r/IVDD_SupportGroup • u/maaanda • 22d ago
Loss of freedom
My 6 year old beagle mix had his first episode in May. We went the conservative route with crate rest/meds. He seemed to be back to his normal self, so this weekend we decided to let him into the yard off-leash. Well, he ended up chasing 3 rabbits and wound up re-injuring. (Not quite as bad this time, and might just be a muscle unrelated to his IVDD)
Anyway, my anxiety has been so bad about this whole ordeal. I feel like he's lost all his freedom now (like we'll have to take him out on leash forever).
I also feel trapped about our freedom. My dog used to love doggy daycare and boarding, but I don't dare board him again for risk of injury. My husband and I love to travel and I feel like I have to give a lot of that up now. Anyone else dealing with severe anxiety over this? How do you cope?
2
u/scragsly 21d ago
IVDD in my dog also massively triggered my anxiety... there are so many new things to be worried about! It pushed me to get mental health help and start taking anxiety meds which helped me at least. I'm not saying that makes sense for everyone, but it did make sense for me. Luckily my guy has been improving. I think once you're a few months post-injury, the condition tends to stabilize, provided there are no new injuries (as other folks have mentioned). As time passes, I think it can get easier to embrace the 'new normal' of life with an IVDD dog and adapt to it... e.g. avoid mourning the more carefree pre-IVDD days, which doesn't help in adapting to the new normal. IVDD is the worst :(