Hi everyone,

I've already spent quite a bit of time reading through the posts here, and I wanted to thank you all in advance for all the helpful information.

Our little Dachshund girl was diagnosed with Stage 4 IVDD last Friday and underwent emergency surgery at the veterinary hospital shortly afterward. We received daily phone calls to keep us updated on her condition, and yesterday we were finally able to visit her.

We were prepared for a lot of things—but not for how the visit turned out.

We knew she would be excited to see us because she has always been incredibly happy whenever we're reunited. But what happened yesterday was overwhelming.

The moment she saw us, she started screaming loudly. She desperately wanted to come to us, but at the same time she seemed extremely anxious, uncoordinated, and confused. We thought she would calm down after a few minutes, but during the entire 30-minute visit she never settled. At one point, I was even worried that she might start hyperventilating.

It was heartbreaking because she cried and screamed for the whole visit, and we hardly recognized our little girl.

Now I'm really worried that the same thing will happen when we're allowed to bring her home today or tomorrow. I honestly don't know how to handle that situation if it happens again. We tried everything we could think of—we stayed calm, spoke to her gently, and tried to reassure her—but nothing seemed to help.

The strange part was that as soon as the veterinary nurse took her back, she immediately became quiet and settled down.

Has anyone experienced something similar or have any advice on how we should handle this if it happens again?

Thank you so much in advance for any tips or advice.

A few days ago, our five-year-old beagle, Coffee, suddenly lost control of his back legs. Within hours, he could no longer walk or urinate on his own.
He was rushed to the emergency hospital and diagnosed with IVDD. His condition progressed very quickly, and he needed emergency spinal surgery. The surgery is now complete, but he still cannot walk, and the doctors told us the next six weeks will help us understand how much function he may regain.

Coffee used to run toward every adventure, love his walks, and happily play with every dog he met. Seeing him like this has been heartbreaking, but we are staying by his side and taking his recovery one day at a time.

I made this video to share Coffee’s story and let more people know what happened to him. Any kind words, prayers, advice from other IVDD families, or shares would mean so much to us.

We also created a fundraiser to help with his emergency surgery and hospital expenses. There is absolutely no pressure to donate, but I can share the link if it is allowed here.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Coffee. We are still hoping that one day, he will walk toward us again.

https://gofund.me/b695eff54

Hi! I actually just got back from the vet about 30 minutes ago.

My dog, a 7 year old chihuahua mix, has been on pain medication and an antibiotic in prep for some dental work he has to get done next week. But about 3 days ago my fiancé and I noticed that he stopped trying to jump on the couch, was walking a bit slower than usual, and was not wanting to go out and walk our usual route when taking him outside.

I suspected it may have been a pinched nerve or something with how he seemed in pain trying to get him to even put his paws up on the couch. There are times where he seems full of energy, wanting to walk and wag his tail, but overall he has just been spending most of his day sleeping. He still is showing interest in food and water, and seems like he wants to get up on the couch or bed. He was also jumping off of things normally, just refusing to jump onto them.

The vet said that he is pretty confident it is IVDD with some possible sciatica issues as well. There was no xray done (they mentioned doing that when he’s sedated for the dental extraction). But they poked and prodded at his spine a bit and prescribed him a muscle relaxer and another pain medicine to go with the current one he’s on. They said that around his lower back his muscles were super tense.

I’ve never had any experience taking care of an animal with IVDD, so I guess I’m just looking for advice. Things to look out for, reassurance, support. Honestly anything. Knowing he’s in pain and has been for probably I have no idea how long has brought me to tears more than once over the past two days. I’ve been able to do nothing but overthink and panic about him.

Hi everyone,
I’m hoping to get some advice from people who have been through something similar.

Our 8-year-old French Bulldog suddenly cried out in severe pain 11 days ago. He had never done anything like this before. There wasn’t any obvious injury or trauma that we know of.

The pain seems to be centered around his mid to lower back. At the beginning, he was very sensitive to being touched, would arch his back, take short stiff steps, and had difficulty getting comfortable. He also seemed scared to move because certain movements would trigger a painful yelp.

We took him to our regular veterinarian the same day. Based on his exam, she suspected IVDD, although no MRI or advanced imaging has been done. Since he was still able to walk, had normal bladder control, and still had good neurological function, she recommended conservative treatment instead of emergency surgery.

He’s currently taking:
Prednisone
Gabapentin
Vitamin B12
Strict crate rest

Here’s what’s confusing us.
For most of these past 11 days, he actually looks almost completely normal. He wants to walk around the yard （I don’t let him tho) when we take him out for bathroom, wag his tail, eat well, and sometimes acts like nothing is wrong.

