Baxters IVDD weeks 3 & 4

Hi everyone, I thought I would start by telling you what IVDD is. I realized after I made my last post that I didn't explain what it is. there are many of you who probably know this information. For those who do not I encourage you to do the research and learn as much as you can. IVDD stands for inter-vertebral disc disease. The cushioning discs between the vertebrae of the spinal column bulge or burst(herniate) and then press on the nerves running through the spinal column causing pain, nerve damage and even paralysis.

Symptoms to watch for:

Neck pain

stiffness

reluctance to move

Back pain

Lowered head stance

abdominal tenderness

Yelping unexpectedly when touched or moving

Sensitivity to touch

Lameness

Dragging one or more legs

"Knuckling over " when walking or standing

Weakness

Reluctance to rise

Walking gingerly

wobbly gait/crisscrossing back legs when walking

Tremors/shaking

collapse

Paralysis

Treatment can be conservative (crate rest and meds) or surgery. Rehabilitation is also recommended to help regain function and speed up recovery. If conservative treatment crate rest is a minimum of 8 weeks. Acupuncture and cold laser therapy are also great to help with recovery. As I mentioned in my last post .... dodgerslist.com has a wealth of information on this subject and a great community forum to ask questions and discuss. Please check them out. I can't recommend them highly enough.

Now back to Baxter...... Weeks three and four.

We were starting to see some slight improvement in week three. He was walking slightly better and not as wobbly. Also had more coordination and was not knuckling over. The back right leg was getting stronger. He still is pooping and peeing at the same time getting pee all over himself.  His appetite is as always just fine. dachshunds rarely turn down food. We are using a sling to help him when outside. There was no more crying when being picked up for potty breaks. At the end of week three we began the wean down process on the cortisone. Within a couple of days he was crying again and started to stiffen when I went to pick him up. He also started to knuckle over on the right hind again.  We had to go back up on the cortisone for five days. so that was week 4. We also had to increase his pain medication for a couple of days. So we had a minor relapse and then he bounced back from it. He continued to sleep in his crib next to the couch. I have slept on the couch near him since this began. He's mommas pretty boy.

By the end of week 4 he was back to showing improvement. He began lifting his leg sometimes to pee again. He is very alert. His tail is not up yet though. It is still down and slightly tucked. I think we'll know he's doing great when the tail is back up.

We started week five weaning him down on the cortisone. next post I'll tell how that went.

Thanks for reading.... Hug your puppies. 💚😃🐕🐶🐾🐩