Amber's Benji 9/17 Conservative- Beagle/Dox Mix

Hello,  my Dog's name: Benji
Breed: Beagle/Dachshund mix
Age: 4 1/2(ish) - He's a rescue, so this is the guess
Diagnosed: 7/27, After initial flare up on 7/5 due to pinched nerve in his spine, radiating pain to his lower legs, though his legs were still able to move. Diagnosed by Urgent care vet, confirmed at follow-up with our regular vet on 8/1.
Meds: Carprofen, Methocarbamol, and Gabapentin. Carafate / Sucralfate and Omeprazole as antacids. 2 injections of Buprenorphine - One on the 7/5 emergency visit and on 7/27 visit.
Food/Appetite: Benji has always been food focused and that has not/did not changed. Because we weren't going on our regular walks, he did gain about 5-7 lbs while on crate rest, and that's with me lowering his food amount. He is starting to get back to his regular weight with our regular exercise. Drinking water regularly.
Location: SoCal, US

Diagnosis Process:
We initially saw an Emergency 24/hr vet on 7/5, it was a holiday weekend and and a Sunday, so our vet was closed. They gave him the Gabapentin, methocarbamol, and the antacids, along with the injection to let him sleep the night. They did not want to give an IVDD diagnosis at that point and We were given 2 weeks crate rest, which we followed. Afterwards, he was allowed to play in the yard for short periods of time, and we did shorter walks. The second flare up was on 7/27 and was much worse than the original. It was hard for Benji to even stand, though his legs were working, it was his spine that was in pain. Both our vet and our local backup vet did not have any availability to see him. We tried to go back to the ER vet, but it was a 6 hour wait. I was then referred to a nearby urgent care, who saw him and confirmed it was IVDD, and gave us 4 weeks crate rest. We scheduled a follow-up with our regular vet on 8/1, who agreed with the IVDD diagnosis, and gave us Carprofen to add to the meds we were given, along with an additional 2 weeks added to crate rest. We followed everything to the letter. He stayed in the crate, which I built a cover with curtains and a built in fan that came in handy during the CA heat wave.

During this time I added ramps and stairs throughout the house and yard. We have a retaining wall in our backyard. Our dogs like to jump on it and chase lizards. My dad built planter boxes to extend them up higher, making it impossible for the dogs to get up without taking a ramp. I have also added a few cameras so I can watch to see how he is getting on beds and such when I am not around and know where to train him at.

Once crate rest had ended (8/26) I began working with Benji and training him to use stairs to get up on the beds, couch, and the yard, while still keeping him restricted on house access. We started with 15 minute walks in the neighborhood as controlled exercise, which was approved by our vet. And gradually added 15 minutes every 4-5 days, again as told by our vet. He was continuing the meds up until the a week after crate rest ended. Our vet had me decrease meds starting 8/19, and was completely off [meds]them by 9/1.

Last couple weeks we have been at about 30-45 minute walks simply because of the heat and air quality. In the last 3 days, I pushed us to 45-1 hr walks, as he seemed like Benji was bored on the shorter walks and still had a ton of energy by the time we got home. He was given pretty much open access to the house starting 9/1, with supervised yard play starting 9/3. He wasn't allowed outside unless someone was with him.

This morning [9/17] after we came home from our walk, I was lying on my bed and he climbed the stairs up no problem, and cuddled up next to me. About 20 minutes later, I heard him give a slight whimper and then he turned and looked at me and gave a slight yelp. I immediately got him to stand to make sure he could and he walked over to the end of the bed and down the stairs. I had him walk back and forth a little in my room so I could see if he was trying to favor a leg or his lower back. He let me touch his spine back and nothing seemed to really be bothering him. I gave him carprofen and put him in his crate as a precaution. I took him out to go to the bathroom on his leash and he gave another slight yelp. I then gave him methocarbamol to help relax any muscle tension. He's been in the crate and asleep since.

[Moderator's Note. Please do not edit 
weight?
crated 9/17
carprofen as of 9/17:  ?mg    ?x/day
methocarbamol ?mg    ?x/day 
needs GI tract protector, Pepcid AC, on board w/carprofen! ]

I want to give him a day since his normal signs of a flare up have not really presented and he could possibly just be having a charlie horse for the extra distance on our walks. If still a little wonky, I will call our vet tomorrow and see if we can come in.

Sorry if this was a little longer than normal description. I have a tendency to go overboard on details and wanted to give the full story.

Thanks for reading - Here's to hoping we caught any agitation early.
-Amber