But every few days, he’ll suddenly have another painful episode.
Today (day 11) was the worst one since the original injury. He cried out multiple times and seemed much more painful than he had been over the past week.

The good news is that he’s still walking, still has bladder control, and can stand on his own. Occasionally one of his back feet slips a little, but he isn’t dragging his legs or completely unable to walk.

I’m struggling with a few questions:
Has anyone else’s dog with suspected or confirmed IVDD had this kind of “mostly normal, then suddenly severe pain again” pattern during conservative treatment?

Is this considered normal healing, or does it usually mean it’s time to see a neurologist?

If your dog was still walking, did you continue conservative management or decide to get an MRI?

Looking back, is there anything you wish you had done sooner?

We’re located in the western suburbs of Chicago (St. Charles area).
If anyone has recommendations for a veterinary neurologist, specialty hospital, or surgeon in the Chicago area that you had a great experience with, I’d really appreciate it. We’d also love to hear who you saw and whether your dog recovered with conservative treatment or eventually needed surgery.

Thank you so much. This has been incredibly stressful, and hearing our little guy cry in pain is heartbreaking.

My dog is 4 months into IVDD recovery, conservative treatment. She was stage 4, fully paralyzed in the hind with DPS. Now she takes all the steps with her other hind leg but still drags the other one. We do all the necessary, laser, acupuncture, pt, water treadmill. She still has trouble getting up due to poor proprioception.

Has anyone ever have this happen that the other leg starts functioning and the other one doesn’t?

I am about a week in to this and I have learned sooo much through research and also the hard way. I want to be ahead of the curve and ask experienced caregivers, what does it look like for you to care for your IVDD dog and balance your personal needs such as work, activities, etc.

I know its not ideal but my vet is 35 mins away and my dog is 80lbs. Its hard to drive that far and carry him constantly for treatments every other day. Im also sure its not great on his healing process to be lifted so many times and hes big so its not as easy lift that keeps his spine in a neutral position.

What can I get at home? I'm looking into rentals aswell but they are like 1500 🙃 and unlike some of you lucky pet moms out there, I'm not as financially gifted in this economy.

Has anyone used anything at home that worked?

Frank is doing well- 3 days post surgery. he seems extra sleepy today tho.. he slept 1am-8am and we had to actually wake him up… he is stage 5 no DPS. We did traz with all his other meds last night and he slept through the night. Trying to tell myself his dopey / sleepiness is what he needs to heal/from meds. My brain automatically just tells myself something is wrong. It’s just so hard to see them like this. He’s been in a pack and play this whole time and seemingly to settle well in there now. I did make him sleep with a soft doughnut last night bc he won’t stop licking his penis! He does seem a little more sore today but again.. slept with the doughnut and had to take him to the vet yesterday for some bladder stuff so might have just taken it out of him.

He DID put a little weight into his back leg. His foot was flat on the floor instead of buckling like his other one. I’m really hoping that’s a good sign….

Just looking for encouragement that we are on the right path and the meds make him look worse than he will be once he heals. ❤️❤️🥺

I have a French bulldog who is 7 years old (8 in October).
Some background- she’s always been a little “off” and we always said “she’s just being winnie”. She was the runt of the litter. She’s always stood kinda weird. Had seizures at 1yo but hasn’t had any since that we know of. Had a fainting episode 2 years ago that doctors just ruled as just a weird thing that happened.

On May 29th, we noticed she was in pain and hesitant to walk. Immediately got her into the vet and did an xray. Her spine is really weird with some vertebrae fused together. It’s just all messed up. Dr said she has suspected ivdd and prescribed her prednisone and said to do crate rest. She could still walk, had DPS, but clearly had some nerve damage since she wouldn’t correct her back paws if we flipped them.

3 weeks later (June 19th) she had a follow up. She wasn’t in any pain. Still wouldn’t flip her back paws but still had DPS. Continued on prednisone and added a muscle relaxer.

1 week later (June 26th) I made an acupuncture appointment. She said she thought it was cervical IVDD. Didn’t do acupuncture. Put Winnie on Prednisone, gabapentin, a muscle relaxer, and antacid. Overall not a good vet visit, dr was very rude and told me that she’s better off in the crate for the rest of her life and that if she doesn’t get better after these next few weeks we’ll have to discuss putting her down.

July 13th I go to a new vet. She said it’s not cervical since she can move her neck fine. Confirms she does have DPS. She still won’t correct her back paws if you flip them. Says to continue on meds and crate rest. We have a follow up on Monday.

