r/IVDD_SupportGroup

I'm a new member here. Unfortunately my sweet boy Oliver was recently diagnosed and had surgery. I've been reading a lot in this group about the price of surgery + scans.

Oliver had a CT, 2 Night hospital stay, and the spine surgery (meds and follow-ups included) - all for roughly 7k. I've been seeing some comment that their surgery and scans would be around double that!

I know severity is a factor, but does the state we live in determine cost as well? I thought it'd be interesting to see which state we're all from and how much our scans and surgery were quoted -

I'm in Oklahoma (I know, I know... but it's cheap for sure lmao) and my total coat was 7k - give or take a few hundred.

What about you guys?

Good luck to all of you 💗❤️💖 I'm rooting for every single one of us.

Hi all, my pup is thankfully doing well and in recovery. I got my insurance reimbursement for his surgery . Id like to give back to the community esp for people who struggle with the finances of this disease. Any charities you can think of ?

My dog's neuropathy has been getting worse lately. He walks but drags both feet and he walks pretty stiff. His fecal incontinence has been getting worse. I dont think he has ever been incontinent of urine. The rehab veterinarian thinks he probably has a month, maybe 2 if we are lucky before his quality of life is bad enough to consider euthanizing.

He has never been diagnosed with IVDD. We have basically been told it is arthritis or there might be some disc issues but there hasnt been any imaging done aside from an x ray probably 2 to 3 years ago before we knew there was neurological issues. I am sure there are arthritis issues but it has always bothered me that I feel like arthritis pain meds and the librela shots he was on didnt seem to ever do much( although mayne they are doing more than I realize now). We are supposed to reduce his activity and do much less strenuous exercises and she suggested maybe getting him a steroid shot at a different clinic an hour and 20 minutes away. Apparently they would need to take x rays to determine if he is a candidate and which joints need the shot.

We have been doing PT for a little more than a year now. At first he was improving. For maybe the first 3 or 4 months and then he started slowly declining and the last 2 to 3 months have been pretty rough.

It seems like there are a lot of people here with dog's that had a pretty sudden issue. I know there are some people with dog's that have type 2 or type 3.

I feel like I am crazy wanting to go against what the vet thinks and my wife trusts the vet. I also worry that I am just looking for it to be something else because I cant deal with losing my dog.

One thing that I was thinking about doing is looking into a place that is an hour and 45 minutes away that does neurology consults. I debated setting up a neurology consult and also ask about steroid shots if they do them and if they think it is related to arthritis.

I am not sure if my wife would go for the cost of MRI imaging though if the neurologist thinks it may be IVDD. He is also 12 years old and with arthritis and IVDD maybe I just need to let him go. He still wants to walk way too far though even when he is struggling. It doesn't feel right to me to think about euthanizing him without looking into it. Most of the time anymore he barks so we can help him stand up and falls on his butt squatting. I need to figure something out pretty quick. I hope appointments aren't scheduled weeks out.

I guess part of what I am asking is, have some people been told it may be arthritis but then get x rays and then get referred? Has a vet realized that there is neurological issues and refers to a neurologist or have most people here taken there dog based off their own research?

Is a neurology consult worth it even if you don't get imaging? I am definitely worried about finances and it would really suck to be making payments on it for a while but if there was a decent chance of getting my dog significantly more quality time, I would want to figure out how to make it work.

My dog is an 8 year old rescue on her 3rd week of IVDD crate rest. She's a really energetic dog with mild IVDD and really struggling with not being able to play and run. I live in a city apartment and need to carry her her outside for potty breaks, but lately she's been so reactive in the elevators and when briefly outside. It's worth mentioning that she's always been reactive toward dogs due to a past trauma, but now she's barking and squirming and lunging at any person she sees, which was a behavior I thought had been totally trained out of her. It's making the potty breaks difficult and stressful because I'm trying to keep her immobile.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Did their training recover once crate rest was done? Is it just due to pent up energy, or will i need to retrain her?

My Dachshund Lucy is now 10 years old and had back surgery for IVDD six years ago. She never regained bowel or bladder function. I have expressed her bladder multiple times a day but have had to deal with chronic UTI’s 4 to 5 times a year. She would not tolerate the doggie wheelchair but did learn to spinal walk and will do occasionally when motivated enough. It’s getting harder to express her bladder and I think the antibiotics are not clearing up the UTI’s. She’s still happy with no apparent pain. I don’t feel she has a good quality of life for a dog but her happiness is making it hard to make a decision.

Hi everyone! My 5 year old beagle Scarlett had what the vet thinks may be a IVDD flare up. She took pain meds and has been doing well. Shes no longer allowed on the stairs at all, and goes on short 5-10 minute sniff walks.

