Hi Debbie. It’s definitely a balance. Personally, I focus on minimizing the highest risk, most repetative things. To me, jumping off the furniture is one of those. I know I can’t train my dogs to always use the ramp on the couch so I actually surrounded it will tall pet gates, leaving the ramp as the primary way off and on it. I just move part of the gate when I want to sit on the couch. We also placed our mattress and boxspring directly on the floor so the jumping height was no longer an issue. I aggree, at that age, if she is used to being on the couch and sleeping in your bed, I would continue to let her enjoy doing that.

Hi Cait. I’m sorry you are going through this. Personally, we did not experience this. Gretel may have been ups and downs with pain but nothing that showed (by spasms, crying, shaking, etc.) so I couldn’t tell. However, through this blog and my Dachshund club, I’ve had “experience” with at least 100 Dachshunds with the disease and can say it’s not uncommon for some dogs to really struggle with ups and downs in the beginning. I would keep reaching out to your vet though. They may get annoyed but who cares? Your concern is advocating for your dog and clearly your dog is still having issues. Good luck.

Hi Susan. Laster therapy and acupuncture are excellent complimentary therapies for IVDD treatment. I’m glad I have given you some hope and I wish nothing but the best for you and Sophie.

Hi Chuck. I’m sorry you are going through this. I am also sorry for my delayed reply. There was an issue with the comment system on my blog for a while. I hope you were able to find your answer. The short one is that your dog should not walk much, if at all, for at least the first 5 weeks so scar tissue can form over the disk. I carried Gretel out to go potty, kept her on a leash so she couldn’t walk around, and fed her in her crate. Here is a more detailed article I wrote about the crate rest process: https://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/dog-crate-rest-tips/

I just found out my dog has ivdd….. surgery is $7,000 so not a viable option for me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I read your article. My one question is how much should I let him walk in the beginning…..he wants to walk but then falls. Thanks for any help. Chuck. krileyce@gcc.edu t

Thanks for the update Jean! As I have heard more and more success stories with laser ablation, I’m more convinced it can really help.

UPDATE: For those who are curious, it’s been over 3.5 years since the laser ablation (late Feb of 2017) and Chloe is doing great. Daily walks and no problems since. Of course, I’d prefer not to do it but if you find yourself in the same predicament as me and Chloe (disk blow outs every 4 months or so) and your bank account is limited, consider it an option. Best to everyone and their beloved furry family members and thank you, Jessica, for this site.

Hi, are you able to send me an email for a chat? It’s bumskins14@hotmail.co.uk

Unfortunately I have been in the same boat as you and my life is a mess now

Hi eryn. You’re not the only one; if you’re available for a chat I’d like to hear from you?

Most definitely! Strict crate rest is the best shot your dog has of recovery if surgery is not recommended. Gretel fully recovered after 10 weeks of strict crate rest and regularly hikes 5-7 miles again. I will note, we also did hydrotherapy (walking on an underwater treadmill) and cold laser treatments to help her heal more completely. If you want to know more about our experience with crate rest, please read this: https://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/dog-crate-rest-tips/.

I’m so sorry you guys are having to deal with IVDD. Indeed every dog is different. Unfortunately, some have ongoing issues despite the best efforts. However, in my experience, more dogs recover and go on to live normal lives. Good luck!

Long – I’m sorry you and your dog are going through this. For more information, please check out my IVDD resource page here: https://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/inervertebral-disk-disease-ivdd-resources/ Also check out the website Dodgerslist.com. There is a bunch of information listed there. Do know that there are dogs that recover partially or fully through conservative treatment – 10-12 weeks of crate rest and medication – even if surgery was recommended. Not all do though. Each dog is different but you can certainly try that first to see if it helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

I hope this article is still going on in 2019 I have a Italian mastiff who just lost his back legs from IVDD the veterinarian said his disc was blown and I did not know what to due.I thought putting him down was the last and only hope Thank you for new information I will try to give as much as I can it’s only been one week of IVDD condition

Thanks so much for the suggestions. Maia’s bed is big enough to fill most of the pen, but I’ll try adding some filler in the empty spaces. Since posting my initial comment/question, Maia has continued to improve and I’m feeling pretty good about her recovery. She’s acting so much better, in fact, that I’d be tempted to let her out of doggie jail now if I hadn’t read your blog and learned how important it is for her to serve her full sentence. I’m so glad I found you!

