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Post by Juli & 4 girls on Nov 15, 2020 6:23:15 GMT -7
Lucy, Heidi, Sophie and Tilly are my girls. Our purpose of joining the group is to prepare and gain more knowledge and be prepared in the event one of the girls has an IVDD issue. My 4 girls are mini dachshunds.
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,493
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Post by PaulaM on Nov 15, 2020 11:31:46 GMT -7
Welcome Juli! It is very good to hear you are wanting to learn something about IVDD if perchance in the future you learn one of your girls was born with disc disease. What breed are your girls? How old are they? Are they siblings? The Forum is a branch of the main Dodgerslist website www.dodgerslist.com The Forum gives owners an opportunity to ask specific questions about their dog or get more detail about something they've read on the Dodgerslist website. Is there a question you have we can chat about with you? On our main website things to look at: --- 10 minutes "Shortcut Thru IVDD" for a very good overview of a disc episode, two treatments, and living with an IVDD dog: dodgerslist.com/2020/06/26/time-and-ivdd/--- Two print outs for your dog's at-home file....for quick access AND handy at-a-glance info to hold in your hands when suspecting a disc episode may be going on. 1) ROADMAP to avoid dangerous detours during conservative treatment dodgerslist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Roadmap-for-Fridge.pdf 2) EMERGENCY SIGNS during a disc episode, action to take dodgerslist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/emergency-fridge-flyer.pdf
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Post by Juli & 4 girls on Nov 16, 2020 16:14:26 GMT -7
Two of the girls—Lucy and Heidi (ages 5 and 4.5 years)—have the same Mom and Dad but one litter apart. They are from the State of Washington. A Canadian line of mini’s. My other two—Sophie and Tilly (both 1 year old)—are siblings from the same litter right here in Oklahoma.
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,493
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Post by PaulaM on Nov 16, 2020 16:25:05 GMT -7
IVDD is thought to have a genetic component. So if one sibling is born with IVDD, then the other sibling "might" also have the gene from the same mom or dad. Just something to be aware of. Typically it is not until the dogs reach the age of 3-7 years old, IF, if they where born with IVDD, then the prematurely aging of the disc can appear as the first signs of pain. This would then be the first the owner and the vet are aware of the dog being born with IVDD. So, include in your dog's at-home file the two print outs I recommended above as handy reference. Then go about enjoying life. You will be prepared in case. Not all dogs are born with IVDD.
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Post by Julie & Perry on Nov 16, 2020 16:31:46 GMT -7
Make sure to crate train your girls in case they ever do have an episode Use ramps and train not to jump on/ off furniture : dodgerslist.com/2020/06/16/training-to-use-ramps/ Get pet insurance that allows for possible genetic conditions. If your pet is diagnosed in the future nobody will cover you. Treatment can be very costly. I wish I'd gotten it. Lots of exercise and keep at a healthy weight.
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Post by Juli & 4 girls on Nov 17, 2020 5:21:21 GMT -7
Lucy, my almost 5-year-old girl has a subluxation in her right rear knee. In the past, when we were walking she would hop on three legs just for a second as the knee went out and then it would go right back in and she would walk normally for a while. This has gone on for two-three years but now it is going out pretty much every two to three steps she takes—so much that she pretty much is always on three legs and I can see it physically going out. My vet says it is time and that we need to fix that so that arthritis doesn’t settle in and it doesn’t cause any back problems later. They said it was from I believe the patellar not having a deep enough groove for the knee to stay in. And I am not quoting verbatim but I am sure you know what I’m talking about so we are considering surgery after the first of the year to fix this and I am giving her ramapril now every day until surgery and it seems to help but we have stopped taking walks it seems to be better when she is on the grass but on the concrete or street it is not good. I noticed that already my one year-old Tilly from a different mother is at the beginning of this issue and Sometimes picks it up as it goes out and then it goes right back in but not as frequently as Lucy’s. . However the other two girls (one sibling (Heidi) to Lucy—sep litter, and one (Sophie) same litter to Tilly) do not seem to have a problem at all. Do you agree we should get this fixed, and then follow the strict create a conservative restrictions after surgery? Note: Tilly just turned a year old and the vet recommends waiting until she is a little older to surgery. Note This is something our prior Vet had been watching on Lucy for some time and when we switched vets this there has been watching it as well.
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Marjorie
Moderator~
Member since 2011. Surgery & Conservative
Posts: 5,722
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Post by Marjorie on Nov 17, 2020 5:47:22 GMT -7
I'm sorry to hear about this health issue, Juli.
The Dodgerslist Forum is narrowly focused on IVDD and that is really our only experience and expertise where we feel we have good information to share with you backed by our associations and consults with professionals in the field. We don't feel comfortable about giving information on other diseases in that our comments could be harmful. There is a lot of good quality information on the internet and there are sites where the information is bad. Google your topic, aware you will have to evaluate if the information given is from a creditable and authoritative source.
I encourage you to discuss your concerns with your vet, ask questions til you understand what is being communicated. The surgeon would also be the best one to discuss post-op crate rest with.
Prayers for a full recovery.
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