My minature daschund of 5 years started to be wobbly a few days ago immediately took her to the vet its obviously its early ivdd she's dragging her back paws but shes not in pain thankfully🙏 were giving her constant care mine and my partners problem is shes not crate trained so a crate is a no go it would cause major stress and likely injury herself. I would love to hear some stories about recovery going well or any advice to get her acclimatised to the cage we've put our clothes in there and her food bowl. She loves food so much shes just so heart broken right now because there's nothing more she loves than to be running up and down hills. I wish everyone whos struggling the best of luck and prayers

My husky got injured last week Wednesday by doing a turn on floor tiles and ended up with her back legs doing a split. She seemed okay and then the next day was limping and back legs had a bit of shaking. Friday morning we got ready to take her to the vet, she could walk with a bit of a wobble but struggled getting herself up off the ground.

Vet did some tests and she had deep pain and inflammation. No MRI or X-rays and we opted for meds and strict crate rest instead of surgery

Today is Tuesday, she isn’t walking anymore like she was when we took her to the vet. She’s able to readjust herself by flipping her body with front paws and wags her tail, has twitches in her legs when she sleeps and no issues with bladder control but she doesn’t stand, sit or walk.

I’m so terrified and my heart is absolutely breaking for her and myself and my husband. I feel like I’m waiting in a long game with so much uncertainty. I feel like I just need some reassurance my baby girl is going to be okay 😭😭💔

Hi everyone. I’m posting because I’m feeling completely overwhelmed and heartbroken, and I’m hoping to hear from people who have experienced something similar.
My Frenchie, Frankie, is approximately 9 years old and has had multiple IVDD flare-ups. During his previous episodes, he experienced significant hind-leg weakness. After his last flare, he regained the ability to walk somewhat independently, but he never fully recovered. He continued dragging both hind paws, particularly on slippery floors or when trying to move quickly.
Unfortunately, Frankie experienced another severe flare a few days ago, and this time things are significantly worse.
He can barely move his hind legs and is unable to walk. He has occasionally managed to stand briefly, but he doesn’t have meaningful control of his back legs. He also experiences involuntary spasms and kicking movements when his hind legs, paws, or groin are touched.
The biggest and most heartbreaking change is that he’s completely lost voluntary bladder control.
He’s continuously incontinent, and despite my efforts to keep him clean and dry, he’s developing worsening urine scald and dermatitis around his groin. I’m constantly changing diapers and absorbent pads, gently cleaning him, and trying to give his skin time to breathe.
Our veterinarian has treated him with high-dose dexamethasone injections and medications to keep him comfortable. Unfortunately, the steroids have also caused significant panting, excessive thirst, increased urination, and restlessness.
Our vet recently suggested that we seriously consider euthanasia because of Frankie’s recurrent spinal injuries, worsening neurological function, incontinence, skin complications, and overall quality of life.
I’m absolutely devastated.
Frankie is the definition of a Velcro dog. He’s always been attached to me and wants nothing more than to be beside me. Being confined to a crate and unable to follow us around has been incredibly stressful for him.
When I lie beside his crate, he almost immediately relaxes and falls asleep. He still enjoys eating, licking his peanut butter ball, receiving affection, and interacting with us. I still see my Frankie in there.
And that’s what makes this so incredibly difficult.
I’m considering taking him to a veterinary neurologist for a second opinion before making any irreversible decisions.
I’m hoping to hear from anyone who has experienced severe or recurrent IVDD, particularly with paralysis and urinary incontinence.

Hello. I was wondering if anyone knew where I could go to find financial help for my dog's IVDD surgery?

Our beloved dog of 4yo became paralyzed overnight. He came home from surgery on Saturday, and we paid for the surgery so he could be taken care of the day it happened, but struggle to cover much else. We paid nearly $9,000 for CT, surgery, 2 nights of recovery care, and some supplies for his recovery journey and vet appointments.

Im not sure where to go or where to start. Im just looking for tips, as my local community doesn't have much in the way of help. Im looking for a support group as well, as this is a new and heartbreaking journey.

