Intervertebral disk disease its symptoms and treatment

the dog to urinate, by way of massaging the bladder area. Care will need to be taken to keep the dog still for some time, as the pain killing drugs may cause the animal to want to get up and move around, and this could cause further problems, especially in the early stages of recovery. As the dog will not be moving much initially, owners will need to massage the dogs muscles, usually several times per day, to keep them in trim. Swimming is also excellent physiotherapy for the dog.

Given time and plenty of rest, plus regular medication, most dogs will make a full recovery, to the extent were they gain full functioning of their limbs. A small percentage of dogs will recover with only slight problems with walking, however, there will be a very small percentage of dogs that don’t respond to either drug treatment or surgery, in these cases euthanasia is the kindest option for the dog.

Improvement within the breeds who are predisposed to this condition should be priority, in helping reduce the likely hood of this problem occurring in future generations. From an owners point of view however, as with all medical conditions, prevention is better than the cure. Owners of dogs who are predisposed to this condition should take appropriate steps in limiting the possibility of the onset of Intervertebral disk disease by giving their dogs regular exercise along with a balanced diet and not to allow their dogs to put on excess weight or become obese. Restricting excessive play activities jumping up and down on furniture and climbing stairs, will also help in reducing the stress placed on the dogs spine.

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