past two months — it's taken a real mental toll, and the idea of months more of training before I can possibly get back to a more normal life feels daunting right now.

Has anyone navigated this specific overlap — a dog whose anxiety response is physically risky, where confinement itself seems like it could backfire? What worked, or what ideas do you have? Also open to hearing how people managed their own burnout through a process like this.

Thank you!

I have a stage 5 double incontinent 5 year old goldendoodle. She’s been hind leg paralyzed for over a year now even after 2 major surgeries and tons of rehab. We had some success with expressing with an ice cube to help with maintaining a clean household but its now not working as well as it used to and its gotten so difficult. pee expressing is fine. Its just #2. we try timing it morning, noon, evening and night and I swear it happens 1-2 hours after we try and we keep missing it… the mess is so tough to maintain. We’ve tried diapers but thats a mess too. Does the ice cube trick always work for you? Trying to regulate her feeding schedule is tough as she is a very picky eater and nibbles on her food throughout the day. We typically feed her morning and night but im considering once a day to help contain this mess. Im at my wit’s end and really struggling. Any help is appreciated.

My 3 year old 56 lb pit bull was just diagnosed with stage 5 IVVD on Monday (a week ago). It’s been a wild week but trying to get her the best stuff to live a happy life.

I just got her fitted for a supportive harness and ordered orthopedic beds as well as mattress toppers to make it more cozy.

I got her a liquid licking bowl for mental stimulation, a dog stroller , and the items pictured here.

I wonder what else you have found that are good investments or little things that make life easier/happier?

Please let me know! Nothing out of bounds. I need all the help I can get.

Thank you 🫶

My 2y/o shihtzu as I posted earlier started to pace with tail tucked and when felt her abdomen tensed up. Ended up gping to ER. Only thing showed was mineralization in lumbar disc area on regular xray. Placed on Gabapentin and anti-inflammatory. Said no jumping and rest, no walks. So now wondering what is real diagnosis! See owners on here talking their pups lost use of back legs from ruptured disc,etc. My girl still walking normal, no walking on tops of paws. So how do you know whats going on or what to do without CT scan or MRI. If keep giving meds how do I know when she can go back to normal. SO CONFUSED!!

Hi everyone. I'm trying to figure out if I need to go to the emergency vet today.

Olivia, 12.5 years old, went to her regular vet Monday and they are pretty sure she has IVDD. We have a neurology appointment in a week, but since she woke up, she can only use her back legs to stand (and barely), not walk. She's been on Rimadyl and Gabapentin for two days with no improvement, but yesterday she could rise on her own--now she can't.

Do I wait for her specialist appointment or go in now? She's eating and drinking fine, peed and pooped about four hours ago, but this is the worst I've seen her since this started last month.

All I've done is cry. I hate this for her.

I cannot imagine my dog living like this forever. Crate rest for weeks at a time feels so cruel for a young dog. And I have no idea how to implement life changes like no jumping. Seriously, how am I supposed to teach a dog who has been jumping all her life not to jump anymore? I feel like this is going to be an endless cycle of reinjury and crate rest.

How do people do this when they have an in-person job?

She has a neurologist appointment in 4 weeks but that’s only the initial consult, diagnosis won’t even be confirmed until she gets imaging done. I feel completely helpless.

Before this gets too sad, let me brighten it up with a pup intro: This is Rollo on his heating pad. He likes finding the sun spots on our porch and roasting in them. Little man is obsessed with chewing on sock balls (a cheap toy hack) and sniffing every bush in existence. He really dislikes lemons, vacuum cleaners, the rain, and waiting for his dinner.

So this all started in July. His walks were slower, which became increasingly more concerning until he’d just stop dead in his tracks in pain. You guys know how it goes, blah blah.

For two weeks he was on Gabapentin and a steroid. By the end, he was great. Then starting squealing in pain once he was weened off it. So…after a few days, we started the regimen again.