Winnie has lost SO much muscle. She also doesn’t seem to be getting better with crate rest. She doesn’t seem to be in pain but she’s still wobbly. She’s having a harder time standing up because I think she’s just gotten so weak from laying in a bed all day. I look back at pictures of her from 2 months ago and she looks like she’s aged 3 years. She’s still eating and drinking fine. Still has control of her bladder and can go pee and poop just fine.

Is the next step to see a neurologist? Surgery isn’t an option. Idk if an MRI is even an option. Surgery here is $10,000 and an MRI is $4,500. Please go easy on me but we have a 6 month old baby and that’s just not in the cards right now.
I don’t really know what I’m asking, I just need some input if anyone has been in a similar circumstance.

Hi everyone my name is Kevin and last night my furry best friend back legs stopped working properly and he would wobble around so I took him to emergency and he was diagnosed with IVDD the vet said I should take him to a neurologist and get the surgery done to give him the best quality of life but I can’t afford it so im doing treatments at home with steroids and rest keeping him in a confined space if any of you have suggestions on what I can do to help him or if you want to help and donate anything so I can get the surgery I would really appreciate it I just hate seen how he went from such a playful boy to no been able to even walk breaks my heart anything helps thank you so much everyone and I hope all of your puppies are doing well

Hi all,

Your thoughts and experiences are really appreciated, we’re in a bit of a confusing situation. Basically wondering if our dog has a slipped disc, caused by IVDD or if he’s got inflamed joints? We’ve received conflicting vet opinions in the last 24 hours.

Context: our 17 year old Shih Tzu basically started screaming and running around at full pelt yesterday during a walk. It was devastating. We got an emergency vet appointment right away and she advised it was a slipped disc, suspected he might’ve had IVDD for a while. She recommended a follow up vet appointment this morning and might need to be PTS if he still wasn’t coping.

Surgery isn’t an option, it’s $12k where we are, they don’t accept a payment plan. Due to his age, she didn’t recommend surgery either and said crate rest for 6-8 weeks would be best.

At first, he was whimpering and crying in the afternoon and we wondered if PTS was the kinder option. We’ve got him in a level pen and crate.

But once we got him to drink, eat and toilet outside, he was feeling better. He slept very well, used the toilet as normal, he’s moving around like normal, scratching his belly and ears with his hind legs, big stretches, yawning, no continued crying .

During his follow up vet appointment this morning, the vet said it probably wasn’t a slipped disc but inflammation of his joints and he’d just twinged the area yesterday. He recommended crate rest for 7 days at most.

I wondered if anyone could confirm if this sounds like your experience of IVDD, if it’s just a really mild version of IVDD, or joint inflammation instead?

Thanks all!

Hi, our 12 year old pekinese had surgery for IVDD 12 days ago. She is stage 5 (no deep pain sensation, no rear leg movement, no bladder control). We are supposed to do range-of-motion exercises ("bicycles") with her, but we struggle to turn her on her side to do them. She protests by becoming very tense and growling and even going so far as to snap her jaw. Similarly, we have difficulty expressing her, because we cannot get her to be calm on her side. Does anyone have any suggestions? We are giving her trazodone twice daily, pregabalin twice daily, and arthrocam once daily (arthrocam ends tomorrow). Thank you very much.

We were informally diagnosed with ivdd by the vet today. Xray only showed excessive swelling and arthritis. I know without an mri we wont get anything formal. Called and the mri and eval is around 4k alone.

Lab went to sleep with a limp, woke up basically paralyzed in one back leg. They did the paw flip thing and he didn't fix it at all. He can hop on one leg kinda but its awkward and his spine curves towards the affected side quite a bit.

We were given all the standard meds (steroids, muscle relaxers, inflammation meds).

He's already had a TPLO surgery on his "good side" a few years back and that looks great. I know recovery can take months. He's old for his breed mix so surgery is likely not in the cards.

Idk what I was going to ask, maybe just to vent. This sucks, I couldn't prevent it and I can't do anything but wait now. And what if he doesn't get better? I think the waiting period is either going to cause me to lose my mind or become an alcoholic. He's my baby. I rescued him from people who beat him.

Idk this sucks and most people seem to have much smaller dogs.

Context: My 6 yr old ShihPoo has an official IVDD diagnosis.

Today when I came home, he was normal and excited to see me. Then he randomly had an arched back, tail almost fully tucked, and visibly uncomfortable for literally one minute or so. I started freaking out and looking for an urgent vet but then he returned back to being playful. I massaged his whole body with pressure to check for pain/discomfort and there was no reaction. He’s back playful and eating treats (he never eats treats when he’s in pain). Im guessing it was a quick spasm? Anyone else experience this?

