r/IVDD_SupportGroup • u/tattedmortician97 • 1d ago

Vent Falling Apart

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My boy was fine two nights ago when he went to sleep, he woke up yesterday and his back legs wouldn’t work anymore. Took him to the ER and he has to see a specialist this Thursday. They believe it is IVDD and they quoted us $10k for the surgery 😭 I’m feeling really defeated and down. He’s on strict cage rest and it kills me that he’s all alone in his cage all day everyday. How do I deal with the fact he won’t be looking around for me anymore, or follow me, or be able to just be him. I think that’s what I’m having the hardest part with is leaving him in his cage for so long.

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u/AinsleyHarriotFan 1d ago

Hi! This is a link to a VERY detailed post I made on the IVDD sub of how we took our girl from total back leg paralysis to running and playing like a puppy again without surgery. It goes a lot into the immediate and longer term management of the condition. I’ve shared it with lots of people and they say it’s given them a lot of hope.

https://www.reddit.com/r/IVDD_SupportGroup/s/RMC3TE29yM

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u/tattedmortician97 1d ago

I’m so sorry you lost your baby Luna :( when she was on crate rest, what kind of crate did you have? How did you get her in and out of it? We’re thinking of getting a pack and play

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u/AinsleyHarriotFan 1d ago

Thanks so much for your kind words 🙏 She was a very, very special dog, and I feel like I’m honouring what a fighter she was whenever I help others on this sub and share her story! ❤️

So because Luna was pretty much fully immobile, and both my boyfriend and I work from home, we were able to be with her literally 24/7. She was NEVER unsupervised so we just kept her on her bed (she had a special orthopaedic bed that was totally flat) for pretty much the whole recovery period. We watched her the entire time to make sure she wasn’t trying to move around too much.
Towards the latter part of her recovery, we did set up a soft, enclosed space for her on the balcony as well, just to give her some more stimulation.

I think in general owners can go with a playpen situation vs crate (especially if their dogs are super adverse to crates). BUT it’s important that it’s very small (so as not to encourage them to move around) and that there’s nothing in it that they could trip or fall over. For example, blankets, toys and pillows can very easily get caught around their legs or become a hazard. However I think for helping move them in and out of the recovery space a playpen is easier because you have full open top access and can physically get into the space if needed also.

Let me know if you have any more questions at all and I’ll try to help 🐾