I am interested in finding out as much as I can about Invertabrae (sp?) Disc Disease is long bodied dogs, especially dachshunds.
It seems there are two main courses of treatment, either surgery or crate rest and steroids.
I would be very interested in opinions of the different treatments, and anecdotal evidence if possible.
Thanks.
Pauline

obviously no opinions

Have a look at this

http://members.tripod.com/dachshealth/european_and_american_studies_of.htm

Hope it helps

Lucy

Thanks for the link.

It wasn't really what I was looking for. I have been involved with Dachshunds for quite a few years, and I believe that it is a genetic problem.

I am more interested in finding out the opinions of dog lovers, as there seems to be strong opinions for and against surgery to correct a ruptured disc.

I suppose that if I had said that I wanted to breed my 5 year old girl to my 10 month old boy, or perhaps to my 12 year old boy with IVDD, I would have gotten many responses! HaHa

Pauline

I have a dog that has two ruptured discs.

I saw a specialist last Autumn who prescribed steroid and cage rest for 6 weeks, apart from very odd occasions when he is given pain relief he has been fine since then. If the condition had worsened then surgery would have been the option. To be honest I am not sure that I would have gone down that route. This dog is a very active boy who I feel would hate to be confined or restricted by the results of the operation, and I believe in quality rather than quantity.

I no way do I believe that this was genetic. He comes from a long line of healthy animals with no sign of spinal problems in his history.

He has a dreadful habit of jumping onto the work surfaces from a standing start and myself and the specialist believe that this is what caused the first disc to rupture and once a weakness was there then the second one went.

In fact that particular specialist is having one of my pups from this dogs sister, so he certainly does not think that it was a genetic problem.:-D

Jayne

Thanks for that, Jayne. That was the type of information I was looking for. Do you mind telling me how old your dog was when he first ruptured a disc? Is he a dachshund? Standard or Mini?

He is not a Dachshund, he is a Border Terrier and he was 7 when the first disc ruptured.

I bred him myself and have three generations of his family with me, plus can go back 3 more generations who belonged to friends of mine

Jayne

Thank you for that information.

I did not mean to offend you or anyone else when I stated that I believe that it is a genetic condition, but I have read many times, that people more educated than me believe that there is a genetic predisposition to this disease. Obviously, the way a dog lives his life will have an impact on whether he develops it or not.

Pauline

You are welcome Pauline. You did not offend me just hope this has helped in some way.

The biggest problem that I found was getting a diagnosis, the first disc was misdiagnosed as stomach problems as he appeared to have severe stomach pains. Thankfully the second time my vet was on the ball and I was at the specialists within hours.

As I say I am convinced that in his case it is not genetic, but do know from friends that breed Dachshunds that they do have a high incidence. Some friends with Standard Smooths have had a lot of problems.

Jayne

My 12 year old mini L/H boy first ruptured a disc when he was 10, and he recovered 100% with crate rest. At the time the vet did not recommend surgery. When he ruptured another disc in February of this year, the vet immediately recommended surgery. As he has also had a history of fluid in the lungs, i was not prepared to risk his life with surgery. Even though he has only recovered partial mobility, I am more than prepared to look after him for the rest of his life. I have no regrets about not opting for surgery.

I've had dachsies for the past 19 years.
In that time i've had three with degenerative disc disease. All of mine have been minis, which, i am led to believe, suffer from disc disease more than standards.
My first was 11, when she was diagnosed. After crate rest and anti inflammatroy's she recovered, never to be affected again.
Mitzi was 8 when she suddenly developed it. She was going downhill fast and the only option i believe, for her, was surgery. Although the surgery went well, she started to deteriorate the following week and i was left with the only other option of having her put to sleep. She wasn't a fighter and didn't cope well at all with the situation.
Biddy, my third, happened as quickly as Mitzi. I took her to the vets, as i had a gut feeling something wasn't right with her. The vet diagnosed wind and gave me a course of tablets. Over the next three days, she was no better, so i took her back (i saw a different vet). It was only then that they realised that it was her back. Within three hours she'd gone off her legs. The next morning i rushed her to see a specialist, Malcolm Ness, who practises in Blyth. He operated that day. The next i was allowed to bring her home and she's never looked back since. She was allowed to start walking again just three days after, lead exercise only. Never had any further problems either. She was 4 when it happened and she's now 7.
I firmly believe that some back problems ARE down to breeding. BUT i also believe that it can happen to the best bred dog out there.
I don't let mine on the furniture or up and down the stairs. At all times i try to be as careful as you can be.
I think that this is all you can do. I have been told by some breeders that the average age that it will affect your dog is 4. Only Biddy out of my lot was that age. Her mum had the same problem at the same age. She had to be put to sleep.
I wouldn't hesitate going for the op again, but only to Malcolm Ness.
However i'm hoping that i won't ever have to go through it again. It is very hard to see your dog going through something as agonising as that.

Snoopy, I am sorry to hear about your expereince with this dreadful disease.

I am in the middle of my third bout with IDD at the moment. My 5 year old girl has calcification in two discs, and she went down last October. After about 6 weeks crate rest she recovered, and is now almost 100% back to normal. (She went down the day after we bought home our new 10 week old puppy, so that was a 'fun' month, with a new puppy and one in the crate!) My vet recommended surgery for her, and we consulted a specialist. ( I am in Australia so it would not be possible for me to consult the surgeon you recommended). We were given odds of 50% survival of surgery, and only 20% of ever walking again! I was not happy with those odds at all! My vet is quite surprised that she has recovered!
When my 12 year old boy went down in February of this year, I didn't even consider the surgery, because of the odds. He can walk now, but he is very wobbly. He is in no pain, and he is happy in himself. He can get around the house, to get a drink of water etc, and he can get himself outside to relieve himself (most of the time).
My third one, now 11 months old, came from a very reputable breeder, and there has been no IDD in his 5 generation pedigree, so I am hoping he will never have to go through this. We carry them all up and down steps now, and have stopped them jumping onto furniture in an attempt to prevent injuries.
BTW, they are wonderful little dogs, with great personalities!
Pauline

You're right Pauline, i'm completely hooked.
I completely understand what you're saying about surgery. If i'd had to go back to the first surgeon then it would've been a different story. But Malcolm Ness just oozed confidence. There was no such thing as it not working, to him.
He operated the year before on a friend of mines greyhound, who had the same problem, but it was in her neck. Apparently it was very complicated surgery. Thats what made me decide to go for it.
Biddy didn't have any cage rest, apart from the day before the op. My other two seemed to understand that she needed to be left alone.
It was however very expensive. The total came to a thousand pounds.
I'm sorry that you've had bad experiences with the same problem. Unfortunately it's a common health problem in dachsies. My experiences haven't put me off. They have made me much more aware though. And i'm confident i can spot the problem in the very early stages now, which is what you need to be able to do.
I do believe also that it depends on the dog's personality as well. Whether they would cope with surgery or cage rest. The breed is a very stoic one, but some just aren't able to get through, a bit like my mini wire.