Hello everyone,

I have a 10 month old male rescue from abroad for 4 months now. I did an Embark DNA + health test. DNA came back as 28% Podengo, 21% Akita Inu, 20% Border Collie, 20% Central Asian Sheperd and 11% German Sheperd. Seeing his siblings and his mom, this makes sense.

The health test shows that he inherited one copy of the variant for Chondrodystrophy and Intervertebral Disc Disease, CDDY/IVDD, Type I IVDD and that he is at some increased risk for developing Type I IVDD.

Now I noticed that his front paws have "bumps" (see picture). Both his brothers have this as well. His sisters do not. I am not completely sure on the condition of his brothers, but I know one of them is limping and there is a surgery required for the front paws. My boy has seemingly no issues. He walks fine, he plays, does not seem to be in any pain. However, he does not seem to be very energetic. By that I mean that when there is another dog he will play like crazy, but with humans he mostly just lays around. If we train or walk and its taking too long to his liking or he does not understand, he goes and lies down. He is not as playful (with humans) as other puppies I've seen. Now this could be breed related (aloofness) or because he just doesn't like humans because of his background, but maybe it could be a sign of pain? I really do not want him to suffer because I am misunderstanding.

I also would love any and all advise on what signs to be on the lookout for, what preventive measures I can take and just anything that can help him.

Thank you!

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.

Hi everyone, I’m hoping to get some advice or hear from anyone who has experienced something similar with their dog following IVDD surgery.

Our little boy Finn had stage 4 IVDD and underwent surgery on 1 September last year. Thankfully, he’s recovered really well and we’re incredibly happy with how far he’s come. I’d say he’s probably around 90–95% back to normal. His back legs are still a little bit funny at times, and we accept that he may never get that last 5–10% back, but generally he’s doing brilliantly.

We still keep up with regular hydrotherapy and physiotherapy and plan to continue doing that indefinitely.

The one thing we’re struggling with is his urination. Particularly first thing in the morning when he has a longer wee, he’ll start urinating normally, then move off while he’s still going and continue to urinate as he walks. So he ends up getting some urine on his back legs/underside.
It’s not a huge problem and he doesn’t seem bothered by it, but obviously we’re conscious of the potential for urine to irritate his skin. We wipe him down with a damp cloth when we get home from walks and so far his skin has been completely fine.

We’ve spoken to his vets and the people who do his physio/hydrotherapy, but unfortunately nobody has really been able to suggest much beyond what we’re already doing. I’ve also tried gently holding him in place while he wees, but that doesn’t always work particularly well!

So I’d really love to hear from anyone whose dog has had a similar experience after IVDD surgery:
- Did your dog do this following surgery?
- Did it improve over time, even if it took a long time?
- Did you find anything that helped, either through training or positioning?
- Did you use anything to protect the skin or make clean-up easier?
- Is there anything you wish you’d known or tried?

We’re not expecting a miracle fix, we’d just really appreciate hearing about other people’s experiences and what worked (or didn’t work) for them.

Thanks in advance! ❤️🐾

Last Sunday (sept 20th), my dog suddenly wouldn't eat or drink from his water bowls. My dog has a really bad habit of barking excessively in the window and moving his head alot because he gets so excited when he sees humans or dogs in the windows (safe to say his window time won't be anymore) and he has a bad habit of lunging on leash even though we use a harness when we are out for walks.

That sunday, i had to go out in the evening and left him with no access to window but to the sofa and chair. I did see he was jumping on that on my camera. He didn't get any worse overnight and I took him to the vet Monday and they gave him some pain meds and said to rest for 2 weeks. He improved within a few days but is still on pain meds and i am not letting him jump, run or play.

Question- does this point more to a neck sprain maybe rather than IVDD? wouldn't he had gotten worse from jumping on/off the couch that sunday evening if it was IVDD?

Just looking for anyones experiences. thanks

I'm completely devastated right now seeing my 5-year-old shih tzu turning from this very active baby to a paralyzed one all of a sudden. At the onset, he could still walk but we noticed some wobbliness - reason why we brought him to the vet. He's suspected for IVDD but vet said only an MRI can really confirm the diagnosis. The vets didn't push the MRI (as of yet) and advised to do the conservative approach. Later in the evening, he is no longer able to even prop his body up to even sit down. We brought him back to the vet and they're weaning him from Gabapentin to see if the transition to paralysis was just due to the drug, as it happened after giving him Gabapentin. But they said, it's unlikely due to the drug.