Prior to this she was running up and down the stairs and enjoyed 3-4 mile hikes with us. I knew nothing about IVDD and wish I would had known sooner. I feel guilty. But all we can do is move forward.

The vet mentioned a xray may or may not show anything and we have a consultation with a neurologist end of July. I’m starting to feel guilty about not doing the xray, but when the vet couldn’t tell me if it would 100% help or not I decided against it.

Let me know if you guys did decide to get a xray and why! TYIA!

First, I’m so thankful for this subreddit - it’s been a Godsend as I navigate our diagnosis and aftermath of the first brutal flare up. So here’s what’s up…

The Dog: My beloved 4 year old rescue is an 8lb chi-poodle mix. Got him last year and he’s quickly become my everything. He’s very anxious in general (loves to be near his dads), loves to play ball, but not a fan of strangers or new experiences. HATES the vet and his crate.

The situation: A week and a half ago he had a bad flare up in the middle of the night, after an ER visit things got worse the next day with partial paralysis so it was off to emergency neuro. We opted for MRI and eventually surgery as it was suggested as his best option. He came home 2 days later and stayed in his crate decompressing and letting the anesthesia leave his system.

On the 4th day he was his old self, wanting to be velcro and regaining his stride (a bit wobbly on pee breaks but remarkably better).

The call for advice (or even just commiserations): We’re a week into crate rest and he’s now springing to life. sitting and pawing at the crate door, trying to climb the wall of his playpen, going crazy when one of us walks in the door from an errand. This is all on top of gabapentin 3x a day with Xanax as needed (all prescribed). Trazadone works better but he takes prozac for his anxiety so the docs didn’t want us relying on that.

How am I supposed to keep him settled for another 3+ weeks? I’m starting to go crazy. My partner has to go out of town for 10 days so I’ll be doing it alone but it’s just so all consuming.

If I put him in his crate to go on a run for 30 minutes, not even 5 minutes go by before our PetCam starts going off and he’s clawing at the door and crying. Kongs, lick mats, frozen treats - he finishes them all in 3 minutes.

I’m also scared this experience is going to make him even more anxious and stir up separation anxiety given I’m now here 24/7.

I don’t even know if there’s advice to give, but I just needed to type this out and maybe there’s something I’m missing? Or this just is what it is.

Edit: I do know dogs should calm after 15m or so in confined space. I do think my dog may, but I’ve intervened the past few tries because Im scared his climbing up (standing on two legs!) will cause a big set back. One of those “what is worse?” situations 🤦‍♂️

Those who have a dog who is recovered or recovering from IVDD, should I consider replacing my hard floor with carpet instead of rugs? I ask as my little lady is allowed a bit more freedom now but is still on wobbly legs and I’m worried about her slipping. Thank you.

I honestly think crate rest is one of the hardest parts of IVDD emotionally.

Seeing your active dog suddenly confined feels heartbreaking. They look at you wanting their normal life back, and a lot of caregivers​ start feeling guilty for saying “no” all day long.

That guilt is what makes many people break crate rest early.

The problem is dogs usually start acting better before the spine is actually healed. That’s the trap. They look brighter, want to move more, maybe even try to run or jump again, and your heart starts telling you “maybe they’re okay now.”

But healing discs need time and stability. Most IVDD recoveries involve around 6–8 weeks of strict crate rest, sometimes longer depending on severity and neurological symptoms.

One of the biggest mindset shifts that helped me was that crate rest is not punishment, It’s protection.

The calm environment matters more than people realize too. Dogs settle better when the space feels predictable and quiet. I noticed my dog relaxed more when I stopped constantly hovering anxiously over the crate. Low lights at night, soft background noise, keeping the crate near me, and reducing household chaos helped a lot.

And honestly, your energy matters too. Dogs pick up on our anxiety fast. The more calm and consistent you become around crate rest, the easier it often becomes for them to settle into it.

Another thing that helped was treating potty breaks like medical trips, not “fresh air time.” Short leash walk, bathroom, straight back to rest. No wandering, sniffing adventures, stairs, furniture, or sudden excitement. Keeping the spine straight while carrying them became second nature after a while.

And honestly, one of the hardest lessons I learned was that our guilt can accidentally slow their healing. Sometimes we ease restrictions too early because we miss their old life.

The dogs that usually handled crate rest best were the ones whose caregivers stayed calm, consistent, and emotionally steady around it.

If you’re struggling with crate rest guilt right now, you’re not alone in that feeling.

Almost all of us questioned ourselves during it.

But protecting their future mobility is worth a few hard weeks of frustration now.

The early stage feels endless, but it does get easier. You slowly stop feeling like you’re surviving hour by hour and start finding your rhythm again.