My dog was diagnosed with IVDD. She has several hotspots. I noticed it from her back legs slipping. She went on the crate rest regime and she got more energy, but I think her back leg weakness is something we will have to live with. It wasn’t an event h thr at caused it. She’s 11 and has the degenerative one.

She’s gotten a lot more energy though since the initial diagnoses and I think it’s from our weekly sessions for cold laser and our daily use of her red light therapy pack. I can see she’s not in pain and is always running and acting like her self again. I use luma or lume I forgot for her red light.

Also, MetLife covers her cold laser and hydrotherapy. They are pretty awesome! After her MRI, the vet wrote she would do good with the treatments so he insurance would cover.

My ten year old toy poodle had surgery on October 1 so she is three weeks post op. She had pain sensation before surgery but couldn’t walk. She can stand herself up on her own and she can stand in one place with all paws positioned correctly. She was knuckling her back left but in the past few days that has mostly disappeared.

She can do her five minute potty walk with a sling, and with that support she is able to move both her hind legs in walking motions but definitely wouldn’t be able to walk on her own yet. She starts physical therapy this week.

How long did it take your dog to start walking unassisted again? I know three weeks post op is early yet but I’m so anxiously waiting for the day she can take some wobbly steps on her own!

Hi my frenchie just got diagnosed with ivdd the other day she’s unable to stand and at the vet they said I have to be expressing her bladder and they just said apply firm pressure to her stomach no demonstration nothing. I went home and the next day I was unable to make her pee I took her back to the vet and I asked them to give me physical demonstration because I am struggling at home and he showed me how he did it but he said she’s tense and nervous and just to help her relax a bit before I do and I am trying everything and I just can’t seem to get it right and I just feel so defeated and the vet just keeps telling me to watch YouTube and I am but it’s just not working any tips or anything?

UPDATE: after several breakdowns I was able to get her to relax on my lap and I applied pressure to her abdomen and I started to wipe her parts and she went pee thankfully!

It’s only four days into my dogs conservative IVDD recovery treatment and he twitched! I’m not sure if that’s a sign he’ll walk again, but it still was amazing to see since he previously didn’t move his legs or feet at all when touched! We noticed him sit up with a tiny possible support of his back legs so I decided to tickle his feet to see what would happen and his foot twitched ever so slightly.

Our big baby girl Sadie's MRI results came back with a low probability diagnosis of Stage 5 IVDD.

20% -40% chance to ever regain mobility.

I'm asking for some advice bc we don't have the support we need to improve her quality of life post-op. If you had an unsupportive family who all suggest putting her down is the kinder thing to do, but your mom is insistent of doing the surgery, but we all work during the day- what would you do?

I'm personally at peace with the decision of putting her down after long conversations and Pros and Cons. Because I know Sadie is such a vibrant and happy go-lucky pupper, it will break my heart to see her in her own filth, depressed, and in pain, while we all are working.

"What can we do to offer her the best quality of life without breaking the bank?" Is the mentality we have bc while we all work, my dad and sister are the only ones that have reasonable paying jobs. My sis has a child and a husband, and my dad is just a cruel old man, oh and I have a brother but he's not as interested in a dogs life then his band.

While that, I'm also dealing with the hardship of searching, researching, hopeless calls, unfavorable pricing estimates, and gas. In which I'm listing to not complain but to shed more light on the family dynamic I'm coming from.

I don't live with my parents, and would take her in if it wasn't for the second floor studio I live in. Foster care and adoption in my eyes are not options, bc it's unfair.

How can I give her the best outcome, when the environment she lives in doesn't care or are emotionally available for her reserved or PT care post Op? The decision thru and thru is a hard one, because all these variables come to play due to the lack of action my parents have. But I don't blame anyone as this IVDD became major overnight.

I would appreciate any advice on this matter and in making the best decision for my Sadiewaddie.

Edit: we are at the emergency vet, they are writing him some prescriptions for pain meds and giving him some now. Thanks guys.

Edit 2: He has meningitis. The Neuro is confident he will pull through, and thank God it's not IVDD. He will be okay!!

I feel like I am making it worse constantly.