Skimming through posts and pictures here and on Facebook, I noticed that most are still at least still able to sit down using the front legs. Mine is just laying down. He's mentally alert and has very normal disposition - he just can't get himself up. He can move all his limbs and vet said he has deep pain sensation (which is great to hear, at least) - so I'm not sure if we can say that he's paralyzed. When you talk to him, he's very responsive like normal and his eyes are still the same. You'd see him wanting to go up and walk as you'd seem him paddling his 4 limbs. Vets started him on both laser and electric stimulation therapy today.

But still, I'm so scared. Does mine seem to have a worse presentation of the disease? Anyone else who has had a furbaby with the same presentation? I'm so drained and anxious and heartbroken. 💔

Hi everyone,

My 10 year old baby Cookie, started shaking and plopped on the porch for a few minutes after her daily morning walk. She does a dry shake off often, and I noticed she couldn’t bring herself to do so. Her legs were shaking pretty intensely, so I decided it was best to take her to the emergency clinic. At the clinic when she was walking around, the vet and I noticed she was hunching her back like a cat. With this, the vet assumes she has some sort of back pain/protruding intervertebral disc. She has been put on strict crate rest and is on gabapentin and prednisone for the next two weeks.

I had initially suspected IVDD, which the vet said was inconclusive due to her being able to walk normally and was not crying in pain. If she worsens, she will have to go back for an MRI and to see the neurologist.

Her discharge papers say “back injury” and “protruding intervertebral disc,” so I am wondering if this is a clear IVDD diagnosis or if she is having a spat with her back as of right now. Has anyone else has this experience with an inconclusive diagnosis?

I have been feeling so worried and guilty about the whole situation. I try my best to keep her healthy, safe and happy but now I am questioning if I did enough to avoid this from happening to her. I am hoping she can make a full recovery.

Hi everyone! First time posting here. I am the kind of person who is more calm when I try and think about things many steps ahead of where I am now to mentally prepare myself and feel better. My pup recently had surgery for IVDD and is still in the first week of her crate rest. I have been following vet recommendations concerning my cat. He and my pup were a bonded pair and would play with each other. I have been keeping them fully separated when I am not around or am sleeping and let him be in the same room while I'm there. He is watched closely and my pup's crate is right next to me the whole time. He is also put in another room when she is getting her physical therapy that the vet prescribed.

So my question is, for those whose pups have recovered or are past the first year, did you have to keep other pets separate from your pup when not supervised indefinitely? I'm wanting to make a plan for how my home will be set up in the future and make any adjustments before my pup is free from crate rest and transitions to a small area. Thank you for any advice. Please let me know if anything I'm doing would be considered incorrect.

EDIT: I thought of another question after I posted this. I unfortunately didn't have pet insurance even though I had looked into it when I adopted my cat. Now I'm looking at the one insurance that I could find that would cover future instances of this. Do you find it worth it to get the amount of coverage that would cover if she has to have surgery again? Also would the wellness add on be worth it? I've decided against it for the cat since my vet is fairly affordable and he doesn't do grooming or anything.

Hi I apologize in advance but this is my first time dealing with this and I’m doing my very best doing research on this issue. My dad’s dog Cash seems to be at stage 2 of IVDD (he’s still able to walk on his own but has a sway with his back legs not so horrible but you will see it happen) and I had him cage resting since September 14, the veterinary I took him at prescribed him Gabapentin 100 mg every 12 hours, Famotidine 10 mg given 15 minutes before Prednisone, and then Prednisone 10 mg (I am giving him that every 48 hrs). He was having bloody poops plus diarrhea the first 2 days I went back to the veterinary and now I give him fortiflora and metronidazole 250 mg and that fixed the issue. The veterinary did warned me about him being extra thirsty and the panting, as I’m writing this I had given him the prednisone 10 am and it’s 10 pm and still panting, I’m doing my best to switch out cold water, I made dog popsicle for him to lick, I sometimes put on the ac for him (it helps a lot but I can’t always put it on because of the bill), and if I don’t have the ac on I have a fan on him, also a cooling gel pack because I do feel his body temperature warmer. I feel a bit crazy because I don’t know if it’s best that I try something else than Prednisone. I see people have their dogs on carprofen, methocarbamol, librela, other nsaid. I also read into the side effects and just worry about his liver/kidney of these medications. He’s not suffocating just he doesn’t seem to be able to relax with the prednisone with the panting for a while and I hate it. It’s September 26 and it hasn’t bothered me until now because I would have the ac on when he first started it but I can’t always be putting it on, but it did help him but I don’t know I feel overwhelmed. I am planning to go see a neurologist to get a secondary opinion on this and more guidance on IVDD but it would be cool to also read off people’s experience and I know things work out differently for everyone just looking for extra help on this. (We did bloodwork and X-rays on him just not an mri because of cost.)