Hey y'all, first of all, thanks to everyone who comments and keeps this sub active. I've read so many encouraging things over the weekend about IVDD that have really helped keep me from losing my mind over my dog.

My 3-year-old Dachshund, Maple, had a flare-up of what I suspect is IVDD over the weekend. She jumped up on the bed in the middle of the night, yelped, and started walking around the bed with her head down and a hunch. She took the doggy stairs down to the floor, sat down, and didn't want to move. She was able to walk into her crate, and I couldn't find anything on her body that was causing her pain. I crated her overnight and checked on her to make sure she was still alert. In the morning, she was walking fine. I carried her outside, and she went to the bathroom with no issue. She's eating and drinking normally as well, just acting more sedate than usual around the house. I took her to an urgent care vet who did a spinal exam and said that, while he didn't get any strong reaction from her, he felt her muscles tense when he pressed on one spot in her lower back.

She is now on prednisone and gabapentin and has been instructed to continue with crate rest for at least 4 weeks (though I'm hoping to aim for 8 if I can). I have an appointment with my regular vet later this week to have her checked and to discuss what's going on. I don't think an MRI is necessary, and I feel like conservative care is going to be the most beneficial.

I'm someone who always expects the worst and suffers from a lot of anxiety when it comes to these kinds of situations. I'd honestly love some of her meds for myself right now! I've spent the day feeling overwhelmed by all the changes I need to make in my life to accommodate my dog going forward. Is our boarding facility worth the risk, or should I hire an in-house sitter for any trips I take? Will she be able to return to some of her normal joys like running, wrestling, and playing with our other dog? How the hell do I keep this dog from jumping on the couch? What if the next flare-up causes paralysis?

I know I should be optimistic since she is experiencing a very mild case and seems to have little to no neurological symptoms, but I could really use some reassurance from someone who's been down this road. I'd love to hear your positive stories about your dogs who have been able to live a "new" normal life!

“Dog owner” doesn’t really cover it.

Not when you’re waking up in the middle of the night to give meds so they don’t wake up in pain.
Not when your sleep is broken and you’re running on empty the next day.
Not when your whole routine becomes lifting, supporting, adjusting until your body starts hurting too.

At first, you don’t even think about it ​you just do what needs to be done. Then it catches up.

Your arms are sore from carrying them.
Your knees hurt from leaning over the crate.
You realize you haven’t eaten properly, or rested, or even stopped moving.

Some of you are expressing bladders multiple times a day ​and yeah, that’s brutal.
Some of you ended up sleeping on the floor next to them.

Some days, everything just hurts. And mentally, it’s just as heavy.

Constant checking​
“is she okay?”
“did I do something wrong?”

The exhaustion builds quietly.

At some point, it stops feeling like “owning a dog”
and starts feeling like caring for a full-grown newborn.

You even catch yourself saying it “sleep when they sleep” ​just trying to get through the day.

And those small things ​sitting for a minute, finding a routine, even joking about it ​they matter more than you think.

Because if you run yourself into the ground, it makes everything harder for both of you.

That’s the part no one really talks about.

You’re so focused on them that you forget you’re part of this too.

That’s when it clicked for me.

This isn’t just dog ownership anymore.
This is resilient caregiving.

Because even when you’re exhausted, overwhelmed, and running on empty ​you still show up.

And if you’re in the early days of this, I know how heavy it feels right now. It can feel like it’s not getting better, like you’re just stuck in it.

But it does ease up. Not all at once, and not always in obvious ways ​but little by little, you find your rhythm.

Your body adjusts. Your routine gets smoother. The intensity softens.

You won’t always feel this stretched. Just keep going, one day at a time.

If you’re going through this right now, you’re not alone. This community is here with you.

Does resilient caregiver fit your reality?

Hi, new to this group. My nearly 6yo female corgi had IVDD surgery a week ago today, today is the 4th day since she came home and she's only showing some very slight intermittent signs of recovering from paralysis. I know to be patient there.

She has nearly constant leaking from bladder overflow, and maybe this means I'm not expressing her bladder all the way. I think Im starting to get the hang of it but vet techs saying the bladder is easy to find has not been my experience at all. I don't think I've ever felt it, and certainly can't find it once it's no longer super full. I know where to press when it's full, and I've watched videos and been trained by the techs where they felt th bladder and I didn't, even doing the same as them.

How did you figure this out? And what tricks do you have to manage the mess? Preventing UTIs and urine scald on her skin are supposed to be our 2nd and 3rd priorities after keeping her on bed rest. This is by far the biggest challenge for me.

I'm going to try using a cot that she can just pee through so it doesn't puddle under her on the pee pad. She's starting to look very demoralized when pee gets on her back legs.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks? Thank you!