Anybody have a dog with a slipped disk?

Question

My beagle who is only 5 years old, slipped his disk last week and the outlook doesn't look good. Does anybody know how long if ever it will take to heal, or had any personal experience with this? He is at the vet's now being taken care of but I am just seeing if anyone has any personal experience, as I am really worried about my dog. ♥ Thanks for all the info.

Answer 1

My pekingese dog (Pugsley) has a slipped disc. We found out when he was 2 and he just stopped using his hind legs one day. Our vet gave him some muscle relaxers and said that we could try surgery, but it probably wouldn't help. He was doing better within a few days.

Pugsley is 7 now and he is doing fine. He has his good days and his bad days, and when it seems like he is in pain, we just give him 1/4 of a muscle relaxer. He is more lazy now, but that might have a little bit to do with his age as well. I have been starting to look into a chiropractor for him though, to see if maybe that would help, but so far I haven't come up with much.

I can understand how worried you are though. When I first found out about Pugsley's slipped disk, I thought he would never walk again, but its 5 years later and he's alright. We just can't take him out for walks as much, and he gets really tired after playing now.


What is your vet doing to treat your dog? Does it seem to be working?

Anyways, I hope your dog starts feeling better soon. Its so hard to see an animal in pain, and know theres not much else you can do.

Answer 2

Yes, our Dachshund had this happen a couple years ago. Very common for our breed here with the elongated backs. The vet told us two things can happen... 1) the dog can be temporarily paralyzed, unable to use the hind legs for a couple of days, given some anti-inflamatory meds and would be better soon... 2) the paralysis is permenant, which means nerves were also damaged and the dog would not be able to walk again, even surgery could not correct this.

In our case, it was temporary paralysis and our vet was able to tell right away by checking responses for pain in the back legs. Fortunately, a couple days of the anti-inflamatory meds helped and our Doxie was moving about like nothing happened within a week.

You should talk to your vet about exactly how severe this slipped disk actually is with your dog. I'm surprised they didn't give you more information already.

Answer 3

First of all, no matter what the vet says, if things don't look good DO NOT be in a hurry to put him down. As long as he is not in pain, has bowel/bladder control and is happy there IS chance for recovery. Sometimes it can take a VERY long time, and it will take work and care on your part but I have known several dogs that recovered from being COMPLETELY paralyzed to being able to walk again, even though the vets said there was no hope. One of these dogs was mine. Even if he does not walk again, dogs are able to live quite happy lives with the use of carts.

Please start doing research on back injuries, physiotherapy, massage, sling walking, carts, medications etc. Don't give up yet!

Of course, if he is in pain which can't be fixed, or if he is obviously unhappy, then the humane thing would be to put him to sleep.

Good luck!

Answer 4

slipped disc in animals is much the same as in the humans.

There are several methods Dr.'s use to treat this type of problem. the last thing they will do is invasive procedures. Most disc slippages can be cured by therapy which Vet assisatants can do. Ultra sounds are sometimes used during therapy. Rest is always a good thing also. Just be assured that if the vet says that surgery is needed that they have tried all non-invasive procedures first. Even if they do have to do surgery, it won't be long until your dog is up and moving like he did before.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

Check with holistic vets and ask about accupunture/accupressure. See if your dog is a candidate. Good luck