The vet thinks it might be a pinched nerve in his neck/shoulder, (Not ruling out ivdd) we are doing prednisone and gabapentin, then we reasses in a few weeks to see if a specialist/neurologist is needed that that point because he can walk, he is eating and drinking, pottying just fine. But he is in a lot of pain. When I pick him up I try to support his head, and my full arm goes under him to stablize his back. He just cries anytime I pick him up to go potty. He doesn't like to move on his own because his neck hurts so I have to re-position him every few hours. If I don't he will cry.

I'm really heartbroken and just need some help, or just to know that I'm not the only one that feels like I'm failing him.

Just wondering how everyone else is managing maybe any fear they have of flare ups or anxiety surrounding it possibly happening. Yes, I have sought therapy and am starting soon! Just wondering if anybody has any suggestions. Thank you!

Hello All! My yorkie recently fell down the stairs and when I took her to the vet they did an xray and said her disc are pinched. They said she has IVDD but caused from the accident technically. She moves around but when she does her neck gets stiff and she throws it back. The vet gave me gaba and meloxidyl. The xray was today and I haven’t given her any medicine. I’ve tried giving her some water but she threw up after. The MRI and surgery is to expensive for me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Looking to hear all stories and insights of the procedure and your experiences please. Thank you!

My 6 year old weenie dog mix has gone from being playful, active, and energetic to being paralyzed all in a day. I took him out on walks just days before with no issues or warning signs. He had even gone out the morning it happened with no issues, but after I came home from college after eight hours he was reluctant to move. When he finally did to go potty he was wobbly and looked drunk. We rushed him to an emergency vet where the doctor told us he believed it’s IVDD. He then proceeded to quote us 3,000 just to stay overnight and go to neurology, not including an additional 5,500 for an MRI, which also didn’t include surgery based off of what they’d find.

They said he showed signs of mobility and deep pain sensation which was good. I felt like I wanted to vomit and was shaking, I’m a full time college student with a dead end job and had literally little to no savings. The vet tech took me aside and told me she experienced a similar situation with her dog when she was in college and broke and recommended I try strict crate rest and meds. The doctor prescribed us some pain relief meds, anti inflammatory’s, and also some muscle relaxers worth a week’s dose.

However, overnight it seemed to worsen and now his back legs and tail are paralyzed and he doesn’t react when I pinch his toes. Another Vet gave me a months dose of the same medication and taught me how to express his bladder. It’s the first week of his recovery and I’m still so worried that I failed him already and that he may not recover. I’m keeping up hope because he shows the will to eat and overall still behaves like himself other than being a bit frustrated that he can’t do what our other dog does.

I feel so overwhelmed and I’m getting little sleep but I think I’m adjusting. It’s been an emotional roller coaster just this week. I want to try my hardest for the best recovery for my baby, so please any tips, tricks, strategies, funding options, and even stories would help so much. I’m trying my best to stay positive because I know he’s a strong pup but it’s been so jarring how everything happened so fast and suddenly.

Hello! Our four year old rescue frenchie went to the vet showing signs of pain 10/02. She was walking fine just hunched and slower and shaking a lot. Vet diagnosed her with mild ivdd. She’s been on NSAIDS ( rimadyl ), muscle relaxer, gabapentin and crate rest since. She is now pretty much normal most of the time and really want to go back to being playful even though we are keeping her from it. The only remaining symptom is occasional muscle spasms that last for five to fifteen minutes. She previous has these episodes several times a day and though out the night. Now she has them maybe once a day or not at all and has none in the night.
I am curious if a steroid is a better option for her than the NSAID as progress on these spasms seems to have stalled. If not is there anything else in particular that helps with the spasms?

I was hopeful seeing so many success stories. Sadly my 3 year old maltipoo passed away 2 nights ago 7 days after getting IVD and having her back legs suddenly taken away from her on day 1. We did everything we could taking her to different vets and getting medication and crate resting her but she seemed to continually get worse including non stop digestion issues. On her final days she couldn't even move from her side laying down anymore. We took her to the vet one last time and they said she had myelomalacia which is a rare condition that eats away all of the nerves and that cant seem to be stopped. We did the hardest thing we had to do and put her to sleep. I hope all your doggos have a nice recovery.

