My non yorkie & Intervertebral Disk Disease (IVDD)

[Tink04]

Ok, so I think I am officially loosing my mind. All of my focus has been on Tink since her cancer diagnosis in November. However, I do have another dog who is a rescue cocker spaniel mix who is 3. This morning, she was wincing in pain near her back. My boyfriend then mentioned that last night she was struggling to jump onto her chair which she never has any problems and does many times per day. So when I go home for lunch today, she is acting like she can't walk and is sitting on her butt with her hips splayed all weird. She could walk, but it looks very strange and painful. I took her into my vet where they first mentioned Intervertebral Disk Disease (IVDD) and they are looking into her problems. She is having blood work to make sure it is not caused by an underlying infection. If it is the IVDD, she will have to be in a create for 6-8 weeks. This is a very active dog, and I feel terrible. I don't know what to do...

I am completely lost. Tink has been acting a bit like she doesn't feel good, she has been eating, but will not eat her canned food which in the past signals her tummy is bothering her. She also has had a touch of soft stool which I am assuming is from her constant clostridial bacteria issue...
I just cannot think of having two dogs with such big issues. Has anyone had experience with Intervertebral Disk Disease (IVDD)? I pray that she will not need surgery, I honestly cannot afford this at the moment with all of Tinky's cost and medications

[gemy]

I am so very sorry to hear this. I have a dog with a similar problem - his is known as DLSS Degenerative Lumbosacral Syndrome. for now you do need to crate rest her - as difficult as that might be for you and she. It is one very good reason I have found to always get your dogs used to a crate.. No jumping walk her out to pee or potty on lead so that she is not running around outside.


Surgery is Not always indicated in the above disease nor in IVDD. She might have aggravated her back and your vet if it is IVDD will likely prescribe anti inflammatories and pain meds and strict crate rest.


I would also cover all the slippery surfaces in your home or confine her to one room until she is completely healed. Cheap yoga mats make excellent runners.


What does help often times is Laser Therapy Type 4 or above - Acupuncture and if an all clear is given - massage of her back muscles - underwater treadmill work - swimming - stabilizing and strengthening exercises for her spine and hindquarters etc.


This is a chronic condition and one that you will deal with from time to time over the lifetime of your Cocker.

[Tink04]

Originally Posted by gemy

I am so very sorry to hear this. I have a dog with a similar problem - his is known as DLSS Degenerative Lumbosacral Syndrome. for now you do need to crate rest her - as difficult as that might be for you and she. It is one very good reason I have found to always get your dogs used to a crate.. No jumping walk her out to pee or potty on lead so that she is not running around outside.


Surgery is Not always indicated in the above disease nor in IVDD. She might have aggravated her back and your vet if it is IVDD will likely prescribe anti inflammatories and pain meds and strict crate rest.


I would also cover all the slippery surfaces in your home or confine her to one room until she is completely healed. Cheap yoga mats make excellent runners.


What does help often times is Laser Therapy Type 4 or above - Acupuncture and if an all clear is given - massage of her back muscles - underwater treadmill work - swimming - stabilizing and strengthening exercises for her spine and hindquarters etc.


This is a chronic condition and one that you will deal with from time to time over the lifetime of your Cocker.

Thank you for your information. I'm still waiting on word from my vet on what they have found out... I was hoping it was just a strained muscle or pinched nerve, but everything I read turns to IVDD... I do have a crate on hand, but have not used it much at all since she was a little houdini as a baby and could let herself out. I'm going to have to make sure I have extra latches on it. I feel absolutely terrible... she was running around and playing normal yesterday, and even was "digging" in the futon this morning to get comfortable. I really hope she can recover as best as possible...
I feel like the worst dog owner in the world...

[gemy]

Oh dear me. This is not your fault! The origins of DLSS and or IVDD are in no way known - although it is one of the many suspected genetic defects. Signs n symptoms come on very slowly very often. My show boy had Xrays of hips n elbows for offa certification and prior to his traumatic injury nothing ever showed up, But in retrospect as a breeder there were much subtler signs that probably heralded his DlSS, Way beyond what a normal pet owner would be looking for. The same is likely true for IVDD,


Take a deep breath. Do you have some carbiners to latch crate shut? They are and can be a cheap goto for some escape artists.