Hi Kathy. I’m sorry your family and Maia are going through this but it sounds like you are taking very good care of her. Six – twelve weeks of crate rest has helped some Dachshunds, who were not able to get surgery even when recommended, walk again.

I answer your question is this blog post. https://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/dog-crate-rest-tips/

It’s a first-hand account of how I kept my Gretel calm in a crate. However, she was already trained to be in a crate so it wasn’t a huge deal for her. That small pen can work but I would try to make it difficult for her to move around too much by doing things like placing a large object inside to make the space smaller or stuffing it with a lot of beds and blankets.

Good luck to you guys!

Second, I want to thank you for all the information. On Friday, I was afraid putting my doxie Maia down was probably going to be an inevitability. She woke up that day in severe pain, refusing water and food, and dragging her hind legs. The doc at the emergency vet clinic gave me the impression that surgery was the only viable option. Unfortunately that’s out of the question, we simply can’t afford it. I’d be hard pressed to come up with $5000-$6000 cash for treatment for my husband or myself! We were sent home with medication and instructions for crate rest, and I did what I always do… I hit the internet. I found plenty of sites detailing crate rest, but yours was the only one I found describing actual first-hand experiences of pet owners. What a relief to hear that recovery is possible, from people who have been through it!

After only six days of strict rest, I’m happy to report that I can already see some improvement. Maia wags her tail, has control of her bladder and bowels, and can move her hind legs. They don’t necessarily go where she wants them to, but they move! I rigged up a sling to support her back end when I take her outside to relieve herself, and with just a little help she can very briefly support her own weight. We had a follow-up appointment with her regular vet yesterday, and he was optimistic about her chances for recovery.

I am anticipating one problem for which I’d appreciate any suggestions… Maia has never been in a crate before. So far it’s been easy to keep her down, but as she continues to improve I expect she will want to be more active. I purchased a small (3’x3’) exercise pen that I’ll start putting her in tomorrow, to get her used to it. What have you done to keep your puppy entertained and contented while incarcerated? So far I’ve been moving her bed from room to room and outside on the deck, wherever I happen to be spending time, but I doubt that she’ll be satisfied with that for another seven or eight weeks. She tends to be very vocal (as anyone with a dachshund will understand), and I’m really not looking forward to that! Thanks for any help!

I’m sorry you are going through this with your pup.

Yes, crate rest is the #1 treatment for IVDD. Even if it’s not that, I would recommend doing that immediately until you know. Any injury can benefit from restricting mobility. Here is my blog post about what crate rest means. It also gives some tips on how to deal with it. https://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/dog-crate-rest-tips/

Depending on the severity, surgery may not even be recommended. Instead, you may be instructed to continue medication and crate rest. The technical term for this is “conservative treatment” and many dogs mostly or fully recover after 6-12 weeks of it. Things like hydrotherapy, cold laser, and acupuncture can also help but they can be expensive and many pet insurance companies don’t cover it. it doesn’t hurt to check though. Even if surgery is recommended, although I absolutely recommend doing it if you can, not everyone can afford it. Some veterinarians will say that the only option in that case is to put a dog to down but that is not always true. Many who surgery was recommended for have still recovered with conservative treatment. I know others that happily lived out their lives in a dog wheelchair.

Good luck to you guys.

My name is Griselda. I took my dog in 3 days ago because we noticed he wasn’t his normal self. We have a 5 yr old maltipoo- Took him again yesterday and the blood work and xrays looked fine. Doctor did say, I have a feeling of IVDD but let’s see how he does in the next weeks. I came from work today and he was dragging his back leg. 3 work but one isn’t as well. He looks like a drunk doggie and goes sideways. I got medication from my vet yesterday, steroids, muscle relaxer and pain meds. I am taking him tomorrow to a neurologist my vet recommended to check for IVDD. I am scared. Vet told me to put him in a crate confinement. I am going to google what that specifically means as I am at work all the time and have no one else to help me w him. IF it is IVDD, I am not sure about the surgery. We have pet insurance but we know its out of pocket at first. What are my options do you think? Any, any help is appreciated.