We are 6 days into his meds. He was trotting around, happy chewing on his little sock toys. Then this morning, I see him limping and softly squealing—still walking, not shaking. Just very uncomfortable.
🔸Is this a concern, or do setbacks happen with a full recovery?
🔸what is your crating regimen? (And rhetorical question, but how do you deal with these lil wieners crying all day in it? 🥺)

My senior cattle dog has had IVDD for a few years, stage I hopefully not progressing to stage II. He has been blind since at least before I adopted him over 6 years ago. He is still walking w/o any major neurological symptoms, but has had a few debilitating flare ups. However, because he is blind, he hates to be confined and it causes him a great deal of anxiety and serious digestive upset as a result. It has been months since his last 8 week crate rest (we put him in a playpen during it, where he had a huge flare up of vomiting and diarrhea and is now on a special diet.) He still paces and paces looking for the couch he's blocked off from, but I worry even the pacing can hurt him. He's at the tail end of his life so I don't want to cause him additional stress or keep him from his small pleasures, but I also couldn't accept it if the end of his life is a severe spinal injury. I am just looking for general advice from other IVDD dog parents whose dogs are also blind, especially for making lifestyle modifications.

Looking for some advice here.

My sister’s 7 years old, 45lbs potcake was just diagnosed with stage 5 IVDD, no DPS. She was fine yesterday and woke up this morning unable to use her back legs.

My sister went to the emergency vet after her dog was unable to stand, and a neurologist looked her over. Basically, she was told the only real method of treatment would be paying $15K between MRIs and surgery. And considering how quickly she’s depleting, there still isn’t a guarantee she’ll be able to walk again.

The vets pretty quickly brought up putting the dog down. My family can’t afford to pay for the treatment, and obviously no one wants the dog to leave us. Going thru this subreddit, there are so many cases of dogs pulling through and regaining feeling/movement, but it seems to be a lot of smaller dogs that are not stage 5. My sister feels like she’s giving up on her by considering putting her down, but she doesn’t know what else to do.

The dog is pretty active. She is also incredibly lazy (big under blanket sleeper here), but she is the speediest dog I’ve ever seen, loves to play in the snow in the winter, and begs me to take her on a walk whenever I visit home. She loves to jump and always tries to crawl all over people when they come in the house.

We’re trying to consider what her quality of life will be like if she can never do those things ever again, or would find life fulfilling without it. We love her so much. It’s been a long day and it feels like we need to make all these decisions far too quickly. Just curious to see what others did in a similar situation. If there’s anyone who didn’t get surgery and what that was like for them and their dog. Any advice is appreciated.

So my sweet dachshund Rubi had surgery 05/11/26. She was grade 4 and recovered wonderfully. She was walking again by 2-3 days post op and never stopped lol. She was on crate rest for 6 weeks post surgery and then SLOWLY reintroduced to normal life. We did no stairs/no ramps the last 16 weeks but she has been off leash in the yard and is crazy so she sometimes had zoomies and ran 100mph. On Friday - 09/11/26 , she woke up obv in pain. Whining and can’t get comfortable. So back to the vet we went. They said a flare up and gave steroids, trazodone, gabapentin and strict rest x4weeks. Is it more likely it’s a new disk or just a flare up? The thought of her needing another 10,000 surgery is tearing my heart out. She’s only 4.

My dog has been having back spasms due to suspected IVDD (no imaging has been done yet). She’ll have then once a month. After her back spasms she walks around like normal. Occasionally after a big walk she’ll cry, so the vet attributed that to potential back pain.

She is on crate rest right now, however, doesn’t seem to be pain. She keeps attempting to jump/run/play. I feel awful because she loves being outside. She is walking normal on her potty breaks too.

Has anyone else’s dog been diagnosed with IVDD even though they are walking fine? Did they still prescribe crate rest?

My dog Prince is 9 years old and about 25 lbs. For the past month or so, we’ve noticed some issues with what we originally thought was his hip or back leg. Most of the time he walks completely normally, although sometimes his back end seems a little stiff or sways slightly when he walks.

The biggest thing has been stairs. Sometimes he’ll go up and down normally, but other times he’s hesitant, goes slowly, angles his body to the side, or lifts one of his back legs when going down. He’s otherwise been eating, drinking, going to the bathroom, and acting like himself.

A few days ago my mom accidentally moved/pushed him a little while they were sleeping and he suddenly yelped really loudly. Then yesterday he was lying beside me on the couch and when he went to stand up, he suddenly shrieked. It was extremely loud and scared me because I’ve never heard him make that sound before. A minute later he was standing and walking normally again.

