IVDD Treatment Options
Treatment Protocols for IVDD
There are many options for dachshunds afflicted with IVDD. While no guide can be completely comprehensive, this page of the DRBC Site reviews those treatment methods most commonly used by the veterinarians that support DRBC. You should have a full discussion with your veterinarian concerning the options available for your doxie.
The table or menu shown below will guide you through the various options.
DRBC IVDD General Considerations
DRBC always thinks surgery first, even though this may not be the option followed. The rationale behind this thought process is the number of options it gives us in the treatment of suspected IVDD. Using this approach leads to a reduced number of IVDD surgeries for the rescue and a more successful conservative or medical treatment result.
Keep in mind the best tool here is the eyes of the owner or in DRBC's case, the foster family. As dogs walk or play we are looking at the animal's gait and energy level. We also look at shape and form and modify food and activity levels to reduce the chances that the doxie in question will experience a trip to the neurosurgeon. A key to who they are prior to the injury also provides important information about the health of their spine. Being an observant parent for your fur kid is one of the best ways to stay on the fast track to recovery should IVDD become an issue.
Our second tool is a crate. Immobility is critical to recovery from this disease; again this is with or without surgery. It is not cruel to crate when it can save an animal's life or maintain the quality of that animal's life. Crate train early and this will not be an issue should your doxie suffer from IVDD or any other illness. Oh, and by the way, we never wait for a veterinarian to tell us to crate rest a dog; we take the step long before the trip to the hospital.
Third, we act in a timely manner to have the issue addressed. Time = Function. We want to keep or regain the largest percentage of function possible should IVDD present as the diagnosis.
Given these considerations, all DRBC dogs begin their path to recovery at a single point: the General Exam. Following the exam, the path may be surgical, non-surgical, or may follow an alternate therapy treatment path for a variety of reasons. Each of these steps is discussed below in an attempt to help doxie owners use the same logic we do here at DRBC.
NOTE: This section of the DRBC website is offered as a medical reference only. DRBC is not operated by veterinarians. Seek the attention of your veterinarian to obtain a complete understanding of any of the topics listed.