[Russpilot]

Nothing you are doing is causing the problems in your dogs. It sounds like you are doing everything that you can and doing it right. Just hang in there, they will get better and so will you! Prayers and good wishes your way!

[Wylie's Mom]

Our Wylie has some disc disease issues - he was diagnosed about 2 years ago or so...? In that time, he's only had 3 "flares" where it's bothering him. When that happens, a vet usually has you give: a steroid, a muscle relaxant, a pain pill -- for about 7 days or so. And during that time, no fetching or hard playing or anything. But we weren't required to crate him or anything (my dogs don't even do crates anyways)...just to keep him from running or anything strenuous. All 3 flares resolved very quickly. I hope this regimen would work for your kiddo....my vet said it works in about 85% of dogs she sees.

I hope she feels better soon. I also hope Tink feels better too - how worrisome !

[joyce evans]

I have no experience with IVDD but just stopped in to say that I am so sorry that you are going through all of this. Yes one sick pup is enough but now two? You, Tink and her sister are all in my prayers.

[Tink04]

Thank you for all of your thoughts, I'm sorry I hadn't responded sooner - but things took a bad turn. When I picked her up from my local vet Tuesday evening, she was very whiny, but I assumed it was because she was coming off anethesia from her xrays. That evening, she still would not walk and was not responding well to me pinching her skin and bone (which the vet instructed me to do to make sure she had feeling) so I took her into the local ER vet. They looked her over, gave her an exam and some pain medication to make her sleep and they told me to check in with my local vet in the AM - which I did saying that she was still not walking but she was responding better to the pinches, and they told me to bring her in at 4:30 to check her reflexes. When she checked, she did not respond well enough, so my vet prepared to send me to St. Louis to a specialist because of the need for surgery ASAP. We left for St Louis, went to my specialist (MVRC in CHesterfield, MO who Tink sees) but they had no one on staff to perform surgery so they sent me to Veterinary Specialty Services in Manchester MO. My local vet and ER vet were still saying she has a 90% success rate with surgery, but now the surgeon is telling me it's 50/50... which at this time, I refuse to believe... The costs are around $5,000 - which I had not planned on at all.
I don't care the cost, just as long as she can walk again.
I am just so thrown off... it seems most do fine with rest and medications. She didn't do anything in particular to cause this. She is in surgery now, and will likely stay for 5-7 days afterwards. I just hope and pray she can return to a normal happy dog who is pain free....
Thank you for all of your prayers - at least Miss Tink is feeling good

[Tink04]

Would it be in poor taste to set up a GoFundMe Account for Maddie?

[Tink04]

I received a call from her specialist in St Louis - Maddie can feel BOTH legs! Yay!!!! The Dr said this is "very good" considering she just had surgery yesterday. Poor girl, but I'm sure she is in much less pain and in doggy-medicine dream land. This is very good news for us.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Tink04

Would it be in poor taste to set up a GoFundMe Account for Maddie?

No, I personally don't think it's in poor taste at all if the need is real. The only issue is that you can't post publicly about it here as YT doesn't allow any individual fund raising for personal needs (causes too many issues). But you can let people know behind the scenes, of course.

Originally Posted by Tink04

I received a call from her specialist in St Louis - Maddie can feel BOTH legs! Yay!!!! The Dr said this is "very good" considering she just had surgery yesterday. Poor girl, but I'm sure she is in much less pain and in doggy-medicine dream land. This is very good news for us.

Wow, this is GREAT NEWS . I am so relieved and happy for you! Here's to a very easy and speedy recovery!

[kmarla]

I am happy to hear the positive update! We have a nearly 11 year old cocker spaniel with IVDD. She suffered sudden paralysis and had spinal surgery when she was 5 years old. She had a ruptured disc and large hematoma in the L4-L5 region and was restricted in activity for several weeks (months?) after but she made an amazing recovery. We had to carry her up and down stairs, no jumping etc but she was very cooperative and a little sweetheart through it all. You'll need to use a harness for walking etc as you don't want to put any stress on the vertebra. IVDD can affect the whole spinal column so being cautious and avoiding high energy activities will become your new normal. Our cocker Sophie seems to know that she has to take it easy, but she's still active and happy almost 6 years post surgery. Sending you lots of support and best wishes for a speedy recovery!!!

