Joni's female dog(name?) 12/2019 conservative

Joni, welcome to the Forum.

If you are able, could you register and join. Makes it far easier to access your girl's history (we'll give her, her own thread). This way we don't make unintended mistakes, we'd be better informed. Illustrated what to expect during registration: www.dodgerslist.com/forumads/RegisterFORUM/register.htm

OK on to your questions.

Back Braces for the IVDD dog
Orthotics such as a back brace should require an Rx from a board certified neurologist (ACVIM) who is well educated in disc disease. An ill fitting product that is not custom made can do more harm and the Rx would be for a specific reason.

Dodgerslist has consulted with several neuro and rehab specialists. The overriding concern is that owners may buy a brace on their own thinking it will be instead of strict crate rest or think it would prevent a future disc problem.

During a disc episode these are the concerns:
- Getting them on without causing any more pain or damage to the spine is on top of the list. Too much movement to get the brace on is not good for a dog that you are trying to limit movement of the back.
- Additional muscle atrophy in the spine is another big concern as muscle strength is very important to maintaining spinal health.
- Unnecessary discomfort, pain and anxiety caused by having to wear this device tight enough to limit movement… adequate limited movement is supplied with owner commitment to safe and effective 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7.
- Braces would require monitoring for pressure (rub) sores. Also, if not properly fitted (not covering from thoracic down to tail) there is the potential to create a fulcrum. It is hard to immobilize the entire back and not end up creating a fulcrum that stresses out adjacent disks.
- A brace would not be a preventative measure. Disc disease is the cause of prematurely aging discs…a disc problem happens at the point the disc has hardened too much. Any activity such as turning to lick a paw or putting on and off a brace could be the last straw for a disc that is no longer flexible.

At this time there isn’t enough research on them for Dodgerslist to support their use with an IVDD dog. What we do know is that strict crate rest is what works to heal a disc – it’s proven and crate rest is safe.

Harness

There are many good harnesses in the market. IVDD dog owners should look for a harness that does not wrap around the neck nor sit on the soft tissue of the neck.
The graphic below shows how it should fit the dog and where the pulling stress should be.



The problem in fitting a harness to a dog is kinda like us gals having to try on several brands of jeans til we find what fits our bodies. I ended up having my two with each a different brand to get the right fit. You might see if these manufacturers have the right one for your dog.
• Noodle and Friends: www.noodleandfriends.com/Dachshund-Harnesses/c11/index.html
• Puppia www.puppiaus.com/harnesses-collars.html
• Surfit www.pawmark.com/proddetail.php?prod=SFH