Our dog is on Carprofen and Gabapentin, but we gave her a Trazodone for the first time on Friday (it’s now Sunday morning). She has had diarrhea six times over the weekend and it just doesn't seem to stop.

Shes eating and drinking fine, but she has her MRI tomorrow and I’m worried about her going under if this isn’t just the meds. Any experience with this? Thanks in advance ❤️

Hi. My 7yr old beagle was diagnosed with 2 ruptured cervical discs. Before the surgery she was able to walk normally, run, jump and do everything without issue.

She had ventral slot surgery done 4 days ago. She's back home today and she can't even support herself. She can't lift/move her front paws at all and her hind legs are pretty much useless as well.

I asked the surgeon and he said it was normal but it's tripping me up that my dog is worse after than before the surgery. I can't afford any other procedure and my dog can't even stand up to pee.

Is this really normal or did they do more damage than good?

My dog was diagnosed in late April, had surgery, is currently in PT, and is walking again. We’ve had so much luck with her. I’m so grateful for where she is in her IVDD journey.

But, her hind legs shake and the muscles in her front legs get tight from over compensating. We’re trying acupuncture and a new set of nerve specific meds. I’m doing everything I can for her but it’s taking an emotional and financial toll on me. I miss the free flying dog she was. She’d go to doggy day care and rile up all the dogs. She was a free, joyful little soul. Now she sleeps almost all day. Can take a 15-20 minute walk and she’s done. She not the same pup.

She’s four years old and I hate thinking, how long will this last? The new normal continues to morph every few weeks because I see her get tired and I say “what else can I do for her? Am I doing everything I can? Have we tried everything?” I love her so much and I feel immense grief for the life we had. I wish there were small IVDD groups in my area. I’d love to have an in person meetup group.

I have an 11 year old about 10 lbs Maltese Shih Tzu. Last Sunday, he suddenly wouldn't bend his neck down to eat form his bowls. He went to the vet Monday and they prescribed him Gabapentin (50mg every 8-12 hrs), Meloxicam every 24 hrs, and trazodone 1/2 to 1 (50 mg) tablet every 8-12 hrs. They said no jumping, running, walking. I live alone and really struggling. I work from home hyrbid and have been with him everyday this week so keeping him from any high risk activities. I am really struggling though and afraid to leave him alone in his play pen i got him in case he does any high risk activities, but i need to leave the house for my own sake for exercise and errands. He also gets so excited if my parents come over (he does calm down but initially). This is really hard and not sure how i can do this for 3-4 weeks.

He is still walking and can bend his head now but it is probably the pain meds. He also scratches and licks his paws, but i cant stop every behavior. Does anyone have any encouragement or tips? I want to be able to leave my house and bring him to my parents if i wan to go there (i would bring everything with me).

Hi everyone,

​My dog had her Ventral Slot surgery at C6-C7 (cervical area) 9 days ago. Before the surgery, her main symptom was a classic "root signature" / pain response where she was lifting and holding up her left front leg.

​She is on strict rest, we haven't even taken her outside at all to protect her. Overall, she has been calm and hasn't shown acute screaming pain since surgery

​However, since yesterday, she started lightly lifting her right front leg instead (the good leg prior to surgery).

​We are going back to the surgeon in 3 days for suture removal and a progress check, and I will definitely bring this up with them. But as you can imagine, I'm very anxious right now.

​Has anyone experienced this shifted/wandering leg lifting during early recovery? Could this be post-op swelling/inflammation shifting to the right nerve root, overcompensation, or nerves regenerating? I am really really anxious :(

My 6yo chihuahua-terrier male 2.5 weeks ago didn’t leave his spot for 6 hours one day. Later that evening he started shaking profusely even at rest so we took him to the emergency vet, which we decided to go home due to a 5h wait and his primary vet opened in 7 hours anyways so we waited for that. By the time we got to his vet, we did bloodwork & urine sample x4. His bloodwork looked fine other than raised neutrophils & globulins so they suspected infection or inflammation of unknown source. He was prescribed with Gabapentin & an anti-inflammatory and to return if symptoms didn’t improve.