[Tink04]

Originally Posted by kmarla

I am happy to hear the positive update! We have a nearly 11 year old cocker spaniel with IVDD. She suffered sudden paralysis and had spinal surgery when she was 5 years old. She had a ruptured disc and large hematoma in the L4-L5 region and was restricted in activity for several weeks (months?) after but she made an amazing recovery. We had to carry her up and down stairs, no jumping etc but she was very cooperative and a little sweetheart through it all. You'll need to use a harness for walking etc as you don't want to put any stress on the vertebra. IVDD can affect the whole spinal column so being cautious and avoiding high energy activities will become your new normal. Our cocker Sophie seems to know that she has to take it easy, but she's still active and happy almost 6 years post surgery. Sending you lots of support and best wishes for a speedy recovery!!!

Thank you for the advice - Maddie is only 3.5, so we are completely surprised this happened, but all vets are telling us there was nothing we could do the know, or prevent it. I just pray she recovers well, she still is unable to walk, but the Dr said she will be starting water therapy yesterday with a doggie treadmill and we will have a better idea of her progress. She also had her catheter removed today to see how that goes. Her Dr. says she may need to stay a little longer if she cannot control her functions. I am worried she will think I abandoned her...
She is a very high energy dog who loved to run laps in the yard and jump up and down off furniture. We will definitely have a lot of training to do to help her get used to her "new normal". If you don't mind me asking, have you had any issues since surgery, or do you take precautions to make sure you are very careful? Thanks so much.

[kmarla]

I know it's shocking when they suddenly go from being completely healthy to being unable to walk. Sophie was able to stand and walk 24 hours after surgery but her activity was very restricted for a long time afterwards. She was on several medications after surgery for pain and inflammation, but I can't remember the exact details now. She had some permanent nerve damage after surgery, so she has no feeling from the knee down in her left hind leg. It doesn't slow her down walking, but it takes her longer to find her balance to squat and do her business. She had no issues with incontinence after surgery. We notice that sometimes her back legs tremble and slide out, but she recovers quickly and never loses her balance. She goes up and down stairs now, loves her walks although they're shorter than before ( we use the Halti harness type where the leash attaches at her chest) and although she's not supposed to, she does jump up on the couch now. She was restricted from the jumping for at least a couple of years after surgery though. She's more cautious now and doesn't play and roughhouse like she used to do, but it's almost like she knows she can't anymore. She's still very loving and cuddly and her temperament is as sweet as ever. When we leave her at home, we do put her in her crate so she can't hurt herself, and she's fine with it. I hope little Maddie will make a great recovery and starting early with physiotherapy will really help. I'm keeping you in my thoughts and hope that Maddie starts to show improvement very soon!

[Tink04]

Originally Posted by kmarla

I know it's shocking when they suddenly go from being completely healthy to being unable to walk. Sophie was able to stand and walk 24 hours after surgery but her activity was very restricted for a long time afterwards. She was on several medications after surgery for pain and inflammation, but I can't remember the exact details now. She had some permanent nerve damage after surgery, so she has no feeling from the knee down in her left hind leg. It doesn't slow her down walking, but it takes her longer to find her balance to squat and do her business. She had no issues with incontinence after surgery. We notice that sometimes her back legs tremble and slide out, but she recovers quickly and never loses her balance. She goes up and down stairs now, loves her walks although they're shorter than before ( we use the Halti harness type where the leash attaches at her chest) and although she's not supposed to, she does jump up on the couch now. She was restricted from the jumping for at least a couple of years after surgery though. She's more cautious now and doesn't play and roughhouse like she used to do, but it's almost like she knows she can't anymore. She's still very loving and cuddly and her temperament is as sweet as ever. When we leave her at home, we do put her in her crate so she can't hurt herself, and she's fine with it. I hope little Maddie will make a great recovery and starting early with physiotherapy will really help. I'm keeping you in my thoughts and hope that Maddie starts to show improvement very soon!

Thank you - this is very promising news. Although it will be an adjustment, I think we will be able to do so. I just received a call from her dr - she is moving both back legs, and the Dr said this is very good improvement. She said I could go see her today, but I am very hesitant because she is a very emotional girl, and the dr even said she could possibly become anxious after I leave. But, she said that I will likely be able to get her on Thursday or Friday this week. Although I hate to not see her for so long, it's hard to manage, because Tinky needs fed every 4 hours and the trip is 2.5 hours one way. But, as long as Maddie is improving is the most important part. Thank you for your thoughts for Miss Maddie