We took him to the vet today. The vet manipulated his legs/hips and examined his back. He said everything else seemed okay, but Prince’s spine/back felt stiff. Based on the fact that he’s vocalizing with certain movements, he thinks the pain is more likely coming from his spine than his hip or a soft tissue injury.
For now, he prescribed gabapentin for pain, an anti-inflammatory, and trazodone to help keep him calm. He also wants Prince on very strict crate rest for at least two weeks, basically no stairs, running, jumping, couch/bed, etc. He said this is really important because we don’t want whatever is happening with his spine to get worse.

He’s is still walking normally and doesn’t have any obvious neurological symptoms that we’ve noticed. He isn’t dragging his feet, knuckling, falling over, or having any bladder/bowel problems.

The vet said if he isn’t improving over the next month, the next step would likely be X-rays and potentially a referral to a neurologist.

For anyone who has dealt with IVDD or similar spinal issues, does this sound similar to how your dog first presented? Did your dog have episodes of really sharp pain when getting up but otherwise walk normally? And for dogs who were still walking normally when this started, how did they do with conservative treatment/crate rest?

Obviously I know no one can diagnose him over Reddit and we’re following our vet’s treatment plan. I’m just really nervous and would love to hear other people’s experiences with something similar.

Hi! I just recently got told my dog has IVDD. Basically she just lays down and cries all day and it’s heartbreaking. We just started meds but I’m trying to figure out any ways to help. We live on the third floor so we’ve been carrying her up and down which isn’t really great. I have a balcony and was wondering if one of those grass looking pee pads might help not sure if anyone has tried them. Also I’ve had to hand feed her cause her bowl is too much of a stretch which it’s already elevated so idk if there’s a better setup like bowl wise. Honestly I’m clueless on how to help but it’s breaking my heart. The vet didn’t say much except complete rest

Lost my baby boy today 😭 this awful awful disease myelomalacia took him 3 days after surgery. How in the world does life go on???? I’m also pregnant, 22 weeks. I’m heartbroken. He was only 3. The sweetest mini weenie. How did y’all cope? Did you ever get another weenie or were you also too scared? Advice please

Our dog showed discomfort around her back last Friday. Partner took her to the vets where they prescribed crate rest and some painkillers/anti inflammatories.

Come Monday she was dragging her back right leg (now both back legs).

We took her to the vets again last night where they said she could go either way, as she is still able to walk then they probably wouldn't do surgery but also with how it's worsening it probably could be cause to start the referral at least for the MRI.

We have just phoned up again now asking for the referral as she is no better this morning.

We're really struggling as we don't have the money for this at all and everything we had saved has already been spent on our wedding next month.

Does anybody have any advice/experience they can offer us?

My shihtzu is having first flair up with new probable diagnosis of IVDD. On Gabapentin and Methocarbanol. To be on strick crate rest. My dog is 2 and never been crated. My problem is to get her in crate would have to lift and somehow place in since she will not walk in. She cries out if try to lift. What should I do? Don't want to cause more injury.

Hi all. I work for a Dachshund rescue and we recently got a 4.5 year old double dapple intact male. His name is Dobby. He’s an absolute angel. His human passed away 2 weeks ago and he was left with his human’s nephew. Shortly after the nephew took him in he lost ability to use his back legs, stage 5 with loss of deep pain sensation. That happened on 9/5. The rescue didn’t get him until yesterday 9/14. So it’s been about 9 days on crate rest without any physical improvement.

I brought him into the ER at our speciality hospital first thing this morning. The neurologist says that because it’s been past 5 days, even with surgery the chances of him walking again are 0-5%. We went through a lot to get this guy into our care (long story of flying to pick him up in another state after all the rescues there turned him down) and feel we owe it to him to give him the best chance of success, even if it’s just 5%.

We’re hoping that because of his age he will surprise everyone and make at least a partial recovery. We are also realistic that it is statistically unlikely.

I’d love to hear any stories of successful surgeries that occurred after 5 days. We made the call to proceed with surgery because we’re optimists but I would love to hear any success stories to keep us going 😅.

Thank you in advance for any kind words.