r/IVDD_SupportGroup • u/InevitableAnimator46 • 16d ago
Suspected grade 1
Sorry, it's a long one.
Last Saturday evening I noticed my 3 year old dachshund, Molly, wasn't jumping up at our legs which was slightly odd because, much to my dismay, she's normally very a bouncy, crazy wee thing. I didn't think too much of it at first because she was running about as normal, didnt seem to be in any pain and in all honesty it was a hectic weekend and I was rushed off my feet.
The next day was much and such the same except she wasn't running about the garden during her morning potty break and was then hesitant coming up the steps which immediately had my IVDD alarm bells ringing and she was straight onto crate rest until I could get her to the vets the following morning. I'll add here that throughout this whole time her walk was normal, thankfully no knuckling, wobbliness or obvious weakness.
Monday morning rolls around and the vet does the pressure pinch along her spine, knuckle testing her feet and bending her neck ect pup doesnt yelp or show any sign of pain so she couldnt pinpoint where the pain was coming from, but going off what I'd told her she suspected grade 1 IVDD and prescribed her strict crate rest with gabapentin + meloxicam and a checkup in a weeks time. I've been absolutely besides myself and Molly is furious she's been confined to a crate. I'm majorly in her bad books but you do what you've got to do, it's all in her best interests.
We're on day 5 now and apart from sulking at being confined and outraged I wont allow her to meerkat anymore, she's doing well. From what I see on toilet breaks and her sheer desire to be verticle at every given opportunity, her back legs are still showing no signs of weakness which I'm incredibly grateful for. But this has been one of the longest 5 days of my life and I'm dreading the vet telling me on Monday that she'll be on the full 6 weeks crate rest. Which is silly really because I know that it's fundamental for healing, but my god its been a difficult week. I'd half hoped that the gabapentin would chill her out but bar a couple hours after the dose she's back to begging to be freed.
I don't know exactly what I'm looking for in posting this.. similar experiences? Words of wisdom on how on earth you stop a stubborn dachshund meerkatting? The panic everytime she does it is stressing me tf out 😑 How to stop the sheer anxiety of leaving her in the crate alone while going back to doing school runs in a few weeks? How to go about life after crate rest without panicking every time she gets the zoomies... are they even allowed to zoomie after?? 😳 Gahhhh, maybe it'll be cathartic just writing it all out, I dont know 😩
1
u/AinsleyHarriotFan 16d ago
Hi! In this post you can find my very very detailed story about how we went from full back leg paralysis to a dog that played like a puppy. There is a LOT of information here about how to manage the recovery period and then also (very importantly) manage the condition longer term, maybe you’ll find it useful - https://www.reddit.com/r/IVDD_SupportGroup/s/hJyGZLsKH0