Hi Irene. I’m sorry to hear about your pup.

Your “of course” and “very well known fact” statements about Dachshunds that have the surgery – as I interpret what you are saying – are incorrect. Surgery is not always effective and not all Dachshunds recover to normal activity. I know many who still had to be put down after surgery because they continued to decline or needed a second surgery. I just want to make sure you understand that. A good veterinarian, if they recommend surgery, will explain your dog’s chance of recovery with it. Rarely with a vet 100% guarantee a recovery (if at all because, well, life is unpredictable). Depending on the severity and location of the condition, a more reasonable estimate of recovery chances is 50-70%.

But to your first question, no, surgery was not recommended for Gretel.

I personally know several Dachshunds that have partially or fully recovered with a few months of conservative treatment (primarily, strict crate rest) and rehab. I’ve also heard of several others where that was the case. However, some dogs don’t recovery. That “non recovery” could range from still being healthy despite not being able to use their legs to the disease continuing to progress, causing the dog to have to be put down or die due to complications. The ones that merely can’t use their legs are able to live a good life in a doggy wheelchair. It is important to note that, often, those same dogs are not able to poop or pee on their own so the owner has to be willing to commit to expressing their bladder and bowels themselves (you can find plenty of instructions online for how to do that and/or a veterinarian could teach you – which it sounds like you are totally prepared to do).

The truth is that there is no guarantee, with or without surgery. Since your pup is otherwise healthy, and it doesn’t seem like her IVDD status is not deteriorating, I hope that you have many more good years with her.

But my question is with my second dog which is not a dachshund. She is 13 now. If she does not have surgery, or if she becomes paralyzed, will she die from it (e.g. PMM or bleeding in the spinal cord)? Can a dog with IVDD becomes paralyzed (without surgery) but still lives happily with a wheelchair (but with no surgery)? Or without surgery, she may die from it? I don’t mind the bowel or urine incontinence at all (even though she is not at that stage yet). She seems very happy now even though she is limping or could not walk more than a few steps on some days. She loves her food so much. She loves massage. She loves to sleep in bed with me (and will cry if not allowed on the bed.)

I just found out it is IVDD. I never suspected it as she seemed to have zero pain and was ultra happy–but in terms of her movements, I believe the vet’s diagnosis.

I’m sorry. That sounds like such a difficult situation.

I feel so bad for you I m going through pretty much the same thing with my dog , well he was my sister’s dog for 14 years I ve had him for 2 years he’s a jack Russell territory and now is almost 16 years old my sister’s was murdered we inherited him so u can understand how special he is to me and my son stubby is his name he’s all I have left of my sister and I can’t bare the thought of putting him to sleep but I hate seeing him in so much pain idk I doing the best I can

Hi Lizzie. I am sorry you and your pup are going through this.

I do implore you to abide by the strict crate rest. He should not be walking at all in order to allow the scar tissue to form over the problem disk. It’s the only way he can truly heal and not continue to have issues with the same disk (there is always a chance another disk could go bad though).

It’s not easy to do strict crate rest but it’s so important. If you don’t believe me, check out Dodgerslist.com. I wrote this article to help people get through the crate rest period with their IVDD dog: https://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/dog-crate-rest-tips/.

A dog will start to act like they feel better even though they are not healed internally. Dogs have a tendency to mask, or ignore, pain so “acting like his normal self” is not a good indicator for when it’s time to go off crate rest. The fact that he is shaking and lies down when you get back from walks screams to me that he is not healed. I’m not a vet though so I would definitely ask yours for your opinion. Just be aware that I have heard more often than not that vets play down the need for a full-recovery crate rest period.

The strict crate rest is the main factor that allowed Gretel to get back to normal activity and for me to have the confidence that I didn’t need to treat her like she would break (ie. write this article)

That being said, it seems normal and ok (according to our rehab vet) to start supervised hydrotherapy sessions even if he is on crate rest at home.

Good luck to you guys.