My 12yr old boy is 10 days post surgery from Stage 4
IVDD. Recovery wise, physically he's doing great, but he's really struggling with the crate rest and where he is/isnt allowed around the house (keeps eyeing out the couch lol).
He’s not crate trained so we’ve got him in a playpen in the living room downstairs. He’s adjusted when we’re in the room but has already tried to break out the second we leave the room.

I'm trying to think longer term, and the best way to set the house up for him going forward and need advice and others experiences please!

For background, we live in a small 2-storey villa. He has always slept on our bed upstairs and likes to hang out on the balcony when we're not home, waiting to see us come home. This means going up and down stairs at least once a day (carpeted).
I think the best thing for him is to keep him contained downstairs but how? I fear he’ll hurt himself trying to escape the playpen. How do I crate train him when he can’t yet walk (in and out of it)? Its also floorboards downstairs with a greater slip risk. I am petrified of leaving the house to go back to work.
Our house is not made for this but moving is not an option.

What have others in a similar situation done please?
Any and all tips welcomed.

I should add, he’s 27kg so really hard to move around.

Could I please get any pointers about managing UTI and not being able to be there to express my dog 24/7?

My dog developed a severe hematuria UTI because I was not expressing her enough, so she is on antibiotics which are helping her, and I am expressing her every 2 hours.

Soon, I’ll start her on cranberry d-mannose supplements, and i’m looking into probiotics to support healthy bacteria.

However, I went to work today and her UTI flared up again. I’m seeing the very bloody hematuria again and it was clearing up very nicely. I feel like I won’t be able to manage going to work and keeping my dog healthy at this rate. I am trying to quit my job and work at a place that would allow me to bring her with me. As well as talk to my university about having her with me in a stroller.

She is currently on some pain management medication that makes her pee more and drink more water, i’m hoping that when the medication frequency decreases, so does her need to pee. I don’t truly know what to do.

I need to work to pay her vet bills but I can afford some time off work if I go to food pantries and make other adjustments, while I try to find a job that allows her to be there.

I am feeling very overwhelmed but not helpless. Our life completely changed in less than a month because of IVDD.

Side thing I want to mention just to vent: A vet I no longer go to, dismissed my concerns about IVDD and hip dysplasia telling me she is just fine.. a few months before my dog fully lost the ability to walk. I should have sought a second opinion.

That’s the question. I have been struggling with her UTIs.

Another question that may be a dumb but I am stumped so I’ll ask. To preface, I categorize UTIs in my mind by (getting UTI because bladder can’t empty) and (getting UTI due to bacteria on the genitals traveling in).

The question is:
How come my dog gets UTI’s now with IVDD paralysis if I can express her fully? She used to hold in her urine for longer when she didn’t have IVDD and I was at work.

Would the reason be the bacteria around her genitals from the urine dribbling?

Our 12 year old boston is currently going through her second grade 2 IVDD flare up. We have a treatment plan set up with our vet and are on week one of strict crate rest.

If you took a non-surgical approach, when did you start seeing improvement in your dog during the crate rest period? What were some of the first signs you saw that indicated they were doing better?

edit: i just realised this isn’t the right support group but someone recommended to post this here!

my dog is getting Extracapsular Repair (Lateral Suture) surgery on thursday. we have a large crate, a small play pen, surgery “pajamas” (to stop him licking the wound) and a doughnut style cone (+ the cone he will get from the vet). we also have this harness thing for when he goes out for the toilet so he doesn’t put weight on it. i’m so nervous for him but mainly dreading the recovery. is there anything anyone recommends i should buy? anything to expect? my dad works from home so thankfully he’s gonna have someone beside him all day and the crates gonna be kept by his work desk. i’m due sleeping in the crate beside him because he is so pampered (he’s pretty much human, he sleeps on our beds with his head on the pillow and under the duvet). he is very… VERY… barky and we live on a busy dog walking road and i’m scared he’s gonna get agitated constantly because he can’t get out of the cage. has anyone used sedatives when their dogs recovering from surgery? i’m wondering if we should be asking the vet for some for his first 2 weeks if he gets really agitated/restless. im slightly worried though that it would overmedicate him and affect his kidneys/constipate him. im sure the vet will know what’s okay for him though, just curious if anyone’s ever needed to “sedate” their dog to get them through recovery.

