Simple Tips Make A World of Difference
We’ve already talked about the risk of IVDD in Dachshunds and what that looks like in a recent blog post, but how do you actually go about preventing IVDD in Dachshunds? It starts by understanding their life stages and their growth trend.
Watch Dr. Ross’s Review on Dog Ramps
What’s IVDD?
For new Dachshund owners, here is a quick refresher on IVDD. IVDD (or intervertebral disc disease) is a back-related illness that impacts about one in four Dachshunds. This is because Dachshunds’ elongated bodies come with a special spine; this breed basically has discs between all its vertebrae along its long back that act as cushions.
Watch An IVDD Survivor Story
However, sometimes these cushions begin to deteriorate at an abnormal speed, which means that they can become painfully damaged, leading to lifelong problems and, in worse case scenarios, paralysis.
The Triggers of IVDD
One of the main ways these discs can become injured is when your doxie puts an unnecessary amount of force on them — such as the force that occurs when they’re jumping from a relatively tall height, such as off the bed or off the couch. While this might just be a routine action for another dog breed, for Dachshunds, this can spell trouble, triggering IVDD.
Signs and symptoms of an IVDD include a sudden onset of pain that’s otherwise unexplainable, a lack of movement, odd positioning of your dog’s head or back and poor movement of the back legs.
Once your Dachshund has IVDD, you can expect costly surgeries, months of physical therapy and frustrating experience for both you and your dog.
Preventing IVDD
Most IVDD incidences occur when a dog is in their prime, as that’s when they’re most active. This prevention can firstly be done through protecting and strengthening your dog’s back.
Keep them healthy, and at a good weight as Dachshunds are prone to obesity and this can increase the likelihood of IVDD.
As you’d expect, this exercise should not include any of the potentially harmful jumping mentioned above but should be kept too long walks, hiking and similar moderately strenuous activity.
Avoid Using Stairs – Get A Ramp
The second way to prevent the onset of IVDD to keep your sausage dog from doing unnecessarily strenuous activity. Don’t worry, though! This doesn’t mean you have to give up cuddling on the couch with your doxie forever. Instead, there are some really simple solutions — primarily, dog ramps.
Once you’ve got your dog ramp installed, one last thing you can do to prevent IVDD injuries is to train your Dachshund to avoid stairs.
Since training your doxie a new skill or behavior can take a while, you can also use baby gates or a similar stopper to block off stairways. While the jumps are a little less than bounding from the couch or the bed, stairs can still potentially rub your dog’s vertebrae the wrong way. No matter how frustrating it may seem, preventing IVDD in Dachshund is a must.
If your dog has already experienced IVDD, then you know the importance of protecting your dog’s back health. As you balance between strengthening your sausage dog’s back, but also protecting its delicate condition, these tips and tools can help ensure you do not have a second IVDD experience.
Photo credit: Safari Vet