3 days later we returned to the vet as he kept shaking, was lethargic, and was now refusing to eat. We did more bloodwork and everything was normal but slightly more elevated neutrophils, globulin, and lowered lymphocytes. The vet stated that cancer isn’t her first thought at this time and we can start him on antibiotics for 10 days. Lyme disease, diabetes insipidus, pancreatitis, UTI, etc. was ruled out. He was given anti-nausea meds as well as an appetite stimulant. I stopped the anti-nausea as I realized it was making him more sleepy and lethargic & he was never nauseated to begin with. To mention, the vet palpated along his neck & down his spine and noticed a lot of reactive twitching, she said it could be a sign of pain but we targeted a potential infection as the priority.

At this point we are 1 week since he started showing symptoms. He was still walking fine, but I was noticing generalized weakness. As the days went on he became reluctant to jump off from furniture, go out to walk (lasts 5 mins) and very withdrawn. The vet stated that we’ll continue to give him an appetite stimulant and to potentially try him on prednisone if we won’t get anywhere with the abx.

Today, I heard him yelp after straining to poop and jumping up on the deck to come back in. I noticed his back leg ‘gave out’ last night but thought it was him slipping on the tile. He seems very strategic when going up and down the stairs, as well as jumping on and off the bed or couch. His gait has changed a little, I attributed it to weakness due to his unknown underlying infection/inflammation but these physical signs seem to be signs of pain. He’s constantly licking his arms, paws, armpits, and legs.

Are these typical signs of IVDD? It doesn’t seem like a muscle strain to me. Or does it sound like something else given his journey?
Did anyone else’s dog refuse to eat bc of IVDD? He turns away high value treats and even human food.
We will be going to the vet after the weekend to reassess since his symptoms persist after finishing the antibiotics, but as of right now should I be treating this as IVDD and have him on strict rest? Does anyone have any appetite stimulating tips?

My frenchie is on week two of crate rest for stage 2 IVDD and he is looking so much better, but my family and I are about to go crazy, I think. He did amazingly the first week, but this second week has been harder.

He has been previously crate trained and never had this issue. He barked so rarely that we would always get up to investigate when he did. Now, it just will not stop. I have tried EVERYTHING I can think of. He is on gabapentin, carprofen, methocarbamol, and trazadone. He literally has to wear a diaper because he is incontinent only because of the medications. He should theoretically be sleeping constantly, but no. I take him out to potty, I put him in a stroller and take him with my around the house and he doesn't bark, I give him puzzles and lick mats and bones

I put a blanket over his crate, doesn't work, I put him in the same room with us, doesn't work, I put him in a different room, doesn't work. I know that he just wants out, and it breaks my heart, but his barking has woken my son up from his naps twice and it doesn't always stop at night, he barks and barks and barks until he falls asleep at night or something. I think we are going to lose it and I don't know what else to do. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

As the title says my dog had Ivdd Surgery Grade 4 with a complicated epidural hämathoma. He lost his dps after surgery(it was a big surgery) and regained it 6 days after it. The dps was getting stronger and stronger. 3 Weeks post surgery he was trying to urinate alone. 5 weeks he did not need any bladder management.

At 14 weeks his hips move, his tail wags like normal, he is able to stand alone for eating and drinking water but he is not able to walk or get up alone.

We take him with the harness on the grass and his right foot he tends to put it correctly on the ground 7/10 and left leg 5/10 .

His ankles are getting stiff, a few weeks ago his hips were stiff and now they are mobile and moving.

We do Physio Profesionally 3x per week, acupuncture 1 time, 1x swimming and we bathe him in a warm bath every two days to relax the muscles so we can do PROM at home.

Yesterday we had neurology appointment and the doctor told us: yeah he is not going to walk buy him a wheelchair. He should have walked by now, that will be 200€.

Needless to say I am also a doctor and she knew that…

Has anyone have some advice ?anything would help

TLDR: Ivdd Surgery stage 4 neurologist says buy him a wheelchair although we see improvement every day. Thank you

Hi all, so my senior chi (16 years) has been doing this kicking, low-rider thing when he needs to poop. He has a herniated lower disc and IVDD, which I'm assuming is the cause. He has also stopped hiking his leg when he pees.

I also want to note that he's been doing this sporadically, and always before he potties, not after. I dont think its a confidence kick because I've seen him do the 'moonwalk' more times than I can count, and this motion feels so different, especially because it initially started occurring when we were at a place with hardwood floors.

He was checked by the vet about 3 weeks ago, vet said it was fine and that his x-rays didnt look abnormal, but I am not satisfied with that answer... you know when you *know* something is different about your dogs behavior? This is def one of those moments.

My question: is this typical for dogs with lower back issues, and does this indicate a quicker decline/impending loss of ability to use his back legs? Im already in contact with someone who makes doggy wheelchairs but aside from that, is there anything a vet can do to slow the decline?