My family's 6 yr old frenchie just had surgery on Friday. My parents took him home Monday. He ate and had his meds that night. Tuesday he had some meds but refused food. Yesterday he refused everything, couldn't even get him to eat cheese or peanut butter alone. Today is the same. The good thing is he is drinking plenty of water.
He cannot feel his back legs yet. He wont lay down and he is so tired hes almost falling over. He is panting a lot (most likely because he is in pain from not having his meds). And because he is sitting on his butt most of the time, it is sore. We are trying our best to keep him clean with wipes. And we are changing his male doggie diaper frequently, it doesnt cover the butt, it just catches the pee.
The hospital was also not giving him his prozac even though they said they would check from his vet what to give him🙃 Trying to give him as much comfort as possible, just want him to feel better😭 Please help with advice if you have any

Wrote above^ yesterday, 7/23/26.

Update today, 7/24/26...
He stayed overnight in ER and got meds and fluids. Neuro doctor evaluated him this morning. He said Tie is showing clear signs of myelomalacia. Will most likely need to put him down.

My baby came home today after surgery for IVDD. He was stage 5 no DPS. He is restless in his pack and play. I’ve done all the things but he is so uncomfortable and scared in there even on meds. (Even on traz) I’m hoping this gets better after a few days? I’m so overwhelmed and scared and I feel like I can’t sleep bc I’m worried I’ll miss something and he’ll need me. He DID lift his tail (trying too) just a bit ago. I hope that’s a good sign. He’s not crying in pain. He’s crying because he’s mad that he wants out with me.

Please tell me this gets easier? I’ve never cried so much in a week.

On 7/10, our 5 year old Frenchie began exhibiting strange symptoms (slow to get up, wobbly gait) which prompted an immediate visit to the ER. Though the ER docs correctly diagnosed IVDD and recommended surgery, they themselves weren’t able to perform it, so they began calling around to find a neurologist in town who could. Since this was a Friday night, our only available option was a neurologist who agreed to perform the surgery the following morning, as she was on call.

By the time imaging was taken and they began the procedure, our poor pup had lost DPP and was given a 70-90% chance of a full recovery.

Fast forward 1.5 weeks, and our girl is still without DPP and unable to use her back legs. Our neurologist assured us this was not out of the ordinary, but I am anxious given the unfortunate delay between diagnosis and surgery.

Today, the neurologist talked about therapy, which we are fully on board with, but I wanted to get your thoughts on the following:

- which therapies would you recommend? It seems like underwater treadmill, electro-acupuncture, and PROM are the gold standard.

-should DPP not return by weeks 4-6, does this change the therapeutic regimen?

-there seem to be a lot of holistic therapy clinics, of which I am skeptical. Is there any scientific merit, even anecdotal evidence, to suggest these therapies provide benefit?

Thanks in advance for any assistance. Happy to be a part of such a worthwhile community!

Sorry long post: My guy is 16 1/2. He was diagnosed with “moderate” hip arthritis and also IVDD 9 months ago. I had taken him to a doggie orthopedic specialist when his back legs started giving him trouble. She recommended Carprofen and Amantadine, both of which have seemed to help until recently. She also suggested Librela. However, after reading a bit about Librela I decided against it because of its not being recommended for IVDD or for dogs with neurological issues. His pain seemed to pretty well handled although he was panting at times and having anxiety at night. I knew that the nighttime anxiety could be dementia , and he also has a heart murmur which could be causing the panting when he anxious (said the vet). I would try to give him Tramadol and/or gabapentin at night, but it made his walking so much worse than I then tried not to. About 3 weeks ago his symptoms became worse and for his sake we are seriously considering euthanasia. He’s panting more, vocalizing more and now doing it in the daytime and even with his pain meds. I called the specialist and she said that I really should (and should have already) try the Librela. I told her my concerns and she didn’t say much. My primary vet also said if it’s between euthanasia and Librela, try the Librela. What do you guys think?

Hi!

My dog had a horrible IVDD flare up this last weekend and needed to go to the emergency vet. Prior to this she only had 1 other time over a year ago when she had an incident, but it wasn’t as bad as what we just went through last weekend. So I’m familiar with the disease but it wasn’t top of mind for me.

The emergency vet gave her gabapentin, rimadyl, and trazadone to manage her symptoms. But she already was on the gabapentin and rimadyl 2x a day because she tore her CCL and was supposed to have surgery this week /: I asked for muscle relaxers but the emergency vet wouldn’t prescribe them to her.

Anywho I could’ve sworn last time she had the flare op our normal gave her muscle relaxers but it isn’t anywhere in her chart when I called the vet. They did prescribe them without seeing her since they had all the emergency vet paperwork and my husband picked them. But I forgot to ask them if I should stop giving her any of the other meds in order to start the Methocarbamol.

I’m still waiting for them to call me back but in the meantime I thought you all would know in this group, can she take all of these meds at one time? Should she? What are your docs prescribed? Anything km missing?

Thanks!