ChelsMcGoo

Percy had ALL 5 of these signs and we still had no idea it was IVDD. We thought he had just tweaked his back. He was still walking normally, so we treated him with anti-inflammatories and otherwise kept it moving. What I wish I knew then that Stage 1 IVDD looks just like this, long before you see the scary symptoms like wobbling, dragging their legs or losing the ability to walk. And they can often recover from it without surgery if the right steps are taken. If your dog suddenly starts showing signs of back or neck pain, especially if they’re a breed prone to IVDD, please don’t automatically assume it’s a simple muscle strain. Get them checked out by a vet if you can, and most importantly start restricting their activity IMMEDIATELY. No jumping, running or playing until you know what you’re dealing with. Looking back, I really wish we had treated Percy’s first signs of pain like a possible disc issue and put him on strict crate rest instead of assuming meds would take care of it. Would it have stopped what eventually happened? We’ll never know. But knowing what I know now, I would have done things very differently. ❤️‍🩹 #IVDD #Dachshund #DogHealth #petparents #ivddsurvivor