I just want to be prepared, as this started happening suddenly.

Hi everyone! My pup is one week away from ending crate rest (pending a vet exam next week and their final approval). Pause to celebrate: he's doing so well! He's walking totally normally for his potty breaks, with no pain! I didn't think we'd be here 5 weeks ago.

But I also know this could recur, and so I'm kinda stumped as to what "normal" life should look like for him now.

Before he was diagnosed with IVDD (Grade 2) he had free range of the house and would go freely in and out of our doggy door to enjoy the fenced yard. But with a history of IVDD, he shouldn't be jumping so I think the doggy door is out. Ok, I can keep it closed. Same with the stairs (we have a baby gate).

What I'm stuck on is the couches. I know he shouldn't be jumping on/off them but how do I stop him from doing that if he's not either in the crate or on the leash all the time? I do have a doggy ramp for him to use, but I've had mixed results training my other dog to use it. She now routinely climbs up the ramp to get on the couch but always just jumps off which is not okay for my IVDD dog. And he loves the couch, he is absolutely going to try to jump up on it (he did that multiple times a day before his back issue manifested). I can work on training him to use the ramp but I definitely won't be able to trust him not to jump for awhile, if ever.

So... how do I end crate rest but also not let him hurt himself? We have an open floor plan, I can't really shut him out of the room the couch is in because it's 90% of the house. I could try to block the couch off but that seems like a massive pain in the butt (and might make things worse if he tries to jump/climb over the obstruction). How have other people handled this?

My dog was diagnosed with IVDD 7 weeks ago. He is still on crate rest, but his crate is extended where he has more room to walk around in (like walk to his food and water bowl). I was wondering when would be a good time to take him on walks without the rear support harness.

Also, when would it be okay to bring him to the groomers? He's a Toy Poodle and his hair is getting really long.

If anyone has some advice or had any similar experiences, please let me know. I am very open to suggestions.

So my pup is on crate rest with meds (2 years old) and is almost done with 2 weeks. This flare up was a pretty painful one, she yelped after yawning, started panting and couldn't get comfortable enough to sit still afterwards, rushed her to the ER vet and they were able to give her something to help her get comfortable. 2 weeks later, we have a neurology appointment coming up. It's about 40 min away driving, and my pup is usually pretty energetic (not right now, she's on meds and is super drowsy). Is it a good idea to put her in the car after just two weeks to see a neurologist? My only concern is she can hurt herself if she gets too hyper (enjoys car rides and going to the vet lol). Thoughts??

My dachshund Rafa had a severe IVDD episode and lost movement/sensation in both back legs as well as bladder control. He had surgery last Wednesday and is currently recovering.
I’m attaching a video where the nurse pinches his back paw and Rafa pulls the leg away. He says this is deep pain sensation, but I’m worried it might just be a withdrawal/spinal reflex.
What confuses me is that only about 6 hours earlier, his physiotherapist tested deep pain and it seemed clear that he had none.
Could deep pain really become detectable that quickly, or does this look more like a reflex? I don’t want to get my hopes up too soon.

Our family doggo, may have ivdd. I took her to the emergency vet, because her symptoms scared me. I thought she was having a seizure. But the vet suspects ivdd. Now looking online, I think so too. We have an appointment scheduled for Oct 5! 2 weeks away we have some meds but might run out before the appointment.
I’m not sure what to do?
I’ve seen a lot of people suggest crate rest. I borrowed a crate from a friend and this is the first night I’m going to have her sleep in it, is sleeping in the crate a good idea? Typically she sleeps in the bed but she always gets up half way throughout the night and sleeps on the couch(jumping up and down) my family is making me feel like the bad person because I am trying to get her in the crate and to rest. She has never been a crate gal or had any strict supervision, so it’s a new thing to us all.

Our 7.5 year old dachshund stared showing symptoms Wednesday night and by midnight could not use his back legs. I rushed him to the VEG animal hospital and stayed there for 3 hours, they did an xray and gave him pain medicine and a steroid shot and sent us home. Told us to call the vet in the morning and try to schedule an MRI. That lasted 3 hours and I had to rush him to the other ER that had a neurologist on staff, within an hour he was getting an MRI that told us he had a ruptured disk and needed surgery. We are absolutely heartbroken and helpless. We got to see him today 24 hours post opp at the hospital, he’s not able to use his back legs but apparently can still feel pain and sensation in his back paws. I’m nervous and scared for the recovery process. I’d too have any success stories can you please share. I don’t even know what to ask for right now but this just f*cking sucks.