Hi. My baby Trina was afflicted with cervical IVDD about a month ago. She is 15 (as of yesterday 🎉) and a dachshund; we’ve been doing conservative treatment with meds and rest. And she has come a long way.

What began as little movement in the back legs and none in front has resolved somewhat to full support and voluntary movement in back and voluntary movement in front, but only able to walk on her elbows. I see this when she goes to the bathroom, which itself has now become a much less stressful endeavor for her. She’s able to go with relative ease.

I have concerns about her developing an impediment with the elbow walking so I don’t allow her to do it much. I have an appointment with a rehab center in two weeks hoping they can point me in a good direction. But I would love to talk with anyone who’s been through this about what little at home exercises or treatments I could do in the meantime.

Any ideas? Perspectives on how things might go from here? Words of encouragement? Advice? Literally any and all is appreciated.

Sending love.

After day 2 we saw significant improvement. But on Tuesday when I went to work, my girlfriend let him out to potty without a leash, and he heard a dog, started running and hurt himself more. He yelped and hopped back on his right leg with his left leg tucked. We went to an urgent care and the vet there did a physical exam. He didnt yelp in pain when she examined him. But when he walked, he walked to the side and then wobbled to the ground. He has been on strict crate rest since on the same pain med regimen. He had been doing two bowel movements a day and urinating twice a day, but today he has only urinated once at noon and it's causing me serious anxiety. Every time we try to take him out with the help of his sling he refuses to walk and he shakes as soon as we get outside. Thinking if be doesnt potty by 6 in the morning I'm taking him to the emergency vet. Any advice from someone who has been through it? He is my best friend and I want to do what is best for him.

I don’t even know where to start…

My question is should we give her a longer chance or just let her go.

My dad has a 5 year old female English mastiff named Oakley. One morning he woke up, went down stairs and found her leaning up against the wall unable to walk on her back legs. Took her to the vet. MRI and Surgery is too expensive for him to do. They suspect it could be IVDD. Not confirmed though a lot of her symptoms point to that. She is on medication now. Today is day four of medication. Dad is wondering if she’s gonna have a chance at healing. She is such a big dog. 180 pounds. I’ve been going over there everyday to help clean up the pee, flip her and feed her. We are still learning how to express her urine. Though I think I figured out how to do it today.

I feel that I’m more willing to care for her than he is. But it’s hard as I don’t live there and can’t be there all day long. I have a family of my own to take care of as well. But I do go over there once or twice a day and every time I get there she’s covered in pee, and her pad is soaked. So it seems like dad is not doing his part in keeping her dry. It’s frustrating.

I told him we should give her at least a week or two to see if she improves.

I guess coming here to say all this is just a way for me to spill. Am I trying too hard? Are my hopes too high? A part of me is wondering if my dad is just not capable of caring for her and is just being a lazy bum about it. I don’t know. I just wish there was more I could do for her.

My guy had his second surgery this year for his IVDD. He is a super high energy and social guy and I am super worried about his quality of life going forward. Hes young and genuinely lives for being outside, sniffs, walks, and playing with other dogs. Is there any creative things I can do to incorporate these things into his life going forward? Short walks are all I can think of that he will still have but it’s also fresh/raw right now.

Hello all,

My 7yo M French Bulldog has had two IVDD flares in the last year and a half. We consider ourselves very lucky as this is the first time in his life he’s had any issues and he has never experienced loss of function and so we do our very best to be diligent about adjusting to his new life.

He is rarely alone, and we live on a single level home. That being said, the patio going out to our yard has one short step, and then maybe a quarter step once you get to the grass, almost like a landscaping block. No more than six inches or so for each.

Since his flare ups we have been carrying him outside to avoid these, but once healed should we continue carrying him / build a ramp? Can we let him do the one step on his own?

We never let him use other stairs so it doesn’t feel like just because it’s one that makes it okay, but I’m not sure I guess.

TLDR: Can an in recovery frenchie do one singular step to get to the patio or does this also count as stairs?